The
Camargue is a triangular area lying on the coast between the Languedoc-Roussillon
and Provence. It is a river delta where the Rhône
meets the sea - a marshy island bounded by two branches of the Rhône
and the Mediterranean
Sea. With an area of over 930 km² (360 sq. miles), the Camargue is western
Europe's largest river delta, with exceptional biological diversity, and home
to unique breeds of horses and bulls, and to more than 400 species of birds including
pink flamingos.
Much of the area is under water - inland salt water lakes,
called étangs in the Languedoc. Approximately a third
of the Camargue is either lakes or marshland. 
The
largest of these salt water lakes is the Étang du
Vaccarès. Established as a national park and nature
reserve in 1972, the Parc Régional de Camargue covers
820 km² including some of the wildest and most protected
in Europe. It is a major world heritage wetland. A roadside
museum provides background on flora, fauna, and the history
of the area.
In all, the Camargue covers around 140,000 hectares, including wetlands, pastures, dunes and salt flats.
Camargue animals
Camargue Bulls
The
Camargue is home to a specialised breed of bull. These bulls
run in semi-liberty. They are noticeably smaller that most
modern breeds of bull.
They
are raised for their distinctive meat which has a high reputation
among gourmets. It is served in local dishes and in stews.
Bulls are also used in a form of bull running, during which
young men called razeteurs try to pick a cockade fixed between
the horns of a running bull. The bravest bulls are not killed.
In fact very bravest of them warrant their own statues.
This kind of bullrunning dates back to the Sixteenth century
at least.
Camargue horses
Camargue
horses form distinct breed, which, like the Camargue
bulls, live in semi-liberty.The Camargue
is one of the oldest breeds in the world, closely related
to the prehistoric horses whose remains have been found
elsewhere in southern France. At birth they are coloured
dark brown or black, but turn white around the fourth year
(In layman's terms they are white horses, but to horsy folk
they are grey, since they are not uniformly pure white all
over).
Like the Camargue bulls, Camargue horses are smaller than their modern cousins. At around thirteen or fourteen hands they are technically ponies. They are used in rounding up Camargue bulls. They are never stabled, but well able to survive the humid summer heat and the biting winter cold.
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Camargue horses and gardians 
Pink Flamingoes
The
Camargue the only place in France (and one of the few anywhere
around the Mediterranean) where pink flamingos nest. The
flamingo population can reach 20,000 couples grouped into
flocks. They favour raised nests built out of mud.
Flamingoes
eat mainly plankton, and are adapted to do so - much like baleen whales: they
suck water in through their bills and expel it over fine filters in their mouths
straining the plankton. It is this plankton, not as sometimes claimed crustacea,
that are responsible for the flamingo's pink plumage.
The flamingo is the emblem of Camargue - a modern wheeze to appeal to tourists.
Other Animals.
Other Camarguese animals include sheep, wild boar, beavers, badgers; tree frogs, water snakes, pond turtles, along with a rich array of some 400 types of bird, some of which are mentioned below.
Camargue Weather.
The
climate of the Camargue can be harsh, ranging from scorching
heat in summer, sometimes with 100% humidity, to desiccating
cold whipped by icy winds from the Alps in winter.
The area is also subject to the famous Mistral wind. blowing from the north- north-west down the Rhône Valley
Camargue Ecology
An
area covering 85,000 hectares of the Camargue was designated
as a nature reserve in 1927. This area was granted National
Park status in 1970. Efforts are now made to maintain the
fragile equilibrium between the indigenous ecosystems on
the one hand and human activities (tourism, agriculture,
industry and hunting) on the other.
The north of the Camargue is mainly agricultural land. Main crops are cereals, grapevines and rice.
The centre and south of Camargue is a more natural area, characterised by a brackish saline ecosystem. Flora of the Camargue is adapted to these conditions. Sea lavender and glasswort flourish along with tamarisks, reeds, juniper trees, wild irises wild rosemary. The juniper trees growing to a height of 6m form the woodland on the islands between the Étang du Vaccarès and the sea (Bois des Rièges).
