Photo: Salt Industry Camargue France

The salt industry in the Camargue region of Provence in France, Europe.

The largest river delta in Europe is the Camargue region of France at the meeting of the Mediterranean Sea and the Rhone River. About a third of the Plaine de la Camargue, France comprises of inland salt lakes and marshland. These lakes are called etangs, the largest being Etang de Vaccares. Sand dunes surround these salt water lagoons, and sea salt is the most important harvest of the Camargue in France.The sea water evaporates during the hot summers from large brine pans and the resulting salt crystals pile into mounds called camelles. Sometimes these camelles reach heights of eight meters. This natural phenomenon has developed into one of the largest industry of salt in the world. In the nineteenth century Chemical companies built Salin-de-Giraud, a salt extraction city where 15,000 tons a day is produced by this industry during the summer.The salt plains are dry as a desert during the summer months in France, glasswort grows and the wild bulls and Camargue horses graze there. ... continue below the picture...

... When winter comes the plains are underwater and stays in this state until early spring when the cycle begins again.Salt Industry, Parc Naturel Regional de Camargue, Plaine de la Camargue, Camargue, Les Bouches du Rhone, Provence, France, Europe.