Mountain land restoration collection

These photographs take us to the mountains and forests, streams and glaciers, landscapes and villages of the past, where we meet the inhabitants and the foresters. Most of the photographs come from the Archives Nationales.

Access to the digitized documents

This photographic ensemble comes from the former administration of the ENEF. It was produced in the context of a large-scale policy on the restoration of mountain land (RTM).It is an outstanding collection of several thousand photographs relating to the work undertaken in the mountains to combat the catastrophic floods that occurred between the 1880s and the First World War. Among others, it documents dams, nurseries, planting works, canals, torrents, avalanche paths and landslides.

Photographic campaigns were carried out on these same sites at regular intervals. This historical approach was invested with scientific objectivity, because at the time, photography played the role of witness, or even of proof. It served as a form of "propaganda" intended to legitimise this strategy, which was launched on a large scale (18 departments involved) in all the mountainous areas of France, and which also had a long-term perspective.

The photographs are supplemented by other documents such as drawings, sketches, plans and sections. They are all captioned and documented according to a precise protocol, which gives this exceptional collection a unique scientific and technical value.

Origin of the documents

The collection by department

Chronology

On the same subject

  • Fewer sheep, more dairies
    Dairy school at Marignac, 1899, Haute-Garonne
    Mountainous Area

    Fewer sheep, more dairies

    At the end of the 19th century, the policy of restoring land in the mountains imposes the reforestation of traditional rangelands, which entails the expropriation of peasants and prohibits them from grazing their sheep and goats. Faced with this unfavourable situation for mountain dwellers, some foresters encourage them to develop cattle rearing, which enables them to produce butter and cheese, processed products that provide a better income.

  • Reforestation at altitude: from species selection to “flying nurseries”
    photographie de Billecard, 1899 : La Bâtie Neuve, pépinière volante de pin cembro, périmètre de Durance-Luye.
    Mountainous Area

    Reforestation at altitude: from species selection to “flying nurseries”

    Starting from 1860, but especially after 1882, reforesting entire areas of the Alps or Pyrenees becomes a national policy, implemented by the mountain land restoration services (RTM). The goal is to reforest in order to stabilize the land and silence the torrents. Reforestation involves selecting species suited to the altitudes and conditions of the mountains. It also requires organizing production in "flying nurseries" or in valleys for the most suitable tree species.