<P> As of 2008, the cave contained black mold . In January 2008, authorities closed the cave for three months, even to scientists and preservationists . A single individual was allowed to enter the cave for 20 minutes once a week to monitor climatic conditions . Now only a few scientific experts are allowed to work inside the cave and just for a few days a month but the efforts to remove the mold have taken a toll, leaving dark patches and damaging the pigments on the walls . In 2009 it was announced: Mould problem "stable". In 2011 the fungus seemed to be in retreat after the installment of an additional, even stricter conservation program . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section does not cite any sources . Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (December 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section does not cite any sources . Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (December 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> In its sedimentary composition, the Vézère drainage basin covers one fourth of the département of the Dordogne, the northernmost region of the Black Périgord . Before joining the Dordogne River near Limeuil, the Vézère flows in a south - westerly direction . At its centre point, the river's course is marked by a series of meanders flanked by high limestone cliffs that determine the landscape . Upstream from this steep - sloped relief, near Montignac and in the vicinity of Lascaux, the contours of the land soften considerably; the valley floor widens, and the banks of the river lose their steepness . </P>

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