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The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1998
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Epic Interactive Encyclopedia, The - 1998 Edition (1998)(Epic Marketing).iso
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Dordogne
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1992-09-02
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River in SW France, rising in Puy-de-Dome
departement and flowing 490 km/300 mi to join
the river Garonne, 23 km/14 mi N of Bordeaux.
It gives its name to a departement and is a
major source of hydroelectric power. The
valley of the Dordogne is a popular tourist
area, and the caves of the wooded valleys of
its tributary, the Vezere, have signs of
early human occupation. Famous sites include
Cro Magnon, Moustier, and the Lascaux caves,
discovered in 1940, which have the earliest
known examples of cave art. Images of bulls,
bison, and deer were painted by the CroMagnon
people (named from skeletons found 1868 in
Cro Magnon Cave, near Les Eyzies). The
opening of the Lascaux caves to tourists led
to deterioration of the paintings; the caves
were closed in 1963 and a facsimile opened in
1983.