Calanque

A calanque (kalɑ̃k, "inlet"; calanca, plural calanche or calanchi; calanca, plural calancas) is a narrow, steep-walled inlet that is developed in limestone, dolomite, or other carbonate strata and found along the Mediterranean coast. A calanque is a steep-sided valley formed within karstic regions either by fluvial erosion or the collapse of the roof of a cave that has been subsequently partially submerged by a rise in sea level. The best known examples of this formation can be found in the Massif des Calanques (Massís dei calancas in Occitan, the traditional local language) in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of Southern France. The range extends for in length and in width along the coast between Marseille and Cassis, culminating in Mont Puget (). Similar calanques can also be found on the French Riviera near the Massif de l'Esterel and on the island of Corsica (Calanques de Piana). The highest points along the calanques are located at Mont Puget () and in the mountains of Marseilleveyre (). Similarities are seen between calanques and rias, the river mouths formed along the coast of Brittany in Northern France. The limestone calanques of the Massif des Calanques lie within the recently created Calanques National Park (2012) and include the Calanque de Sormiou, Calanque de Morgiou, Calanque de Port-Miou and Calanque de Sugiton. There are additional calanques in the national park, further east along the coast, incised into Cap Canaille. These calanques formed in different rock strata, often in layers of cemented pebble conglomerate. Calanques are also present in the Italian Apennines, in locations such as the Accona Desert and in the Calanchi natural preserve of Atri. Modern day calanques along the Mediterranean Sea are steep-sided valleys that the Holocene (Flandrian) marine transgression partially submerged to form cliff-edged inlets. These valleys were either incised by rivers or created by cave collapse as karstic dry valleys when sea level was lower than at present.