Geography and Natural Environment
The Camargue is located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southern France, occupying the delta formed by the Rhône River’s two main branches as they flow into the Mediterranean Sea. Covering approximately 930 square kilometers, it is the largest river delta in Western Europe. The landscape is a mosaic of salt marshes, lagoons, reed beds, and sandy beaches, shaped by centuries of natural forces and human intervention.
Its unique ecology supports a rich biodiversity, including some of Europe’s most iconic wildlife. The Camargue is famously home to the Camargue horses—small, sturdy, and semi-wild ponies believed to have lived in the region for thousands of years. The wetlands also host vast flocks of pink flamingos, various species of migratory birds, wild bulls, and a plethora of fish and amphibians. This remarkable environment earned the Camargue the designation of a Regional Nature Park in 1970, and parts of it are protected under the Ramsar Convention for wetlands of international importance.
But this unique landscape also has a long history of human settlement and adaptation, stretching back to ancient times. shutdown123