The Santu River ( co, Fiume Santu) is a small coastal river in the department of

Haute-Corse Haute-Corse (; co, Corsica suprana , or ; en, Upper Corsica) is (as of 2022) an administrative department of France, consisting of the northern part of the island of Corsica. The corresponding departmental territorial collectivity merged wi ...

, Corsica, France.

Course

The Santu is long. It crosses the communes of Saint-Florent and

Santo-Pietro-di-Tenda Santo-Pietro-di-Tenda (French form) or Santo Pietro di Tenda (Italian form; co, Santu Petru di Tenda, link=no, also ) is a French commune in the Haute-Corse department on the island of Corsica. Population See also *Communes of the Haute-Cor ...

. The Santu rises in the commune of Santo-Pietro-di-Tenda to the southeast of the Monte Genova. It flows in a generally northeast direction to enter the sea in the Golfe de Saint-Florent to the south of the Torra di Mortella. The D81 runs past its source, but otherwise there are no roads along its course.

Environment

The small white sand beach at the river mouth with its turquoise water is popular with boaters coming from the port of Saint-Florent, as are other beaches of the

Agriates Desert The Agriates Desert or the Agriates (''désert des Agriates'' in French and ''l'Agriate'' in Corsican) is an area of Corsica split between the micro-regions of and Nebbio in Haute-Corse. Geography Location The Agriates Desert is a territ ...

. Behind the beach there is a well preserved wetland covering about . It is owned by the

Conservatoire du littoral The ''Conservatoire du littoral'' ("Coastal protection agency") (official name: ''Conservatoire de l'espace littoral et des rivages lacustres'') is a French public organisation created in 1975 to ensure the protection of outstanding natural areas on ...

and managed by the department of Haute-Corse. It is important as a landscape and for its plant diversity. It contains meadows of salt-tolerant rushes, with large populations of

samphire Samphire is a name given to a number of succulent salt-tolerant plants (halophytes) that tend to be associated with water bodies. *Rock samphire, ''Crithmum maritimum'' is a coastal species with white flowers that grows in Ireland, the Unit ...

that turn red in the fall. The

European pond turtle The European pond turtle (''Emys orbicularis''), also called commonly the European pond terrapin and the European pond tortoise, is a species of long-living freshwater turtle in the family Emydidae. The species is endemic to the Western Palearct ...

(''Emys orbicularis'') frequents the site. Amphibians include the

European green toad The European green toad (''Bufotes viridis'') is a species of toad found in steppes, mountainous areas, semi-deserts, urban areas and other habitats in mainland Europe, ranging from far eastern France and Denmark to the Balkans and Western Russi ...

(''Bufo viridis''), the

Sardinian tree frog The Sardinian tree frog or Tyrrhenian tree frog (''Hyla sarda'') is a species of frog in the family Hylidae, found in Corsica, Sardinia, and the Tuscan Archipelago. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, rivers, int ...

(''Hyla sarda'') and the

Tyrrhenian painted frog The Tyrrhenian painted frog (''Discoglossus sardus'') is a species of frog in the family Alytidae (formerly Discoglossidae). Endemic to the Tyrrhenian Sea basin, it is found in a handful of Western Mediterranean islands, namely Sardinia, Corsic ...

(''Discoglossus sardus''). Birds include

mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...

(''Anas platyrhynchos''), little grebe (''Tachybaptus ruficollis'') and common moorhen (''Gallinula chloropus'').

Tributaries

The following streams (''ruisseaux'') are tributaries of the Santu, ordered by length, and sub-tributaries: *Suarella: **Batagliola: **Piedovalle: *Panne Rossu: *Teti: *Paratella:

Notes

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Santu Rivers of Haute-Corse Rivers of France Coastal basins of the Mediterranean Sea in Corsica