Camargue

The Camargue (/kæˈmɑːrɡ/,[3][4] also UK: /kəˈ-/,[5] US: /kɑːˈ-/,[6] French: [kamaʁɡ]; Provençal: Camarga) is a coastal region in southern France located south of the city of Arles, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône river delta.

[7] Administratively, it lies within the department of Bouches-du-Rhône (‘Mouths of the Rhône’); it spans portions of the communes of Arles, Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer and Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône.

It is a vast plain comprising large brine lagoons or étangs, cut off from the sea by sandbars and encircled by reed-covered marshes.

The central area around the shoreline of the Étang de Vaccarès has been protected as a regional park since 1927, in recognition of its great importance as a haven for wild birds.

Officially established as a regional park and nature reserve in 1970, the Parc naturel régional de Camargue covers 820 km2 (320 sq mi).

Humans have lived in the Camargue for millennia, greatly affecting it with drainage schemes, dykes, rice paddies and salt pans.

In 1858, the building of the digue à la mer (dyke to the sea) achieved temporary protection of the delta from erosion, but it is a changing landform, always affected by waters and weather.

Industrial salt collection started in the 19th century, and big chemical companies such as Péchiney and Solvay founded the "mining" city of Salin-de-Giraud.

The pace of change has been modified in recent years by man-made barriers, such as dams on the Rhône and sea dykes, but flooding remains a problem across the region.