The Prony Needle, (3) a unique curiosity in the world, discovered in 1979, forms a kind of giant stalagmite taking root 35 meters deep and rising 6 meters below the surface. This concretion, covered with multiple, very colourful corals, sculpts the architecture of a cathedral bell tower bristling with several small pinnacles. This protected natural area was one of the filming sites for the film Atlantis, by Luc Besson. Perpetuate the memory After felling the trees, the logs (trunks with bark) were transported to the sawmill using sleds, also called schlittes, which were pulled by man arms on the wooden rails of the towpaths. In 1997, the Prony village association reconstructed identically and on an original route, a 50 m portion of towpath and its schlittes.(1) 73 Direction of Sustainable Development of the South Province Territories I Strolling along the waterways 72 Strolling along the waterways Prony, a story of waters Thermal springs, sometimes invisible, flow here At the Carénage (Fairing) Bay, rock masses, invisible at high tide, are exposed at low tide and release warm water whose temperature reaches around 43°C. (1) At the Kauris Bay, located on the left bank, the spring emerging on clay soil appears less hot and less active than the previous one (32°C on average). A developed site (2), on a promontory, offers a small rectangular pool. This first thermal establishment was described, in 1878 by Charles Lemire, as having a wooden bottom and a drainage channel. If allergic to sulfur, refrain Do not wash in it A forest history A forestry branch of the penal colony InsteadofthePronyvillage,wediscoverremainsofconstructions scattered in the area’s wooded landscape. From the time of Camp Sebert, which became a forestry site in 1873, only the permanent buildings of the prison administration remain: the powder magazine (3), the accountant’s accommodation, the bread oven, the remains of the equipment store, a the supervisors’ accommodation and the base of the farm manager’s house (2), invaded by the magnificent century-old banyan tree spreading its roots to the past. 1 1 3 3 2 2 ! ©Ben Thouard
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