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Just
to the north of Arles, Provence’s chief Roman metropolis,
the river Rhône divides into two: to the west the "petit
Rhône" flows down to the "petite Camargue", Aigues
Mortes, and les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, and to the
east the "grand Rhône" which embraces the salt
works (Salin de Giraud) and the petro-chemical industrial
complexes of Port St.Louis, Port de Bouc, and Fos sur Mer.
Between and around them lies the vast delta of salt marsh known
as the Camargue. Created by the ebb flow and collision of the
great river from the north, swollen by melting Alpine snows,
and from
the southeast buffeted by a robust riposte of the "houle" (sea
swell) which douses the salt flats, forever re-designing intricate
patterns of pools, ponds, and lagoons "étangs",
among sandbars and desolate marshland. |
