This granite and schist outcrop is a major water catchment area in the Massif Central, being located where clouds from the cold Atlantic converge with warm Mediterranean air currents.

In an average year rainfall can measure up to 2,250 mm (89 in), making it the wettest place in France.

Mont Aigoual (1507 metres) was first used by the Tour de France in 1987 on Stage 17 from Millau to Avignon, when Italian rider Silvano Contini (Italy) of Del Tongo was first over the summit.

[7] The climb featured in the 2020 Tour de France on Stage 6 as a summit finish from Le Teil.

The Tour of Mont Aigoual is the semi-fictional cycle race in the book The Rider by Tim Krabbé.