The thrust fault  

We are close to a very interesting geological structure: a thrust fault.

Along this stretch of the Via Blava, outcrops of two clearly distinct lithologies stand out: Ordovician slates (around 450–440 Ma) belonging to the Prelitoral Range, and grayish and reddish mudstones from the Lower Eocene (around 60 Ma) belonging to the Ebre Depression. The fact that rocks separated by 400 million years of geological history are found in contact is due to a thrust fault, a type of reverse fault. Older materials have been pushed over younger ones.

This thrust fault formed during the Alpine Orogeny, between 55 and 25 million years ago, a period in which the Pyrenees and the Catalan Coastal Ranges were also formed.

Look closely at:

In several places, outcrops of slates can be observed. Llicorella or slate is a metamorphic rock of sedimentary origin, fine and laminated, grayish in color, and suitable for making flat, thin slabs.

Male Iberian green frogs enliven spring evenings with their calls.
In summer, Daubenton’s bats fly low over the river, hunting small insects at the water’s surface. It is one of the most vulnerable bat species in the region.