Panorama Collines Massif De L'etoile Oti Aubagne
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Collines Garrigue Massif De L'etoile Nature Oti Aubagne
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To the west ofAubagne and Roquevaire, a limestone massif with extensive rocky areas.
The Étoile mountain range covers an area of 9,241 hectares and reaches a height of 800 metres.
Its flora is of great interest, with endemic and rare species. This high level of biodiversity led the French government to include a large part of the Massif de l’Étoile in the Natura 2000 network in 2003.
The south-eastern part of the Chaîne de l’Étoile is home to the Garlaban massif, made famous by Marcel Pagnol.
The limestone that makes up the massif allows rainwater to infiltrate rapidly into the cracks. Instead of running off, it disappears into a multitude of underground networks. In several places on the massif, you can still see small springs, usually a trickle of water oozing from the rock face, such as the Cerf, Passe-Temps and Font Breguette springs, and the Mûrier, Tambour and Angèle wells.
According to the Provençal writer Frédéric Mistral, the name comes from the orientation of the massif in relation to the city of Marseille. The massif extends geographically in the direction of the North Star, to the north of the city of Marseille. The Étoile range is accessible from the towns and villages ofAubagne, Cadolive, Peypin, Roquevaire and Saint-Savournin.
