Maquis is dense, evergreen scrub of shrubs and small trees with tough, often aromatic leaves, typical of the hills around the Mediterranean Sea.

What is a Mediterranean climate?

A climate with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. Besides the Mediterranean Basin, it is found in California, central Chile, South Africa's Cape and parts of southern Australia.

Why are wildfires common in Mediterranean regions?

Long, dry summers leave vegetation parched, many plants contain flammable oils and resins, and strong winds can drive fires quickly across the hills.

Where can you see wild tortoises in France?

Hermann's tortoise survives naturally mainly in the Massif des Maures and nearby parts of the Var, and in Corsica. It is protected and should never be taken from the wild.

What is the difference between maquis and garrigue?

Maquis is tall, dense scrub, usually on acidic soils; garrigue is lower, more open scrub of aromatic herbs and small shrubs, usually on limestone.

Scented scrub, stone pines and olive groves above a blue sea in Provence

Mediterranean maquis

3D landscape · Massif des Maures, Provence, France

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Mediterranean climates, with hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters, are found in only five regions of the world: around the Mediterranean Sea, California, central Chile, the Western Cape of South Africa and southwestern and southern Australia. Together they cover only a few percent of Earth's land, yet they hold a remarkable share of its plant species. In this app you can land on the Provence coast near the Massif des Maures in southern France and explore it in interactive 3D: umbrella-shaped stone pines, holm oaks, olive trees and dark Italian cypresses above a rocky shore, with lavender, rockrose (cistus) and other aromatic shrubs between the granite boulders.

Wild boar root through the scrub, red foxes slip between the bushes, yellow-legged gulls wheel over the sea and, if you look closely, a Hermann's tortoise may be plodding across the path. The Massif des Maures is one of the last strongholds of this tortoise in mainland France.

Key facts

Model setting: Massif des Maures, Provence, FranceWooded hills and maquis above the Mediterranean coast in the Var
Climate: Hot, dry summers; mild, wet wintersClassified as Csa in the Köppen system: most rain falls from autumn to spring
Mediterranean regions: Five in the worldMediterranean Basin, California, central Chile, Cape Region and southwestern and southern Australia
Plant diversity: About 25,000–30,000 speciesIn the Mediterranean Basin, with a large share found nowhere else; a global biodiversity hotspot
Maquis vs garrigue: Tall scrub vs low scrubMaquis is dense and head-high; garrigue is lower and more open, on limestone
Cork oak: Bark harvested every 9–12 yearsWithout felling the tree; the Maures has extensive cork oak woods
Hermann's tortoise: Endangered in FranceWild populations survive mainly in the Var and Corsica
Mistral: A cold, dry northerly windFunnels down the Rhône valley; it can fan wildfires in summer

The Mediterranean climate

In a Mediterranean climate, summer is the hard season: for three or four months there is almost no rain and the sun is strong. Winters are mild, wet and usually frost-free near the coast. This pattern comes from the seasonal shift of high-pressure systems, which settle over the region in summer and move away in winter, letting rain-bearing storms through.

Because plants must survive summer drought rather than winter cold, many are evergreen with small, tough, leathery or hairy leaves that lose little water. Botanists call these sclerophyllous plants. Many are also strongly scented, which is why the maquis smells of resin, thyme, rosemary and lavender on a hot day.

Maquis, garrigue and the Maures

Maquis is dense scrub of evergreen shrubs and small trees, often two to four metres high, typical of acidic soils over granite and schist. On limestone, the vegetation is usually lower and more open, a mix of aromatic herbs and small shrubs called garrigue. With enough time and no fire or grazing, maquis can grow into evergreen forest of holm oak or cork oak.

The Massif des Maures is a range of low, ancient crystalline hills between Hyères and Fréjus, much older than the limestone mountains of most of Provence. Its dark, forested hills plunge to a coast of rocky headlands, small coves and sandy beaches.

Pines, oaks, olives and scented shrubs

Stone pines, with their flat, umbrella-shaped crowns, produce edible pine nuts and are planted along coasts and roads across the Mediterranean. Aleppo and maritime pines are also common. Holm oak keeps its dark, leathery leaves all year, while cork oak grows a thick layer of spongy bark that protects it from fire and is harvested for cork. Olive trees, cultivated in the region for thousands of years, can live for many centuries.

The shrubs include tree heath, strawberry tree, myrtle, mastic, broom, rosemary, lavender and several kinds of rockrose (cistus), whose papery pink or white flowers cover the hills in spring. Tall, narrow Italian cypresses are planted as windbreaks and around old farmhouses.

A landscape shaped by fire

Summer drought, flammable resinous plants and strong winds such as the mistral make Mediterranean scrub prone to wildfires. Many plants are adapted to burning: cork oaks survive behind their insulating bark, holm oaks and many shrubs resprout from their roots, and cistus and some pines release seeds that sprout abundantly after fire.

Large fires have repeatedly swept the Maures, including in 2021. Fires that are too frequent can turn forest into permanent scrub and threaten slow-moving animals like tortoises.

Tortoises, boar and lizards

Hermann's tortoise is the only land tortoise native to mainland France, and it now survives naturally mainly in the Maures and nearby areas of the Var, and in Corsica. It is threatened by habitat loss, fires, roads and collection, and is the subject of a long-running conservation programme, including a tortoise village and rescue centre in the Maures.

Wild boar are common and often root up the ground in search of bulbs and insects. Red foxes, genets, ocellated lizards (Europe's largest lizard), many songbirds, Bonelli's eagles in some areas and colourful bee-eaters in summer are part of the wildlife. Along the coast, yellow-legged gulls nest on cliffs and islets.

People and the Mediterranean landscape

People have shaped Mediterranean landscapes for thousands of years through grazing, terracing, burning, cutting wood and planting olives, vines and chestnuts. Some of the region's most loved scenery, such as olive groves and cypress-lined farms, is a cultural landscape. Today, abandonment of farmland, coastal development, tourism and a warming, drier climate are changing it again.

Surprising facts about Mediterranean maquis

Only five regions on Earth have a Mediterranean climate, but together they hold a disproportionately large share of the world's plant species.
A cork oak's bark can be stripped every nine to twelve years without killing the tree.
Some cistus and pine seeds germinate best after a fire has swept through.
Hermann's tortoises in France survive in the wild mainly in one area of the Var and on Corsica.
The Massif des Maures is made of ancient crystalline rock, unlike most of limestone Provence.
The scent of the maquis comes from oils in leaves that help plants cope with heat and deter grazing animals.

Frequently asked questions

What is maquis?: Maquis is dense, evergreen scrub of shrubs and small trees with tough, often aromatic leaves, typical of the hills around the Mediterranean Sea.
What is a Mediterranean climate?: A climate with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. Besides the Mediterranean Basin, it is found in California, central Chile, South Africa's Cape and parts of southern Australia.
Why are wildfires common in Mediterranean regions?: Long, dry summers leave vegetation parched, many plants contain flammable oils and resins, and strong winds can drive fires quickly across the hills.
Where can you see wild tortoises in France?: Hermann's tortoise survives naturally mainly in the Massif des Maures and nearby parts of the Var, and in Corsica. It is protected and should never be taken from the wild.
What is the difference between maquis and garrigue?: Maquis is tall, dense scrub, usually on acidic soils; garrigue is lower, more open scrub of aromatic herbs and small shrubs, usually on limestone.

Keep exploring

The landscapes in Ember’s Universe are procedural 3D scenes modelled on real places. The landforms, plants and light follow the real thing, but the details are generated, not mapped.

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