Torrent Control in the French Alps
In southeastern France we found the same condition of intensive use of land on valley
floors and on steep, terraced slopes. In the French Alps, population pressure on land of
the plains has pushed the cultivation line up the slopes into mountains and has denuded
grassy meadows by overgrazing. This excessive use of the mountainous areas in the
French Alps unleashed torrential floods that for more than a century ravaged productive
Alpine valleys. Erosional debris was swept down by recurring torrential floods to bury
fields, orchards, and villages; to cut lines of communication; and to kill inhabitants of
the valleys.
So serious became this menace to the welfare of the region that the French Government,
after much study and legislation, undertook in 1882 a constructive program of torrent
control. Since that time hundreds of millions of francs have been spent for works of
torrent control that are remarkably successful.
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