4.1. Site description
The study site was a limestone quarry near the town of Saint-
Jeoire, in Haute-Savoie, France (see Fig. 4(a)). This area is part of
the Chablais Massif, a klippe belonging to the French pre-Alps.
Formed by the alpine orogeny, erosion, and the scouring of glacial
valleys, the Chablais is composed of allochthonous material overlying
autochthonous terrains. Geometrical relationships between
the different geological units indicate that the Chablais pre-Alps are the result of complex processes operating over a substantial period
of time. The area is characterized by a succession of north-south
oriented structures, produced by the east-west component of the
tectonic movement. However, the study site is situated on the edge
of the area affected by this geological process and the main structural
features we observed are mostly oriented northwestsoutheast.
In addition, some local structural events were oriented
almost perpendicular (southwest-northeast) to this main orientation,
when sediments crumpled under the tectonic pressure. We
were also aware that some of the fractures in the rock might be
related to blasting operations in the quarry. The study area is shown
in Figs. 4(b) and 7.