The Gironde estuary ( , US usually ; french: estuaire de la Gironde, ; oc, estuari de aGironda, ) is a navigable

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

(though often referred to as a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater 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 ...

) in southwest

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

and is formed from the meeting of the rivers

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is named ...

and Garonne just downstream of the centre of

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...

. Covering around , it is the largest estuary in western

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

. Named after the French ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety- ...

Gironde Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1, ...

, the Gironde estuary is approximately long and 3–12 km (2–7 miles) wide. It is subject to very strong tidal currents and great care is needed when navigating the estuary by any size or type of boat. Since 2015, the Gironde estuary has been part of the Gironde estuary and Pertuis sea Marine Nature Park.

Islands of the Gironde

Within the estuary between the

Pointe de Grave 300px, The American monument marking the country's entry into World War 1 as it was proposed in 1921 The Pointe de Grave (in occitan : ''Punta de Grava'') is the northernmost tip of the Médoc Peninsula and marks the Northern end of the pine-clad ...

at the seaward end and the Bec d'Ambès are a series of small islands. The Île de Patiras is 200 ha in size with a lighthouse to aid navigation in the estuary. Vines and maize are grown there. The Île Sans-Pain and Île Bouchaud are now virtually joined due to progressive silting and are referred to as the Ile Nouvelle. They total about 265 ha and are owned by the Conservatoire du Littoral and managed by the Department of the Gironde. The Île Paté is about 13 ha and in 2006 was privately owned. The island has a historic fort built between 1685 and 1693 as part of the national fortification program masterminded by Vauban. The building is oval in shape, about 12 metres high and was originally equipped with about 30 cannons. Fort Paté, together with Fort Médoc and the ancient ''citadelle'' of Blaye, defended the estuary and Bordeaux. During the French Revolution the fort was used as a prison for priests. In 2006, the

Conseil General The departmental councils (French: ''conseils départementaux''; singular, ''conseil départemental'') of France are representative assemblies elected by universal suffrage in 98 of the country's 101 departments. Prior to the 2015 French depar ...

decided to make the island a ZPENS (zone de pre-emption espace naturel sensible). ZPENS status protects the island from development. If the owner wishes to sell the island, then the Department has a pre-emptive right. After two months the Conservatoire National du Littoral has the next pre-emptive right and then after another 2 months the town of Blaye has a final pre-emptive right to acquire the island. The Île Verte, Île du Nord and Île Cazeau comprise about 800 ha and because of their natural state provide a fine stopping off place for migrating birds. The Île Margaux is 25 ha and in 2005 had 14 ha devoted to vines and is part of the world famous Médoc wine region. The

Île Sans Nom The (French: Island With No Name), also known as the (Mysterious Island) or Tahiti, is an island in the Gironde estuary in south-west France. It appeared after the 2009 Cyclone Klaus led to increased deposition of sediment and lies near the hi ...

which appeared in 2009 following Cyclone Klaus lies around east of Cordouan Lighthouse.

Second World War

In December 1942, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Operation Frankton took place with the goal of destroying ships moored at the docks in Bordeaux. The plan was for six kayaks (called "canoes" by the British) to be taken to the area of the Gironde estuary by submarine. Twelve men would then paddle by night to Bordeaux. On arrival they would attach timed

limpet mines A limpet mine is a type of naval mine attached to a target by magnets. It is so named because of its superficial similarity to the shape of the limpet, a type of sea snail that clings tightly to rocks or other hard surfaces. A swimmer or diver ...

to the docked cargo ships and escape overland to Spain. The raid was carried out by a small unit of Royal Marines known as the Royal Marines Boom Patrol Detachment (RMBPD), part of Combined Operations, led by Herbert 'Blondie' Hasler. They succeeded in slipping into the harbour unnoticed and sank one ship and severely damaged four others. Only two of the men returned to the UK alive, but they did enough damage to greatly disrupt the use of the harbour for the following months. The prototypes of the Char B1 ter heavy tank were lost in the Gironde as a result of German bombing in 1940.Stéphane Ferrard, 2014, "Du Char B à l'ARL 44, un long cheminement (II). 1937-1940 : Ce Mal Aimé. Le char B 1''ter''", ''Histoire de Guerre, Blindés & Matériel'' 109: 67-78

References

*The information relating to the protected status of Île Paté and the general information relating to the other islands is public domain information which was summarised as part of an article in the regional 'Sud Ouest' newspaper dated 3 October 2006. {{Authority control Bodies of water of Metropolitan France Landforms of Gironde Estuaries of Europe Landforms of Charente-Maritime