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

marshland In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in general ...

in the former province of

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 ...

in western France. 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 oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

coast and the second largest of the country, after the

Camargue The Camargue (, also , , ; ) is a coastal region in southern France located south of the city of Arles, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône river delta. The eastern arm is called the Grand Rhône; the western is the ''P ...

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

angelica ''Angelica'' is a genus of about 90 species of tall Biennial plant, biennial and Perennial plant, perennial herbaceous, herbs in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, reaching as far north as ...

cultivation in France. Extending across three departments (

Vendée Vendée () 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 (, Poitevin-Saintongese: ''Deùs Saevres'') 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 ...

, and

Charente-Maritime Charente-Maritime (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Chérente-Marine''; ) is a Departments of France, department in the French Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, on the country's west coast. Named after the river Charente (river), Charen ...

), it is situated west of

Niort Niort (; Poitevin: ''Niàu''; ; ) 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 the urban area. Geography T ...

, north of

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') 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 Departments of France, department. Wi ...

, and south of

Fontenay-le-Comte Fontenay-le-Comte (; Poitevin dialect, Poitevin: ''Funtenaes'' or ''Fintenè'') is a Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Vendée Departments of France, department in the Pays de la Loire Regions of France ...

. In 1979 the Marais Poitevin was declared a

Regional Natural Park A regional nature park or regional natural park ( or PNR) is a public establishment in France between local authorities and the Cabinet of France, French national government covering an inhabited rural area of outstanding beauty in order to protec ...

(), 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 (), 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 fr ...

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

Geology

The marsh developed above a

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

plateau, dating from the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

period. This plateau covered much of the former province of

. The

Würm glaciation The Würm glaciation or Würm stage ( 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 glacial period in the ...

, 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, 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

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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 Ramsar sites in Metropolitan France

Overview

Geology

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links