Vallée de l'Orne et ses affluents translated as Orne Valley and tributaries is aNatura 2000 conservation area that is 2,115 hectares in size.[1]
The area is focused onOrne and 3 of its main tributaries, the laize, the Noireau and theRouvre, as they flow through the different landscapes ofNorman Switzerland.[2] These landscapes range from deep gorges, torrential or slow-flowing rivers, wet meadows,alluvial forests,escarpments,scree slopes,siliceous ledges, enclosed woods and hedgerows.[3]
It is spread across 21 different communes all within the departments ofOrne andcalvados;[2]
The conservation area has seventeen species listed in Annex 2 of theHabitats Directive;[4]
In addition the Natura 2000 site has eighteen habitats protected under theHabitats Directive.[4]