Qualla: Calanques National Park https://qualla.com/calanques-national-park en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:30 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/s/p/e/v/calanques-national-park-wk/hero-small.webp Qualla: Calanques National Park https://qualla.com/calanques-national-park Calanques National Park: Introduction https://qualla.com/calanques-national-park/ Photo credit Grafikm fr, CC BY-SA 3.0. The white limestone cliffs drop straight into water so blue it looks synthetic. Between Marseille and Cassis, the Calanques slash into the coastline like fjords transplanted to the Mediterranean -- narrow, steep-walled inlets carved by ancient rivers and now flooded by the sea. Calanques National Park, established on April 18, 2012, is France's most unusual protected area: 8,500 hectares of land and 43,500 hectares of sea, the only national park in the country that encompasses suburbs, open water, and wild coast in a single boundary. Two million visitors come each year, drawn by the strange beauty of a landscape where a major city gives way to wilderness within walking distance.

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Image: Grafikm fr | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/p/e/v/calanques-national-park-wk/spev-calanques-national-park-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Calanques National Park: Where the City Ends and Geology Begins https://qualla.com/calanques-national-park/ Photo credit Philippe Alès, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Calanques massif is a world of contrasts. Hikers leave the 8th arrondissement of Marseille on Avenue de Hambourg, and within two hours of walking find themselves on trails suspended between sea and tortured rock with no water points and almost no shade. The paths are steep, s...

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Image: Philippe Alès | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/p/e/v/calanques-national-park-wk/spev-calanques-national-park-where-the-city-ends-and-geology-begins.mp3 0:06 2 full Calanques National Park: Treasures Beneath the Surface https://qualla.com/calanques-national-park/ Photo credit Eris.spiller, CC BY-SA 4.0. The underwater world of the Calanques holds layers of history that the dry land cannot match. At the foot of the islet of Grand-Conglue, two Roman shipwrecks were excavated during one of Commander Cousteau's first major campaigns aboard the Calypso. Near Jarre Island, divers foun...

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Image: Eris.spiller | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/p/e/v/calanques-national-park-wk/spev-calanques-national-park-treasures-beneath-the-surface.mp3 0:06 3 full Calanques National Park: The Cave That Sank https://qualla.com/calanques-national-park/ Photo credit Lionel Aristote, CC BY-SA 3.0. The park's most extraordinary secret lies beneath Morgiou point. The Cosquer Cave -- named for Henri Cosquer, the professional diver who discovered its submerged entrance in 1985 -- contains prehistoric paintings and engravings dating from 27,000 to 19,000 years ago. Its entrance...

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Image: Lionel Aristote | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/p/e/v/calanques-national-park-wk/spev-calanques-national-park-the-cave-that-sank.mp3 0:06 4 full Calanques National Park: Fire, Wind, and 140 Species https://qualla.com/calanques-national-park/ Photo credit Indigo&fushia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Despite appearances, the Calanques are not barren. The park shelters 140 protected species across habitats that range from the garigue scrubland on the ridges to the Posidonia seagrass meadows offshore. Bonelli's eagles hunt the thermals. The Mediterranean climate pushes summer t...

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Image: Indigo&fushia | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/s/p/e/v/calanques-national-park-wk/spev-calanques-national-park-fire-wind-and-140-species.mp3 0:06 5 full