Baie de Somme (''Bay of the Somme'' or ''Somme Bay'') is a large estuary in the Hauts-de-France

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

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 area ...

. The bay drains six rivers into the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

, principally the River Somme, and covers a total area of . The bay is noted for its

ornithological Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

richness, as well as being a major

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

attraction. When the tide is out, the Baie is characterized by wide, flat areas of

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...

and

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class o ...

, from which the delicacy of

glasswort The glassworts are various succulent, annual halophytic plants, that is, plants that thrive in saline environments, such as seacoasts and salt marshes. The original English glasswort plants belong to the genus ''Salicornia'', but today the glass ...

(locally:''salicornes'') are collected. Small ponds, dug into the marshes and filled with fake plastic ducks, are used to attract migratory birds for hunting. As the tide rises the bay fills, during which time numerous working, leisure and tourist boats cross between the surrounding villages. The largest towns on the bay are

Saint-Valery-sur-Somme Saint-Valery-sur-Somme (, literally ''Saint-Valery on Somme''; pcd, Saint-Wary), commune in the Somme department, is a seaport and resort on the south bank of the River Somme estuary. The town's medieval character and ramparts, its Gothic churc ...

Le Crotoy Le Crotoy () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. The inhabitants are known as ''Crotellois''. History Isabella of France, queen consort of England, and her son (later Edward III of England) embarked fro ...

Cayeux-sur-Mer Cayeux-sur-Mer (, literally ''Cayeux on Sea''; pcd, Tchéyeu-su-Mér) is a resort town in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. The town is part of the Baie de Somme - Picardie maritime regional natural park project. Its i ...

and, a few miles inland of the bay, Noyelles-sur-Mer. Other smaller towns such as Le Hourdel,

Le Tréport Le Tréport () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in Normandy, France. Geography A small fishing port and light industrial town situated in the Pays de Caux, some northeast of Dieppe at the junction of the D 940, the D 78 and t ...

, or Mers-les-Bains are sparsely located around the region. These towns are popular tourist destinations, and are connected together by the preserved steam railway line, the Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme. Several of the towns together form the

Communauté d'agglomération de la Baie de Somme The Communauté d'agglomération de la Baie de Somme is a ''communauté d'agglomération'' in the Somme ''département'' and in the Hauts-de-France ''région'' of France. It was formed on 1 January 2017 by the merger of the former Communauté de co ...

. The Bay of Somme is the habitat of multiple fauna and flora species, the most famous being probably the

Grey seal The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. In Latin Halichoerus grypus means "hook-nosed sea pig". It is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or " ...

and the

Harbor seal The harbor (or harbour) seal (''Phoca vitulina''), also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere. The most widely distributed species of pinniped (walruses, eared se ...

, locally referred as "phoque veau-marin". Its population can be estimated at around 650 to 700 individuals living in the bay, whereas the Grey seal has a smaller population of around 350 individuals.

References

Picardy Marshes of France Bays of Metropolitan France English Channel Salt marshes Ramsar sites in Metropolitan France {{Somme-geo-stub