Gabon - Lastourville caves

The caves of Lastoursville constitute is a cultural landscape associative, occupying an area of ​​9,000 hectares. They are located in the dense forest zone of the center-east, the second equatorial transition zone of central Gabon. The region is uniformly covered with forest. This is the region of the great forest called "bees", an area occupied by a primary forest not yet started by humans. This forest monotony is sometimes interrupted by the existence of savannas. The region is crossed from east to west by the Ogooué, river which drains into its basin of important affluents: the Sebé and the Lassio on the right; the Leyou and the Lolo on the left. Among other things, the fall of Doume, whose Sessengué and Matemo rapids intersect the profile of the river. It constitutes with South Gabon the two karst regions of the country. The dolomitic formation of Lastourville, of the Francevillian type, is a sedimentary basin, mainly silesopelitic, presenting in particular carbonate formations with dolomite character. Over an area of ​​150 km², nearly 35 cavities have been identified in four concentration zones: Lihouma, Lastoursville, Kessipougou and Bambikani