With an annual flow of 13m ³ / second, the temperature of the water staying between 8 and 12°C, the Touvre springs and the Fawning springs constitute the second biggest system of their type in France after the Fountain of Vaucluse near Avignon.

They are fed on the one hand by a large karstic aquifer that was created in the limestones of the Jurassic period, and on the other hand by waters from the Tardoire and Bandiat.

Grouped together on the same site, there are four springs : the Boiling, the Frame, the Fée of Lussac, the Fawning – all giving birth to the river.

The Frame :
doubtless the oldest of the springs ; it comes out of a big hole, about 50 metres by 10 metres.

The Boiling :
the biggest in terms of its flow of water, it opens into a pond 25 metre and 15 metres deep. There, a conduit 1.5m in diameter guards the entry of the cavity. In this place the strength of the water is considerable.

Fée of Lussac :
formed after the earthquake of Lisbon in 1755, thus not even three centuries old, this one emerges from a gap 3 to 4 metres wide by 15 metres long.. Roughly 5 metres deep, this one branches out into two parts.

The Fawning :
slightly away from the site and having a different quality of water, this spring is probably the result of water draining from the pond of l’Echelle. The water leaks out through small blocks.

Cliquez pour voir le plan du système karstique