Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône (; oc, Pòrt Sant Loís) is a commune in the
Bouches-du-Rhône
Bouches-du-Rhône ( , , ; oc, Bocas de Ròse ; "Mouths of the Rhône") is a department in Southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south. Its prefecture and ...
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 ...
.
History
The commune was created in 1904 from parts of the communes of
Arles
Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province ...
and
Fos-sur-Mer
Fos-sur-Mer (, literally ''Fos on Sea''; Provençal: ''Fòs'') is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France.
Geography
Fos-sur-Mer is situated about north west of Marseille, on the Mediterranean coast, and to the we ...
. The Saint-Louis channel was dug in 1871. The parish was established in 1886.
Population
Features
Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône is an industrial town and port annex of
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
at the mouth of the
Rhône River
The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...
, and includes many parks, large avenues and large farmhouses known as camarguais.
The town has three popular beaches: Napoleon beach, Olga beach, and Carteau beach.
There are many marshes and cultivated plants nearby, and vast salt-water marshes of 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 '' ...
swamp.
Local wildlife includes herds of wild horses and pink flamingos being in the marshes.
Industry
The Camargue produces primarily salt and mineral oil. There are also petrochemical factories and grain mills.