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The La Hague Geopark invites you to a new annual event, "Science in La Hague, the Geopark's Annual Conference," to continue its support for research conducted in the region for many years. It aims to understand all dimensions of this peninsula jutting into the English Channel, to reconstruct its components from the earliest times, and to offer a historical narrative. From the Earth's history it contains to the natural, cultural, and intangible heritage that comprises it, the objective is to meet each year, on a Saturday morning at the end of the year, to review the latest scientific research conducted in the La Hague region through four presentations, each addressing a specific question about this peninsula, presented in an accessible and engaging way for the general public.
Conferences on Saturday, November 29, 2025 – Michel Canoville Cultural Center
The first edition of this event in 2025 proposes to examine the land-sea continuum that links La Hague to the neighboring Channel Islands. Subject to changes in sea level throughout geological time and to strong currents today, it is through the eyes of a marine geologist, an archaeologist, a geomorphologist and geoarchaeologist, and an oceanographer that you are invited to rediscover it.
La Hague “land-sea” at the heart of a geological puzzle between the English Channel and the Armorican Massif
by David Graindorge, marine geologist
The tip of La Hague lies at the heart of a unique geological puzzle located at the tip of the Cotentin Peninsula in the Armorican Massif, near the English Channel. Solving this puzzle requires combining the perspectives of geologists working both on land and at sea. At sea, accessing geological information involves using specific imaging techniques to study both the seabed morphology and the subsoil. These observations must be complemented by sampling, which, by analogy, allows us to establish a true geological continuum between land and sea. We will shed light on this recent approach, from the central Channel Trench to La Hague, via the Casquets and Alderney. This research reveals the significant influence of the structural legacy, the result of a complex geological history, on this puzzle. We will illustrate how these main structures were reactivated during successive episodes of this history, culminating in the debated formation of the deep incisions that constitute the Channel Trenches. Finally, we will address the question of possible recent activity along these faults.
Around the Raz Blanchard: the Neolithization of the Cotentin and the Channel Islands
by François Charraud, archaeologist
The contexts addressed in this presentation primarily concern excavated sites in the North Cotentin Peninsula and the Channel Islands, supplemented by some surface data. Evidence of activity or occupation in these areas, relatively distant from the Jurassic plains of Normandy during the Early Neolithic period, is quite sparse and unevenly distributed: key remains of the Blicquy/Villeneuve-Saint-Germain culture have often been unearthed out of context. In fact, structured sites are more frequent in the Middle Neolithic. By presenting these sites, the remains they have yielded, and their distribution, we explore the reasons for the geographical and chronological inequalities in the representation of traces of the first farmers of Normandy, their relationship to an environment strongly marked by maritime influences, and their economy at the time when the first evidence of navigation between the islands and the Cotentin Peninsula reaches us.
The Biville-Vauville-Héauville dune system: diversity of forms and dynamics, history and management challenges
by Laurent Lespez, geomorphologist and geoarchaeologist
The Biville-Héauville dune system borders the Anse de Vauville cove on the Hague peninsula. Spanning nearly 700 hectares, it is a remarkable study site due to its rich geomorphology, flora, and fauna. To the north, the Vauville pond National Nature Reserve covers 60 hectares, while the majority of the dune system is managed by SyMEL (the Joint Association for Coastal Areas of the English Channel). The geomorphological study of the dune formations reveals a diversity of forms and dynamics: a double coastal dune ridge, windblown dunes on the coastal escarpment, isolated or clustered dunes, and interdune wetlands. This diversity of forms reflects a complex history that remains largely to be deciphered. The geo-historical study reveals the human impact on the morphology of the dune system, while recent observations demonstrate the consequences of visitor activity.
The Raz Blanchard: strong currents, underwater topography and marine energy
by Lucille Furgerot and Pascal Bailly-du-Bois, geologist and oceanographer
The Raz Blanchard, located off the Cotentin peninsula, is known for its tidal currents, some of the most powerful in Europe, sometimes exceeding 12 knots and shaping a unique seascape. This presentation invites you to discover this exceptional environment, where the force of the tides and the energy of storms constantly sculpt the seabed. We will detail the phenomena that give rise to these exceptional currents and their effects. Through the study of bathymetry, we will see that the Raz Blanchard is not only a place of strong currents, but also a veritable underwater labyrinth, with its trenches, plateaus, a 20-meter-high underwater cliff, and vast gravel dunes, evidence of intense and complex sediment transport. This site has significant energy potential, which will soon be harnessed by tidal turbines; the principles of exploiting this renewable marine energy will be presented. Dive with us into a world where the sea reveals all its power and where physical and geological sciences come together to better understand this iconic site on the Normandy coast.
