The production of ocher in Rustrel in the Vaucluse department required the joint action of water, wind, and sun. The water used for washing the ochres filled settling basins from which the supernatant clear water was emptied daily before adding a new quantity of ocher-loaded water. When the sedimented layer of ocher reached about 16 inches (40 cm), the basins were dried, and the wind and the sun jointly finished the desiccation process.