Where is La Baie de Somme?
Click here to open an image in a new window showing the location of the Baie de Somme What are the physical and human features that have created this area? Over the last 8,000 years La Manche, as the English Channel is known in France, has moulded the coast: creating and destroying land in its wake. Wave action removes and deposits material carried from afar by sea currents. Add to that the sediment carried down rivers like the Somme and you have all the ingredients for the remarkable Baie de Somme. For instance, a town like Rue used to be a sea port in the Middle Ages, but now it is 6km inland. What is its distinctive character? La Baie de Somme is one of the largest tidal bays in Europe. Sediment from the River Somme has accumulated on underlying rock to build land above sea level. Shingle banks (rare in France) have formed where pebbles are deposited and sand dunes from much smaller particles such as shell fragments. The bay is very well sheltered and so areas of mud and silt (known
