the most significant. The causse is overhung by the Cross of . A first wooden cross was planted in 1900 or 1907. It was replaced a few years later, on 8 July 1933, a Jubilee year, by a -high iron cross. Until 1945, this cross was the place of large gatherings in honour of Mendois soldiers. This cross has been illuminated since the summer of 1965. The mount also houses the chapel where Privat, the martyr of the Gévaudan, withdrew to. At its foot lies the area of Vabre where can be found the first remains of houses in the city. Opposite this is the Causse d'Auge (northeast) and the Causse du Crouzet (northwest), and the Margeride mountains beyond. To the west is Causse de Changefège, located between Mende and Barjac, which complements the borders of the city. Geology The geology of the city of Mende is very dependent on the surrounding causses and streams that pass through them. The Mont Mimat and the Causse de Changefège are composed of limestone of the "Grands Causses", thus presenting abrupt edges. The other causses (as well as the butte de Fontanille) are composed of limestone of the "Petits Causses" (without these edges). The Lot Valley is composed of marl. The Valley, in the south of Mende, is full of blue marl, leaving one to presuppose that the marl of the town of Mende would be, in part, of the same origin. Finally, the various streams (the Rieucros) of the causses of the north of the city are lined by mica-schist. Hydrology The city of Mende was built on the banks of the Lot. But the Lot is not the only presence of water in the city: Indeed, it has several sources, including those of . The most significant of them is located in the Vabre district, close to the first houses. These sources have also often been channeled and feed the underground water system of the city, visible on the surface through numerous fountains and the old wash house. The streets, such as the Rue du Torrent, attest to the passage of water from Mont Mimat. To the north, on the other side of the Lot, the sources are much more distant, but water is present in the stream known as Rieucros. Climate Mende is subject to an oceanic stream that comes from the Aubrac and Mediterranean and flows from the Cévennes.