Étang de Thau
Encyclopedia
Étang de Thau or Bassin de Thau is the largest of a string of étangs (lake
s) that stretch along the Languedoc-Roussillon
, French
coast from the Rhône River
to the foothills of the Pyrenees
which form the border to Spain
. It is the second largest lake in France.
It is about 21 km long and 8 km wide, with an area of 7,012 hectares. The mean depth of the étang is 4.5m, but in the central navigation channel it can be 10 metres deep. Near Bouzigues
there is a 100 metre diameter depression of 30 metres. This 'Fosse de la Vise' is the source of a hot spring that feeds the spa in Balaruc
.
Its size and depth, which distinguish it from other lagoons of the region, is explained by the geomorphology
of the region: it is the anticline
formed from folding
which produced the corresponding syncline
of the Gardiole in the north east.
Until relatively recently the étangs from Marseillan
to the Rhône
were a continuous stretch of inland waterway. Early settlers described this as 'une petite mer intérieure et tranquille'. It provided access to, in particular, Marseillan - a fishing village that became a trade centre.
Linked, now, by the Canal du Rhône à Sète
to the river Rhône and by the Canal du Midi
to Bordeaux
via Toulouse
, the étang also has access to the Mediterranean
at Sète
. There is also a small canal 'le canal des Allemands' or the 'pisse-saume' that links the western end to the sea at Marseillan Plage. This canal is only suitable for small craft since both road and railway bridges restrict height.
To the east, between Balaruc and Sète, the borders of the lagoon are largely industrial. The south bank is formed by the coastal strip from Sète to Cap d'Agde
. The northern side has villages dedicated to fishing and the production of shellfish. There are harbours in the towns of Marseillan, Mèze and Bouzigues, with smaller ports dedicated to shellfish on the northern shore.
and Marseillan
in the Hérault
département, the Étang de Thau is shared administratively by the communes
of (running clockwise): Balaruc-le-Vieux
, Balaruc-les-Bains
, Frontignan
, Sète, Marseillan, Mèze
, Loupian
and Bouzigues
.
Open to the sea the étang has fish such as the dorade (bream), but more importantly a thriving shellfish industry. 18 sorts of shellfish are taken from the étang - the most important being oyster
s. 750 producers farm 2,750 oyster tables and take some 13,000 tonnes annually. This provides for about 8.5% of France's consumption. Oysters from the Étang de Thau are marketed under the name of huîtres de Bouzigues (Bouzigues Oysters) after the village where oyster production started. They are a flat variety. Fixed with cement to ropes, the young oysters are immersed in the water until they reach a size suitable for consumption. Thau water is graded A and so shellfish can be caught and consumed within minutes.
In addition to oysters, some 3,000 tonnes of mussels are produced every year.
Apart from fishing and shellfish, the Étang de Thau provides income through tourism, particularly via sailing schools.
The Bassin de Thau provides a habitat for a variety of wild animals, notably birds (herons, pink flamingos
) and a rich marine fauna (jellyfish
, fish
, algae
).
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
s) that stretch along the Languedoc-Roussillon
Languedoc-Roussillon
Languedoc-Roussillon is one of the 27 regions of France. It comprises five departments, and borders the other French regions of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Rhône-Alpes, Auvergne, Midi-Pyrénées on the one side, and Spain, Andorra and the Mediterranean sea on the other side.-Geography:The region is...
, French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
coast from the Rhône River
Rhône River
The Rhone is one of the major rivers of Europe, rising in Switzerland and running from there through southeastern France. At Arles, near its mouth on the Mediterranean Sea, the river divides into two branches, known as the Great Rhone and the Little Rhone...
to the foothills of the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
which form the border to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. It is the second largest lake in France.
Description
Bouzigues
Bouzigues is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France.-Population:-References:*...
there is a 100 metre diameter depression of 30 metres. This 'Fosse de la Vise' is the source of a hot spring that feeds the spa in Balaruc
Balaruc
Balaruc is a former commune of the Hérault department in southern France. It was suppressed in 1886 and split into two new separate communes:* Baillargues-et-Colombier, renamed Balaruc-les-Bains in 1908, and* Balaruc-le-Vieux...
.
Its size and depth, which distinguish it from other lagoons of the region, is explained by the geomorphology
Geomorphology
Geomorphology is the scientific study of landforms and the processes that shape them...
of the region: it is the anticline
Anticline
In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is convex up and has its oldest beds at its core. The term is not to be confused with antiform, which is a purely descriptive term for any fold that is convex up. Therefore if age relationships In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is...
formed from folding
Fold (geology)
The term fold is used in geology when one or a stack of originally flat and planar surfaces, such as sedimentary strata, are bent or curved as a result of permanent deformation. Synsedimentary folds are those due to slumping of sedimentary material before it is lithified. Folds in rocks vary in...
which produced the corresponding syncline
Syncline
In structural geology, a syncline is a fold, with younger layers closer to the center of the structure. A synclinorium is a large syncline with superimposed smaller folds. Synclines are typically a downward fold, termed a synformal syncline In structural geology, a syncline is a fold, with younger...
of the Gardiole in the north east.
