Camargue: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

The Camargue is the land south of Arles, France, between the two arms of the Rhône delta and the Mediterranean Sea. One arm is called the Grand Rhône; the other one is the Petit Rhône. A further expanse of marshy plain, the Petite Camargue (little Camargue), lies just to the west of the Petit Rhône. Administratively it lies within the départment of Bouches-du-Rhône, the appropriately-named "Mouths of the Rhône". The Petite Camargue expanse lies within the Gard départment.

Geography and Location

Aerial map

Geography

With an area of over 360 mi², the Camargue is western Europe's largest river delta (and technically an island, as it is wholly surrounded by water). It is a vast plain comprising large brine lagoons (étangs) cut off from the sea by sandbars and surrounded by reed-covered marshes, which are in turn surrounded by a large cultivated area. Approximately a third of the area is either lakes or marshland. The central area of the Camargue around the shoreline of the Étang de Vaccarés has been protected as a regional park since 1927, in recognition of its great importance as a haven for wild birds. The Parc Régional de Camargue was created in 1970.

Over 400 species of birds live there, with the brine ponds providing one of the few European habitats for the pink flamingo. The marshes are also prime suitable habitats for many insect species, notably (and notoriously) some of the most ferocious mosquitos to be found anywhere in France.

The flora of the Camargue is specially adapted to deal with the saline conditions. Sea lavender and glasswort flourish along with tamarisks and reeds.

Humans have lived in the Camargue for centuries, greatly affecting it with drainage schemes, dykes, rice paddies and salt pans. Much of the outer Camargue has been drained for agricultural purposes. The Camargue has its own eponymous horse breed, the famous white Camaguaise horse ridden by the gardians who rear the region's fighting bulls for export to Spain, as well as sheep.

There are few towns of any size in the Camargue. Its "capital" is Arles, located at the extreme north of the delta where the Rhône forks into its two principal branches. The only other Camaguaise towns of any note are Saintes Marie de la Mer, about 45 km to the southwest, which is the site of the annual Roma pilgrimage, and the medieval fortress-town of Aigues-Mortes on the far western edge.

The boundaries of the Camargue are constantly revised by the Rhône as it transports huge quantities of mud downstream - as much as 20 million m³ annually. Some of the étangs are in fact the remnants of old arms of the river. The general trend is for the coastline to move outwards. Hence, for instance, Aigues-Mortes - on the coast when it was built - is now 5 km (3 miles) inland. The pace of change has been modified somewhat in recent years by man-made barriers, such as dams on the Rhône and sea dykes, but flooding remains a problem across the region.