The Étang de Berre (in Provençal

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language Occitan (; o ...

: ''estanh de Bèrra / mar de Bèrra'' according to classical orthography, ''estang de Berro / mar de Berro'' according to Mistralian orthography) is a

brackish water Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estua ...

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') a ...

on the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

coast of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, about north-west of

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

Geography

The lagoon covers an area of . Created by the rise in water levels at the end of the Last Glacial Period (colloquially known as the last ice age), this small inland sea is composed of three parts: the principal body of water, the ''Étang de Vaïne'' to the east and the ''Étang de Bolmon'' to the south-east. The Étang de Berre is fed with

fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

by the rivers Arc,

Touloubre The Touloubre is a river in the southeast of France. It runs from Venelles to the Étang de Berre. Other places along its course are Pélissanne, Salon-de-Provence, Grans and Saint-Chamas. It flows into the Étang de Berre, which is connected to th ...

and Cadière and – since 1966 – by

Électricité de France Électricité de France S.A. (literally ''Electricity of France''), commonly known as EDF, is a French multinational electric utility company, largely owned by the French state. Headquartered in Paris, with €71.2 billion in revenues in 2 ...

's . Two canals link it to the Mediterranean, the open air leading towards

Port-de-Bouc Port-de-Bouc (; oc, Lo Pòrt de Boc) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France. Population See also *Communes of the Bouches-du-Rhône department The following is a list of the 119 communes of the Bouches-du- ...

and the Canal de Marseille au Rhône which leads towards

L'Estaque L'Estaque is a village in southern France, just west of Marseille. Administratively, it belongs to the commune of Marseille. Overview Many artists of the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist periods visited or resided there or in the surrounding ...

through the

Rove Tunnel The Rove Tunnel ( French: ''Tunnel du Rove'') is a currently out-of-use canal tunnel in Southern France that connected the 16th arrondissement of Marseille to the Étang de Berre in the Bouches-du-Rhône department from 1927 to 1963. It allowed ...

; the Rove Tunnel has been closed since 1963, after a section of the tunnel collapsed. The

Marseille Provence Airport Marseille Provence Airport () is an international airport located 27 km (17 miles) northwest of Marseille, on the territory of Marignane, both ''communes'' of the Bouches-du-Rhône ''département'' in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur '' r� ...

is located in the southeast portion of the Étang de Berre, with its main runway extending into the water on reclaimed land.

Administration

Ten

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, ...

border the Étang de Berre:

Istres Istres (; Occitan: Istre) is a commune in southern France, some 60 km (38 mi) northwest of Marseille. It is in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture. Location Istr ...

Miramas Miramas (; oc, Miramàs) is a commune in France, commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône departements of France, department, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions of France, region, southern France. It is the second-largest commune in metropolita ...

Saint-Chamas Saint-Chamas (in Provençal Occitan: ''Sanch Amàs'' in classical orthography, ''Sant Chamas'' according to Mistralian orthography) is a commune in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southern Fra ...

Berre-l'Étang Berre-l'Étang (; oc, Bèrra) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southern France. Population See also * Étang de Berre * Communes of the Bouches-du-Rhône department The followi ...

Rognac Rognac (; oc, Ronhac) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southern France. Located to the east of the Étang de Berre, north of Marseille Provence Airport, it is part of the Aix-Marsei ...

, Vitrolles,

Marignane Marignane (; oc, Marinhana) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southern France. Geography It is a component of the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis, and the largest suburb of the cit ...

Châteauneuf-les-Martigues Châteauneuf-les-Martigues (; oc, Castèunòu dau Martegue) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France. The La Mède refinery is nearby and has been in operation since 1935. Population See also * Étang de Berre * ...

Martigues Martigues ( in classical norm, ''Lou Martegue'' in Mistralian norm) is a commune northwest of Marseille. It is part of the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the eastern end of the Canal de Caronte. A di ...

and

Saint-Mitre-les-Remparts Saint-Mitre-les-Remparts (; oc, Sant Mitre dei Barris) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France. Population See also * Étang de Berre *Communes of the Bouches-du-Rhône department The following is a list of th ...

History

The ancient name of the Étang de Berre was ''Stagnum Mastromela'', according to

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...

(Book III 4.

References

Berre Landforms of Bouches-du-Rhône Eutrophication {{BouchesRhône-geo-stub