Editing Avignon (section)

=== Geology and terrain ===
[[File:P1280052 - Avignon.JPG|thumb|Aerial view of Avignon]]

The region around Avignon is very rich in [[limestone]] which is used for building material. For example, the current [[Walls of Avignon|city walls]], measuring 4,330 metres long, were built with the soft limestone abundant in the region called ''mollasse burdigalienne''.<ref name="geologie">[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927220632/http://www.cjrosier.com/Agence-immobiliere/Relief-et-geologie-des-sols-autour-d-Avignon-Vaucluse.htm Relief and Geology of the Avignon sector], Agence Rosier website (archived) {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

Enclosed by the city walls, the ''Rocher des Doms'' is a limestone elevation of ''[[Urgonian Limestone|Urgonian]]'' type, 35 metres high<ref>[http://www.universalis.fr/encyclopedie/avignon Avignon Encyclopedia] Universalis website {{in lang|fr}}</ref> (and therefore safe from flooding of the Rhone which it overlooks) and is the original core of the city. Several limestone massifs are present around the commune (the ''Massif des Angles'', ''Villeneuve-lès-Avignon'', ''Alpilles''...) and they are partly the result of the [[oceanisation]] of the Ligurian-Provençal basin following the migration of the Sardo-Corsican block.<ref name="geologie"/>

The other significant elevation in the commune is the [[Montfavet]] Hill—a wooded hill in the east of the commune.<ref name="geologie"/>

The [[Rhone Valley]] is an old alluvial zone: loose deposits cover much of the ground. It consists of sandy alluvium more or less coloured with pebbles consisting mainly of siliceous rocks. The islands in the Rhone, such as the ''Île de la Barthelasse'', were created by the accumulation of alluvial deposits and also by the work of man. The relief is quite low despite the creation of mounds allowing local protection from flooding.<ref name="geologie"/>

In the land around the city there are clay, silt, sand, and limestone present.<ref name="geologie"/>