The
étangs. These salt water lagoons are surrounded
by sand dunes. Originally sculpted by the wind they are
now man-made - at least around Salin-de-Giraud. They are
where salt is produced - dried by the sun and wind in immense
spaces called "salins". This salt was a source
of great wealth for the so-called "salt abbeys"
of Ulmet and Psalmody in the Middle Ages. The salt industry
started up again in the nineteenth century and big chemicals
companies founded the salt extraction city of Salin-de-Giraud.
Today, evaporation pans at Salin-de-Giraud - the largest
in Europe - extend over 11,000 hectares and produce some
1,000,000 metric tons a year, Sodium and chlorine from the
salt are used in many chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Low-lying
salt plains (sansouires) dry out and crack in summer. They
are carpeted with glasswort (grazed by the wild bulls and
Camargue horses). These plains are submerged in winter but
in the spring they re-emerge as wetlands for marsh birds
such as black-winged stilts, godwits, and sandpipers.
The
Étang de Vaccarès. This is the largest
of the étangs, surrounded by reeds and sansouires.
It is a large body of water extending 6 000 hectares (23
sq. miles) and is central to the water control system of
the delta. It receives water from three main canals constructed
to drain off the minor lagoons. It is is less than 2 meters
deep.
Water that used to come from regular flooding of the River Rhône (before a sea dike was built). Today it collects the runoff from the surrounding rice paddies. Its exposure to sun and wind make it an efficient water purification system. Here you will find coots, diving ducks and fishing birds such as grebes, terns, seagulls, and those famous pink flamingos. Other Ponds and marshes cover a large part of the river delta. Marshes are subject to the vagaries of the Mediteranean Climate and may dry up in summer. Ponds are the habitats of choice for migratory and sedentary birds including egrets, night herons, bitterns, mallards and wagtails. They are also home to innumerable insects, including the most ferocious mosquitoes to be found in France.
The
sea dike. A dike was built in the nineteenth century to contain the delta,
and prevent flooding by incoming sea water. This digue à la mer (dyke of
the Sea) is about 20 km long. On the east it borders some of the Salin-de-Giraud
salt farms. To the west beyond dunes are stabilised by chestnut wood palisades
to retain the sand ("ganivelles"). They have their own specialised flora
including marram grass, sand lily, dog's tooth, and spurge). The area attracts
sterns, avocets, kentish plovers and of course of seagulls).
Woodlands. Woodland accounts for a small part of Camargue physically, but plays an important part in the balance of nature. Woodlands lie along the River Rhône and on sand dunes south of Vaccarès. Wooded areas provide habitat for many mammals, including rodents, foxes, and wild boar; and insects which attract nesting birds such as little egrets and night herons.
There are also rice paddies and vineyards.
Physical Geography of the Camargue
Approximate coordinates 43°32'N 4°30'E .
The
Camargue has a coastline some 30 miles in length and an
area of 290 sq. m., of which about a quarter consists of
cultivated fertile land. Its average elevation is from 8
ft to 62 feet above sea level. Some of the étangs
are remnants of old arms of the river (Remember those oxbow
lakes from school geography lessons?). Flooding remains
a "problem" across the region. Despite the dikes
and embankments, the boundaries of the Camargue are still
changed by the River
Rhône as it transports huge quantities of silt
and mud downstream - some 20 million cubic metres annually.
Though constrained by the sea dike, the natural tendency
as in all river deltas is for the coastline to move outwards.
Aigues
Mortes was on the coast when it was built - it was built
specifically as sea port in the thirteenth century when
France annexed this land. It is now some 5 km (3 miles)
inland.
The
Camargue lies within the departément of Bouches du Rhône ("Mouths
of the Rhône").
In the city of Arles, the River
Rhône divides into two branches, the Petit Rhône (Little Rhône)
to the west and the Grand Rhône (Great Rhône) to the east. The Petit
Rhône flows into the Mediterranean Sea west of Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer,
while the Grand Rhône flows into the Mediterranean Sea east of Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône.
The south-eastern part of the Camargue is called the Ile du Plan du Bourg.
A secondary delta to the west of the Petit Rhone is known as the Petite Camargue. (little Camargue), which lies is in the Gard département.
