Bay of Bourgneuf
Bay of Brittany
Baie de Bourgneuf (French)
View from the port with flowering bushes in the foreground, the port in middle distance and the bay stretching to the horizon under a blue sky with few clouds
View of the bay from the port du Bec at Beauvoir-sur-Mer.
Map of the Pays de la Loire region showing the position of the Bay of Bourgneuf on the west coast
Map of the Pays de la Loire region showing the position of the Bay of Bourgneuf on the west coast
Bay of Bourgneuf
Bathymetric map
LocationPays de Retz, Loire-Atlantique,Vendée
Coordinates47°2′N 2°7′W / 47.033°N 2.117°W / 47.033; -2.117
TypeBay
Part ofBay of Biscay
River sourcesCanal de Haute Perche, Falleron
Ocean/sea sourcesAtlantic Ocean
Basin countriesFrance
Max. length27 km (17 mi)
Max. width17 km (11 mi)
Average depth10 m (33 ft)[1]
Max. depth20 m (66 ft)[1]
IslandsNoirmoutier

The Bay of Bourgneuf (French: Baie de Bourgneuf, French pronunciation: [bɛ də buʁnœf]) is a bay situated on the French Atlantic coast, at the border of the Loire-Atlantique and Vendée departments. In the Middle Ages the bay was known as the baie de Bretagne or baye de Bretagne (Bay of Brittany or Brittany Bay).[2]

The bay of Bourgneuf is a vast maritime arc on the French Atlantic coast running from the Pointe Saint-Gildas (south of the Loire estuary) to Beauvoir-sur-Mer and is enclosed by the island of Noirmoutier up to the île du Pilier. It thus includes the south coast of the Pays de Retz, the shore of the Marais breton ('Breton Marshes') and the east coast of Noirmoutier, the latter being connected to the mainland by the notable Passage du Gois and, to the south, the bay connects to the north of the Bay of Biscay by the Strait of Fromentine, crossed by the Noirmoutier Bridge since 1971.

Until the Middle Ages the bay extended over a far greater area. Its shores reached the ports of Machecoul and Challans and was dotted with several islands, notably the Isle of Bouin. Silting of the bed of the bay followed by the creation of the polders and salt pans of the Marais Breton and Noirmoutier, significantly reducing the bay's area.[3]

Climate

The isle of Noirmoutier encloses and shelters the bay and gives it a milder climate. It shares the relatively sunny exposure of the area south of the Loire. At Moutiers en Retz, July and August (22°C) are the warmest months and January (8°C) the coldest.[4] Summers are relatively dry. In winter, snow is infrequent as are periods of intense cold. Overall, annual sunshine is high for the region (over 2300 hours per year like in Noirmoutier) including winter.[4] Autumns are often wet due to coastal storms, even if sunny days remain frequent. A non official temperature of 48°C has been releved here in 18 July of 2022. The climate is submediterranean in the Gaussen climate classification having one dry month (P < 2 × T). According to the Köppen climate classification, the climate is Mediterranean climate Csb.[4]

History

The Marais breton in the bay, became a major salt producer in Brittany, France and Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. The bay bore witness to this activity, such as at the port of Collet, where ships from the Hanseatic League came to load grey salt.[5]

The prosperity of the towns of the bay declined in the 18th century with the reduction of trade due to the silting that hampered production and the navigation of large vessels.[6][7] Silting remains an ongoing issue, due mainly to alluvial sediments from the Loire to the north.[8]

Bourgneuf en Retz, Machecoul, Challans, Beauvoir-sur-Mer, were formerly sea ports on the shores of the Bay of Bourgneuf. The limit of the ancient shoreline can be discerned today as the line of demarcation between bocage and marshland, such as the Marais Poitevin

The 1799 Vendée earthquake, centred between Noirmouitier and Bouin in the south of the bay, estimated at force 6.5, caused widespread damage.

Smuggling

Under the Ancien Régime, this region was the centre of a significant smuggling operation operated by the coureurs de lune (moon runners) who trafficked illegal tobacco, salt, wines, liquour, and Indiennes, on foot, horseback or aboard three-masted lighters known as "chattes", constantly trying to evade capture by customs officers.[9] This traffic was rife and directly or indirectly affected the whole population.

Smuggling was principally operated from the isles of Bouin, Noirmoutier and île d'Yeu, exacerbated by the islands' tax-exempt status at the time.[10]

Principal ports

Flora and fauna

According to Natura 2000, the Marais Breton forms part of a larger geographic zone which also includes the Pays-de-Monts National Forest and the island of Noirmoutier.[11] In 2017 this zone was rated 2, wetland zone of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.[12]

See also

Bibliography

  • Boutin, Émile (1 January 1993). La baie de Bretagne et sa contrebande : sel, vin, tabac, indiennes [The bay of Brittany and its contraband: salt, wine, tobacco, Indian] (in French). Siloë. ISBN 9782908924251.
  • Vincent, Johan (1 July 2011). Le Passage du Gois menacé. un grand projet d'endiguement de la bai de Bourgneuf durant la Seconde Guerre mondiale [The Passage du Gois threatened. a major project to contain the Bay of Bourgneuf during the Second World War] (in French). Siloë. ISBN 978-2842315092.
  • Villalobos, Carlos Alonso; Ménanteau, Loic (2006). "Paléoenvironnements et techniques de production du sel marin (par ignition ou insolation) durant l'Antiquité : les cas des baies de Bourgneuf (France) et de Cadix (Espagne)" [Paleoenvironments and sea salt production techniques (by heating or solar evapouration) during Antiquity: the cases of the bays of Bourgneuf (France) and Cadiz (Spain)]. In Hocquet, Jean-Claude; Sarrazin, Jean-Luc (eds.). Le Sel de la Baie. Histoire, archéologie, ethnologie des sels atlantiques [Salt of the Bay. History, archeology, ethnology of Atlantic salts]. Histoire (in French). Presses universitaires de Rennes. pp. 87–103. ISBN 9782753531994.

References

  1. 1 2 Lièvre, Claire (2005). "La baie de Bourgneuf : l'artificialisation des milieux" [The Bay of Bourgneuf: the artificialisation of the environment]. Travaux du Laboratoire de Géographie Physique Appliquée (in French). 24 (24): 33–50. doi:10.3406/tlgpa.2005.1029.
  2. ↑ Boutin 1993, pp. 1, 50.
  3. ↑ Villalobos & Ménanteau 2006, Section: Las salines de la baie de Bourgneuf.
  4. 1 2 3 "Les Moutiers-en-Retz climate: Average Temperature, weather by month, Les Moutiers-en-Retz water temperature - Climate-Data.org". Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  5. ↑ Boutin 1993, pp. 53–66.
  6. ↑ Boutin 1993, pp. 129–131.
  7. ↑ "L'histoire du Marô - Marais Breton Vendéen" [The history of the Marô - the Vendéen Marais Breton] (in French). Syndicat Mixte Vendée des îles. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  8. ↑ Vincent 2011, pp. 17–19.
  9. ↑ Boutin 1993, pp. 115–116.
  10. ↑ Boutin 1993, pp. 3–4.
  11. ↑ "Marais Breton, baie de Bourgneuf, île de Noirmoutier et forêt de Monts" (in French). Natura 2000. Archived from the original on 26 July 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
  12. ↑ "La France inscrit une vaste zone côtière sur la Liste de Ramsar Ramsar". www.ramsar.org (in French). 2 February 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
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