The Loire has its cradle at the foot of this astonishing natural belvedere 1551 m high. The ascent will allow you, after 30 minutes of climbing, to admire a 360° panorama. On a clear day, you will be able to see the whiteness of Mont Blanc.
A Pelean volcano is of the extrusive type, that is to say that it involves a viscous magma, not very rich in gas, building domes. Depending on the viscosity of the lava, the domes can be built according to several shapes.
This source corresponds to the official source indicated on the cadastral plan n° 87. It flows in a natural environment, it comes out of the ground in a meadow, under a stone which bears the inscription "here begins my road to the ocean".
The "authentic source" symbolizes, by the monument erected in 1938 by the Touring Club of France, the source of the Loire. Nearby, a triptych of information on the Gerbier-de-Jonc platform and the Maison de site.
It flows in a stone trough inside an old renovated farmhouse with a Lauze roof. It is possible to drink water directly from the source.
The Five Sucs are domed Pelean volcanoes from the same family as the famous Mont Gerbier de Jonc. Their names are: Montfol, Sépoux, Séponet, Taupernas and Lauzière.
The temperature of this source is 53° it is located in the center of the village. Saint Laurent les Bains is ranked 9th among the 60 hottest thermal springs in France.
"Les Coux", toponym used by the IGN, is actually called the Suc de Leckous, we also know this volcano under the name, of Celtic origin, of Lech'ous. The juice of Leckous is a tray in the shape of a crescent moon.
The junction of the sources of the Loire, at the mill of Ligeret, is the place of all the postcards.
This maar is a superb example of phreatomagmatic volcanic activity. The operation is characterized by an intense explosive activity caused by the meeting of the hot magma during the ascent with the waters infiltrated from the surface.