Camargue Economy
Tourism
is a major source of income. The Camargue is visited by
over one million tourists each year. They come to see the
unique flora and fauna of the area - the famous Camargue
horses, bulls, and birds - including the famous flamingos
which provide a marketing brand of the Camargue National
Park. Though the Étang du Vaccarès and the
central islands are out of bounds, there are paths and sea
dikes from which wildlife can be observed, as well as special
nature trails. Ideal months for bird-watching are the mating
period of April to June, with the greatest number of flamingos
present between April and September.
Salt
marshes near Salin-de-Giraud in the southeast corner of the Camargue are famous
for their salt production, producing up to 15,000 tons a day in the summer. Salt
is produced along the final stretch of the Grand Rhône, an industry that
dates back to Romans times (first century AD). This is one of the biggest salt
works anywhere in the world. Some is used as table salt. Fleur De Sel de Camargue
("flours of salt") is hand raked and harvested. Only the premium, top
layer of the salt bed is used for this. The name Fleur De Sel comes from the aroma
of flours - violets in particular - that develops as the salt dries. In the past,
glassworts and salt crystals were incinerated to yield soda for soap making and
glassmaking, but this plant soda was replaced by industrial soda by the end of
the 19th century.
After the Second World War, the northern marshes of the Camargue were drained and then irrigated with fresh water. The main crop planted, rice, was so successful was it that by the 1960s the Camargue was supplying three-quarters of French demand for rice. Other crops include wheat, rapeseed and fruit orchards.
Vines
were also reintroduced after the war. They are unique in
France in surviving the Phylloxera pandemic that destroyed
all the other vineyards in France in the nineteenth century.
(So all other existing French vines are derived from rootstocks
re-imported into France). The reason that these vines survived
the disease is that their roots and stems were under water.
Camargue Foods
Camargue beef. The meat of the Camargue bull is the only beef to have been protected by an 'appellation d'origine contrôlée' (registered designation of origin) in recent times. This meat comes from two breeds of fighting bull: the local Camargue bull (related to the Spanish fighting bull) and the 'brave' breed (descended from Camargue fighting bulls). Bulls are bred in the hills and plains of Lauragais, in the region of the Camargue, and in the mountainous regions of the Pyrenees, Aubrac, Cévennes and Margeride. Stuffed with Camargue rice, it is a speciality of Grau du Roi.
Ollada, or ouillade Beef stew.
Gardiane. A Camargue speciality, this is a 'daube' (a slow-cooked beef stew) made with bull's meat. Cut into cubes and seared in olive oil, the meat is then added to the other ingredients: vegetables, black olives, garlic and smoked bacon, doused in red wine. This dish is usually served with Camargue rice.
Rice. The Camargue's round and long varieties of rice account for a quarter of all rice eaten in France (it used to be three-quarters).
Tellinas. Tellinas or "sunset shells" are small shellfish that thrive in the sands of Camargue. They are cooked a la mariniere (ie with onions, herbs and white wine) or with persillade (chopped parsley and garlic)
Camargue Tourist Information
The
national nature reserve. Commissioned in 1927, the Reserve
covers 13,117 ha from north of the Vaccarès Lagoon
to the sea. It is a complex mix of fresh water and brackish
wetlands. The public is admitted as far as the sea dike
and the zone of la Capelière, the information centre
of the park's administrators (the French National Society
for the Protection of the Environment). Most of the park
is freely accessible, but not all. Traffic is restricted
for example along the Sea dike. Dogs and other domestic
animals are permitted only in the visitor's centre, not
in the park.
This is not a holiday destination for those interested in the more raucous and vacuous types of vacation. This is more for people with an interest in outdoors activities, ecology, wildlife and history.
Riding, walking and cycling. Horses - Camargue horses - are the best means of discovering Camargue.
The Association Camarguaise de Tourisme Equestre in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, offers guided tours for all levels of horsemanship. Phone: +33 (0) 4 90 97 83 23.
For hikers the Camargue offers three large discovery circuits:
Parc
Naturel Régional de Camargue. Website - 
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