The Causses du Quercy Natural Park has been shaped for more than 100 million years by the passage of a tropical sea in the region. This marine presence is at the origin of the tropical vegetation found around the phosphate mines. Giant ferns, orchid species, and numerous trees bear witness to an increasingly tropicalized flora as one descends towards the mines. The lush vegetation underlines the presence of many animals whose discovered fossils date back more than 34 million years. Featured: Thierry Pelissié, curator of the Lot Geological Nature Reserve.