Jardin des Fontaines Pétrifiantes La Sône

Useful Information

Location:	184 Impasse des Tufières, 38840 La Sône. (45.1129916, 5.2825530)
Open:	daily 10-18:15, last entry 17. Online booking recommended. [2025]
Fee:	MAY to JUN, SEP: Adults EUR 12, Children (11-17) EUR 10.80, Children (4-10) EUR 7.20, Children (0-3) free, Students EUR 10.80, Diasbaled EUR 10.80, Unemployed EUR 10.80. JUL to AUG: Adults EUR 13, Children (11-17) EUR 11.80, Children (4-10) EUR 8.20, Children (0-3) free, Students EUR 11.80, Diasbaled EUR 11.80, Unemployed EUR 11.80. [2025]
Classification:	Tufa Deposits Karst Spring
Light:	n/a
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided, D=75 min.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Jardin des Fontaines Pétrifiantes, 184 Impasse des Tufières, 38840 La Sône, Tel: +33-4-76-64-43-42.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

Description

Jardin des Fontaines Pétrifiantes La Sône (Garden of the Petrifying Fountains La Sône) is, as the name says, a garden or park. But the special thing here is, it is also a karst spring, and the limestone rich water forms tufa and petrifies the plants in the spring. It flows only a short distance, then it reaches a cliff, and it forms a waterfall over this cliff. It is a pretty short tributary of the Isère river, which flows only 35 m from the waterfall. The petryfying effect is obviously increased by the waterfall, the water sprays down, has a larger surface, and carbon dioxide vanishes into the air. As a result the water is not able to keep the limestone dissolved, which immediately precipitates.

The site is a botanical garden which is very well-kept and quite popular, Unfortunately they are not interested in the geology of the place, so we were not able to find out much more. We guess the site is man made in the sense that there was a quarry for the construction of nearby Château de la Sône. The abandoned quarry was turned into a botanical garden, and the water started to deposit more limestone as soon as it formed the waterfall.