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The exploitation of the salt in Le Fier d'Ars, Ile de Ré (C) photos and text, Kim RENAUD
SUMMARIZE: after the maximum of the last transgression, approximately 2200 years ago, the island of current ile de Ré contained four major islands: the islet of Les Portes, of Loix, of Ars and of Ré (islet most in the East). The phenomena of alluvionnement, everywhere presents in the region, are going to connect bit by bit these islands between them by cords of bri and sands, creating an internal bay: Le Fier d'Ars, protected from the oceanic currents, where the silting is favored. When this silting was sufficient, the first inhabitants began to create salt fields, towards XIIth and XIIIth centuries. Furthermore, the island of Ré undergoes the most favorable climate of the Atlantic coast for the establishment of salt fields: the longest period of sunshine, the higher summer average of the temperatures the weakest rainfall and especially a very strong and regular breezes which assure a very good evaporation of the sea water. Saltfields are constituted by three successive basins: vasais, métières, and fields-de-salt marshes. Canals connecting them and with the sea. Saltfields are dug in the bri after having dyked vast areas of the shore of Le Fier d'Ars, by dykes of bri coated by stones. The sea water taken for the production of the salt, goes through these various basins where it is going to settle and to evaporate to concentrate different dissolved salts contained in the sea water. It is in the aire saunante, the last basin of the chain, that represents approximately 10 % of the surface of waters of the salt fields, that the sodium chloride is going to precipitate and to be manually harvested, almost every day during the season which lasts from may-June to the end of September, if the time is mild. Formerly very exploited (32000 tons production by year in its highest in 1850, against 3000 tons at present), the Réthais salt is fewer and fewer produced every year because of the competition of salts of lesser costs from the South, thanks to the improvement of transport, and especially because of the degradation of the conditions of production of the salt due to the silted of le Fier d'Ars, which continues, but also because of the change of the climate due to the plantation of trees reducing the effect of the breeze. However, efforts are begun to save this activity and allow to maintain this extremely fragile artificial environment of the salt fields of le Fier d'Ars-en-Ré, in Ré Island.
(c) Kim RENAUD
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(c) Kim RENAUD 1999- 2007 - All rights reserved worldwide - Tous droits reservés mondialement |