Cirque de Gavarnie

The Cirque de Gavarnie is a cirque in the central Pyrenees, in south-western France, close to the border of Spain. It was described by Victor Hugo as "the Colosseum of nature" due to its enormous size and horseshoe shape causing a resemblance to an amphitheatre. It is located within the commune of Gavarnie, the department of Hautes-Pyrénées, and the Pyrenees National Park. Major features of the cirque are La Brèche de Roland (English: Roland's Pass) and the Gavarnie Falls.The cirque is 800 m wide (on the deepest point) and about 3,000 m wide at the top. The rock walls that surround it can be as high as 1500m above the floor of the Cirque. During the warmer seasons of spring and fall, there are a number of large meltwater falls that spill into the cirque. The largest of these is Gavarnie Falls, the second highest waterfall in Europe. It descends some 422m over a series of steps before reaching the floor of the cirque.There are also several passes and clefts between the peaks that form the rim of the Cirque. The largest is La Brèche de Roland, at 2800m above sea level. Legend says that its sheer walls were cut into the mountain by the sword of the hero Roland, nephew to Charlemagne.