The Étang de Crovani () is a coastal lagoon beside the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
on the west coast of the
Haute-Corse
Haute-Corse (; , or ; ) is a department of France, consisting of the northern part of the island of Corsica. The corresponding departmental territorial collectivity merged with that of Corse-du-Sud on 1 January 2018, forming the single ter ...
department on the French island of
Corsica
Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...
.
Location
The Étang de Crovani is on the west coast of Haute-Corse in the commune of
Calenzana to the east of the Baie de Crovani.
It is a permanent body of water separated from the sea by a bank of pebbles and gravel.
The lagoon is behind the center of the Crovani beach (or Argentella beach), a beach of small pebbles more than long, which is known for its natural beauty but is rarely visited by tourists.
It is north of the village of L'Argentella and west of the D81b road, which leads to the village of Vignaccia.
The lagoon and surrounding marshes cover .
Altitude ranges from .
The main tributary is the Ruisseau de Marconcellu.
Ecology
The site 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 o ...
''.
It is classified as a ''
(ZNIEFF) Continentale de type 1''.
The lagoon is surrounded by a belt of
tamarix
The genus ''Tamarix'' (tamarisk, salt cedar, taray) is composed of about 50–60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa. The generic name originated in Latin and may refer to the Ta ...
trees and some grasslands dominated by
bulrush
Bulrush is a vernacular name for several large wetland graminoid, grass-like plants
*Sedge family (Cyperaceae):
**''Cyperus''
**''Scirpus''
**''Blysmus''
**''Bolboschoenus''
**''Scirpoides''
**''Isolepis''
**''Schoenoplectus''
**''Trichophorum''
...
es and
rushes.
The coastal barrier has a dense mosaic of mastic (''
Pistacia lentiscus
''Pistacia lentiscus'' (also lentisk or mastic) is a dioecious evergreen shrub or small tree of the genus '' Pistacia'' native to the Mediterranean Basin. It grows up to tall and is cultivated for its aromatic resin, mainly on the Greek isl ...
'') trees.
It does not attract many birds due to its small size, but could be used as a stopover by migrating birds or as a wintering place in very cold winters.
The
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
is Csb : Warm-summer Mediterranean climate.
Notes
Citations
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Crovani, Etang de
Lagoons of Haute-Corse