The Étang de Balistra is a coastal lagoon in the

Corse-du-Sud Corse-du-Sud (; co, link=no, Corsica suttana , or ; en, Southern Corsica) is (as of 2019) an administrative department of France, consisting of the southern part of the island of Corsica. The corresponding departmental territorial collect ...

department of France.

Location

The Étang de Balistra is in the commune of

Bonifacio Bonifacio may refer to: Places * Bonifacio, Corse-du-Sud, a town in Corsica, France * Strait of Bonifacio, separating Corsica from Sardinia * Bonifacio, Misamis Occidental, a municipality in the Philippines * Bonifacio Global City, a central bu ...

. It is separated from the northwest angle of the Golfe de Sant Amanza by the Plage de Balistra, a beach. It is fed by the Ruisseau de Francolu. It lies between the T10 highway and the sea. The lagoon has an area of . It has an average depth of and a greatest depth of . There are some meadows with a few cows to the northwest of the lagoon, and a firing range belonging to the Bonifacio military legion to the south. The ''lido'' (sand bar) is used by campers who access it from a track to the south of the lagoon. The lagoon is privately owned, and the owners do not appear to manage it.

Environment

The pool is surrounded by

maquis shrubland 220px, Low maquis in Corsica 220px, High ''macchia'' in Sardinia ( , , ) or ( , ; often in Italian; hr, makija; ; ) is a shrubland biome in the Mediterranean region, typically consisting of densely growing evergreen shrubs. Maquis is char ...

that descends to the edge of the water. In some places there is a narrow belt of spiny rush (''

Juncus acutus ''Juncus acutus'', the spiny rush, sharp rush or sharp-pointed rush, is a flowering plant in the monocot family Juncaceae found throughout the Americas, Northern and Southern Africa, Western and Southern Europe and West Asia. It grows in salt m ...

''), sea rush (''

Juncus maritimus ''Juncus maritimus'', known as the sea rush, is a species of rush that grows on coastlines. It is sometimes considered conspecific with '' Juncus kraussii''. It has a wide distribution across the western Palearctic realm (all of Europe, western ...

'') and wheatgrass (''

Agropyron ''Agropyron'' is a genus of Eurasian plants in the grass family), native to Europe and Asia but widely naturalized in North America. Species in the genus are commonly referred to as wheatgrass. ; Species * ''Agropyron badamense'' - Tajikistan, ...

'') between the shrubs and the water, and in the small coves. The open water is used by

great cormorant The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo''), known as the black shag in New Zealand and formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and the large cormorant in India, is a w ...

s and

great crested grebe The great crested grebe (''Podiceps cristatus'') is a member of the grebe family of water birds noted for its elaborate mating display. Taxonomy The great crested grebe was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in t ...

s, and sometimes by

diving duck The diving ducks, commonly called pochards or scaups, are a category of duck which feed by diving beneath the surface of the water. They are part of Anatidae, the diverse and very large family that includes ducks, geese, and swans. The diving d ...

s. At the foot of the lagoon, where the Ruisseau de Francolo enters through a swamp, there is an extensive ''sansouire'' (salt-tolerant grasses) mixed with spiny rush and sea rush. Shorebirds frequent this area. The dune has tufts of quackgrass (''

Elymus repens ''Elymus repens'', commonly known as couch grass, is a very common perennial species of grass native to most of Europe, Asia, the Arctic biome, and northwest Africa. It has been brought into other mild northern climates for forage or erosion cont ...

'') and rushes. There is a reed bed north of the ''grau'' where the lagoon drains into the sea.

Notes

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Balistra, Etang de Lagoons of Corsica

Location

Environment

See also

Notes

Sources