Until relatively recently the étangs from Marseillan
Marseillan, Hérault
Marseillan is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France.It lies some west of Montpellier.Marseillan sits on a large salt-water lake, the Étang de Thau and is the southern Entreport for the Canal du Midi....
to the Rhône
Rhône River
The Rhone is one of the major rivers of Europe, rising in Switzerland and running from there through southeastern France. At Arles, near its mouth on the Mediterranean Sea, the river divides into two branches, known as the Great Rhone and the Little Rhone...
were a continuous stretch of inland waterway. Early settlers described this as 'une petite mer intérieure et tranquille'. It provided access to, in particular, Marseillan - a fishing village that became a trade centre.
Linked, now, by the Canal du Rhône à Sète
Canal du Rhône à Sète
The Canal du Rhône à Sète is a canal in southern France, which connects the Étang de Thau in Sète to the Rhône River in Beaucaire, Gard. At the entrance to the Étang de Thau, the canal connects with the Canal du Midi....
to the river Rhône and by the Canal du Midi
Canal du Midi
The is a long canal in Southern France . The canal connects the Garonne River to the on the Mediterranean and along with the Canal de Garonne forms the Canal des Deux Mers joining the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. The canal runs from the city of Toulouse down to the Étang de Thau...
to Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
via Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
, the étang also has access to the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
at Sète
Sète
Sète is a commune in the Hérault department in Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France. Its inhabitants are called Sétois....
. There is also a small canal 'le canal des Allemands' or the 'pisse-saume' that links the western end to the sea at Marseillan Plage. This canal is only suitable for small craft since both road and railway bridges restrict height.
To the east, between Balaruc and Sète, the borders of the lagoon are largely industrial. The south bank is formed by the coastal strip from Sète to Cap d'Agde
Cap d'Agde
Cap d'Agde is the seaside resort of the town of Agde, France, on the Mediterranean sea in the département of Hérault, within the région of Languedoc-Roussillon. Agde can be reached by TGV SNCF train direct from Paris or Lille whilst the closest airports are Béziers-Cap d'Agde en Languedoc, with...
. The northern side has villages dedicated to fishing and the production of shellfish. There are harbours in the towns of Marseillan, Mèze and Bouzigues, with smaller ports dedicated to shellfish on the northern shore.
Administration
Located between the towns of SèteSète
Sète is a commune in the Hérault department in Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France. Its inhabitants are called Sétois....
and Marseillan
Marseillan, Hérault
Marseillan is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France.It lies some west of Montpellier.Marseillan sits on a large salt-water lake, the Étang de Thau and is the southern Entreport for the Canal du Midi....
in the Hérault
Hérault
Hérault is a department in the south of France named after the Hérault river.-History:Hérault is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
département, the Étang de Thau is shared administratively by the communes
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
of (running clockwise): Balaruc-le-Vieux
Balaruc-le-Vieux
Balaruc-le-Vieux is a commune in the Hérault department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France.-Population:-References:*...
, Balaruc-les-Bains
Balaruc-les-Bains
Balaruc-les-Bains is a commune in the Hérault department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France.-Population:-See also:*Communes of the Hérault department* Balaruc* Étang de Thau* Communauté d'agglomération du Bassin de Thau-References:...
, Frontignan
Frontignan
Frontignan la Peyrade is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France.Frontignan is renowned for its AOC wine, the Muscat de Frontignan, a sweet wine made solely from the Muscat grape variety.-Sights:...
, Sète, Marseillan, Mèze
Mèze
Mèze is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France.Its inhabitants are called Mézois.-Geography:...
, Loupian
Loupian
Loupian is a commune in the Hérault département in southern France.-References:*...
and Bouzigues
Bouzigues
Bouzigues is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France.-Population:-References:*...
.
Economy and natural resources
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
s. 750 producers farm 2,750 oyster tables and take some 13,000 tonnes annually. This provides for about 8.5% of France's consumption. Oysters from the Étang de Thau are marketed under the name of huîtres de Bouzigues (Bouzigues Oysters) after the village where oyster production started. They are a flat variety. Fixed with cement to ropes, the young oysters are immersed in the water until they reach a size suitable for consumption. Thau water is graded A and so shellfish can be caught and consumed within minutes.
In addition to oysters, some 3,000 tonnes of mussels are produced every year.
Apart from fishing and shellfish, the Étang de Thau provides income through tourism, particularly via sailing schools.
Wildlife
Greater Flamingo
The Greater Flamingo is the most widespread species of the flamingo family. It is found in parts of Africa, southern Asia , and southern Europe...
) and a rich marine fauna (jellyfish
Jellyfish
Jellyfish are free-swimming members of the phylum Cnidaria. Medusa is another word for jellyfish, and refers to any free-swimming jellyfish stages in the phylum Cnidaria...
, fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
, algae
Algae
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
).
External links
- http://www.thauenimages.fr Website of panoramic photos of the Thau lagoon and its region
- Photos of the Etang de Thau}
- Thau fisheries
- Info on Thau and oysters