Vaucluse

Close to Apt, two famous places where coloured earth is extracted are Gargas and Rustrel. A company still extracts large quantities of ochreous sands in opencast quarries. Their colours vary from yellow to red, with sometimes greenish or purplish seams.
The quarries of Roussillon and Jean-Jean have been closed. The old galleries have been transformed into mushroom beds.
Vaucluse is France's main production area (approximately 2,000 tonnes per annum).