Camargue
The Camargue a place in France near where the Rhone river flows into the Mediterranean Sea.[1] Before it flows into the sea, the Rhone splits into two smaller rivers, forming a triangle. The Camague is the floodplain in that triangle between the two smaller rivers. This place is the Grande Camargue (Great Camargue). A smaller part just outside the triangle is named the Petite Camague (Little Camargue). The Carmargue is about 150 kilometres (93 mi) long from east to west, and 100 kilometres (62 mi) long from north to south. Part of it is a nature reserve.
The Camargue is important to the animals that live there. Almost 400 types of birds live in the Camargue. There are also black bulls and horses.[1] Many birds stop in the Camargue to rest when they fly south for the winter or north for the summer. There have been 30,000 flamingos there at the same time, and common cranes there as well. There are also European pond turtles. People have brought coypu to live there. As with any wetland, there are mosquitoes. In the Camargue, there are 40 different species of mosquito.[2]
Economy
Few people actually live in the Camargue. Its biggest City is Arles, just north of the triangle. Arles has about 60,000 people, and a long history. The economy in Camargue is based on three things:
- Agriculture – Growing wine, cereals and rice; Raising livestock - there's a special kind of bovine from the Camargue; there are also feral horses in the Camargue
- Tourism – like the rest of Provence and the French Mediterranean coast. There are people who come to visit the nature reserve
- There is little industry and commerce – salt is taken from seawater, and processed. This is mostly done in Salin-de-Giraud, and Aigues-Mortes
Images
Common pochard, a kind of diving duck
Flamingos
Coypu (or nutria) in the forgeground, flamingos in the back
Salt extraction
Rice paddy in Camargue
Special bovines in Camague
Horse-riding near the étang de Vaccarès
Camargue Media
Shoreline of the Étang de Vaccarès
Map of the Camargue region, southern France
Repos des flamands roses de Camargue, territoire du Parc naturel régional de Camargue, Saintes Maries de la Mer
Horses and cattle in the Camargue
A 20th-century "gardian" home. The pole is used to climb up and check the animals
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kimberly Lomato (March 28, 2019). Take a road trip through this wild, beautiful French delta. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/road-trip-through-wild-camargue-delta-arles-provence. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ↑ "Une multitude d'espèces" (in français). January 2, 2022.
