The Marais Poitevin () or Poitevin Marsh is a large area of marshland in western

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 ...

. The name means "

Poitou Poitou (, , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe. Geography The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical c ...

's Marsh" or the "Marsh of the Poitou region". It is a remnant of what was the former . The western zone near the sea (about two-thirds of the area) is called the "dry marsh" (or "dried marsh"). It is used for farming and livestock breeding. The eastern zone, called the "wet marsh", is a maze of islets crisscrossed by picturesque canals, primarily now a tourist destination for boating. It is nicknamed The Green Venice (''la Venise Verte'').

Overview

With an area of , this is the largest marsh on France's

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

coast and the second largest of the country, after the

Camargue Camargue (, also , , ; oc, label= Provençal, Camarga) is a region of France located south of Arles, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône delta. The eastern arm is called the ''Grand Rhône''; the western one is the '' ...

in Provence. The Marais Poitevin is the most important area of

angelica ''Angelica'' is a genus of about 60 species of tall biennial and perennial herbs in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, reaching as far north as Iceland, Lapland, and Greenland. They gr ...

cultivation in France. Extending across three departments (

Vendée Vendée (; br, Vande) is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.

Deux-Sèvres Deux-Sèvres () is a French department. ''Deux-Sèvres'' literally means "two Sèvres": the Sèvre Nantaise and the Sèvre Niortaise are two rivers which have their sources in the department. It had a population of 374,878 in 2019.

, and

Charente-Maritime Charente-Maritime () is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region on the southwestern coast of France. Named after the river Charente, its prefecture is La Rochelle. As of 2019, it had a population of 651,358 with an area of 6,864 square kil ...

), it is situated west of

Niort Niort (; Poitevin: ''Niàu''; oc, Niòrt; la, Novioritum) is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department, western France. It is the prefecture of Deux-Sèvres. The population of Niort is 58,707 (2017) and more than 177,000 people live in th ...

, north of

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. Wi ...

, and south of Fontenay-le-Comte. In 1979 the Marais Poitevin was declared a Regional Natural Park (french: Parc naturel régional), in an effort to help preserve it. The marsh lost that status in 1997, due to intensive agricultural development around the Marsh that endangered the unique character of the region. Only a core Interregional Park (''Parc Interrégional du Marais poitevin'') of remains. Attempts to regain the full Park classification started in 2002, and supporters proposed a new charter in 2006. While this was accepted by the local authorities, it was rejected in late 2008 by the national government due to a perceived "juridical fragility". Tourism includes boating in traditional barques, which is a form of punting. There are several piers (french: embarcadères), from which boats can be hired. The myriad canals have become covered in green

duckweed Lemnoideae is a subfamily of flowering aquatic plants, known as duckweeds, water lentils, or water lenses. They float on or just beneath the surface of still or slow-moving bodies of fresh water and wetlands. Also known as bayroot, they arose f ...

(hence the Green Venice nickname). The drained marshland is home to a varied fauna.

Geology

The marsh developed above a

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

plateau, dating from the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...

period. This plateau covered much of the former province of

. The

Würm glaciation The Würm glaciation or Würm stage (german: Würm-Kaltzeit or ''Würm-Glazial'', colloquially often also ''Würmeiszeit'' or ''Würmzeit''; cf. ice age), usually referred to in the literature as the Würm (often spelled "Wurm"), was the last g ...

, c. 24,000–10,000 YBP, caused significant marine regression and the recovery of much river erosion (a watershed of c. 535,000 ha), thus exposing the marl-limestone formations. The villages of

Maillezais Maillezais () is a Communes of France, commune in the Vendée Departments of France, department in the Pays de la Loire Regions of France, region in western France. It was once an island in the Marais Poitevin, until monks of the Maillezais Abbey ...

, Saint-Michel-en-l'Herm, and Marans developed on such hillocks.

Gallery

File:Le Vanneau-Passerelle.jpg, A footbridge over a canal. File:Canaux du marais à Maillezais.jpg, Canal green with duckweed. File:MaraisPoitevinMoutons.JPG, Sheep on an islet. File:Marais_poitevin.JPG, Traditional house by a canal. File:Marais-poitevin boats.jpg, Typical boats (barques) of Marais-poitevin.

References

External links

*
Tourism in the Marais Poitevin
*
Parc naturel régional du Marais Poitevin
*
Organisation for the defence of the Marais Poitevin
*

Awarded "EDEN - European Destinations of Excellence" non traditional tourist destination 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poitevin, Marais Marshes of France Polders Landforms of Vendée Landforms of Deux-Sèvres Landforms of Charente-Maritime Tourist attractions in Vendée

Overview

Geology

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links