QR Les Martres-de-Veyre 2
The Petit Saladis
Unlike its predecessor, the Petit Saladis spring creates a short drainage channel that quickly infiltrates the alluvial terrace. Its course is marked upstream by red iron deposits followed by lighter carbonate and salt deposits. Halophilous plants grow on both sides. The water from the spring, with a chemical composition very similar to that of the Grand Saladis basin, has a temperature of around 20°C and a flow rate of 2 litres per minute.
Prior to the development and enhancement work carried out by the town of Les Martres-de-Veyre, the spring was caught in a concrete culvert where the water seemed to bubble constantly due to the high carbon dioxide emissions. Iron oxide deposits on the walls of the culvert gave the water a dark red colour. Yet neither its appearance nor its bacterial concentration fully discouraged visitors from drinking it, some opting to believe in the reputation that mineral water has of possessing beneficial properties.