# Limagne

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Plain in France

Location of the Massif Central in France

Location of the Limagne in the Massif Central

The village of Usson on the edge of the Limagne plain

The **Limagne** (French pronunciation: [\[limaɲ\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/French) [ⓘ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LL-Q150_(fra)-Beno%C3%AEt_Prieur-Limagne.wav); [Occitan](/source/Occitan_language): *Limanha*) is a large plain in the [Auvergne region](/source/Auvergne) of France in the valley of the [Allier river](/source/Allier_(river)), on the edge of the [Massif Central](/source/Massif_Central). It mainly lies within the *[départements](/source/Departments_of_France)* of [Puy-de-Dôme](/source/Puy-de-D%C3%B4me), [Allier](/source/Allier) and [Haute-Loire](/source/Haute-Loire). The term is sometimes used to include this, and three other less extensive plains, that lie along the valley of the Allier, in which case the first is known as *Grande Limagne* to distinguish it from the others. The name is derived from the [Latin](/source/Latin) *Lacus Magnus*, or large lake.

## Geology

The Limagne plain is a [graben](/source/Graben), downthrown from the Massif Central by a series of [normal faults](/source/Fault_(geology)#Dip-slip_faults) that border the western edge of the plain. It contains about 2 km of sediments, and the amount of stretching of the [crust](/source/Crust_(geology)) is estimated as 1.2–1.3.[1] The rifting started in the Late [Eocene](/source/Eocene) and the main phase of subsidence continued into the Late [Oligocene](/source/Oligocene).[2] The Limagne Graben forms part of a system of linked [rifts](/source/Rift), including the [Rhine Graben](/source/Upper_Rhine_Plain), known as the [European Cenozoic Rift System](/source/European_Cenozoic_Rift_System), that formed in response to compressional deformation of the [Alpine](/source/Alpine_orogeny) [foreland](/source/Foreland_basin).[2]

Volcanism accompanied the rifting and continued into the [Pleistocene](/source/Pleistocene). The sediments deposited in the basin are affected by numerous [intrusions](/source/Igneous_intrusion). The area was the first where [peperites](/source/Peperite) were described, from a [basaltic](/source/Basalt) intrusion into [lacustrine](/source/Lake) [limestone](/source/Limestone).[3]

## Economy

The Limagne is a very fertile plain and is mainly an area of cereal production, with some tobacco and [sugar beet](/source/Sugar_beet). [Vineyards](/source/Vineyard) are found along the borders of the plain on the edge of the Massif Central, particularly at [Corent](/source/Corent) and [Châteaugay](/source/Ch%C3%A2teaugay).

## Main sites of interest

- [Auzon](/source/Auzon) – [Medieval](/source/Middle_Ages) village with a [romanesque](/source/Romanesque_architecture) church

- [Brioude](/source/Brioude) – The [basilica](/source/Basilica) of St Julien

- [Château de Ravel](/source/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Ravel)

- [Effiat](/source/Effiat) – For its château

- [Issoire](/source/Issoire) – Romanesque basilica

- [Mozac Abbey](/source/Abbey_of_Saint-Pierre_Mozac) – Celebrated for its romanesque sculptures

- [Riom](/source/Riom) – [Renaissance](/source/Renaissance) city, one of the [French Towns and Lands of Art and History](/source/French_Towns_and_Lands_of_Art_and_History)

- [Usson, Puy-de-Dôme](/source/Usson%2C_Puy-de-D%C3%B4me) – Ruined fortress walls and the columnar jointed [basalt](/source/Basalt), *orgues basaltique*. At the top of the butte, a statue of the virgin Mary and a panoramic view.

- [Parentignat](/source/Parentignat) — For its 18th century château with its [English garden](/source/English_landscape_garden), and the [suspension bridge](/source/Suspension_bridge) built in 1830.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Allen, P.A. & Allen, J.R. 1990. Basin analysis; Principles and applications, WileyBlackwell, 451pp.](https://books.google.com/books?id=-oG1VRYCSOwC&dq=limagne+graben&pg=PA91)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Ziegler_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Ziegler_2-1) [Ziegler, P.A. 1990. Geological Atlas of Western Europe, Geological Society London, 256pp.](https://books.google.com/books?id=4-MRc3gWy6cC&dq=limagne+graben&pg=PA164)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [de Goer de Herve, A. 2008. Chapter 5, Peperites from the Limagne Trench (Auvergne, French Massif Central), a distinctive feature of phreatomagmatic pyroclastics. History of semantic drift. In: Leyrit, H. & Montenat, C. (Eds.) Volcaniclastic rocks, from magmas to sediments, Taylor & Francis, 270pp.](https://books.google.com/books?id=RW3WlWB4NYIC&dq=peperite+origin+%2Bterm&pg=PA91)

[46°00′N 3°15′E / 46.0°N 3.25°E / 46.0; 3.25](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Limagne&params=46_N_3.25_E_region:FR_type:landmark)

Authority control databases International VIAF GND Other Yale LUX

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Limagne](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limagne) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limagne?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.