Réserve naturelle nationale des Coussouls de Crau, National nature reserve near Arles, France.
The Coussouls de Crau reserve spans 7,411 hectares across seven municipalities, featuring a dry steppe ecosystem with limestone pebbles and Mediterranean vegetation patterns.
The area formed over five million years as the Durance River deposited alpine pebbles, creating a fossil delta that dried up 18,000 years ago.
The reserve maintains traditional sheep farming practices dating from Neolithic times, with shepherds leading their flocks through seasonal migrations between the plains and Alps.
Visitors need paid permits to access the reserve and can explore the 4.7-kilometer Peau de Meau interpretive trail through the protected landscape.
The reserve houses 150 bird species and remains the sole French nesting site for the pin-tailed sandgrouse, alongside two endemic insects.
Location: Arles
Location: Eyguières
Location: Fos-sur-Mer
Location: Istres
Location: Miramas
Location: Saint-Martin-de-Crau
Location: Salon-de-Provence
Inception: October 8, 2001
Website: http://reserve-crau.org
GPS coordinates: 43.56278,4.87972
Latest update: June 23, 2025 09:46
Crau
2.2 km
Oppidum de Saint-Blaise
14 km
Pont Flavien
13.4 km
Réserve naturelle nationale des marais du Vigueirat
10.6 km
Viaduc de Saint-Chamas
13.9 km
Plage de la Romaniquette
11.4 km
Oppidum du Castellan
10.3 km
Église Notre-Dame-de-Beauvoir
10.3 km
Église de Saint-Martin-de-Crau
10.1 km
Porte d'Arles
10.2 km
Borne milliaire de la Calanque
12.8 km
Église Saint-Léger de Saint-Chamas
12.6 km
Arènes de Saint-Martin-de-Crau
9.9 km
Réserve naturelle régionale de la Poitevine-Regarde-Venir
13.2 km
Le Bayle-Vert
13 km
Chapelle Saint-Julien de Miramas
11.7 km
Golf Club de Miramas
11.8 km
Chapelle Saint-Sulpice d'Istres
10 km
Chapelle Saint-Blaise
13.9 km
Chapelle d'Entressen
5.8 km
Golf de Saint Martin de Crau
10.8 km
Town hall of Saint-Martin-de-Crau
10.1 km
Centre de développement culturel
10 km
Arboretum le Jardin de Gaston
9.7 km
Église de la Nativité-de-la-Vierge du Sambuc
13.9 km
Town hall of Fos-sur-Mer
13.1 km
City walls of Fos-sur-Mer
12.7 km
War memorial in Saint-Martin-de-Crau
10.2 kmReviews
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