Étang de Thau

The etang de thau is the largest of a string of etangs (lakes) that stretch along the French coast from the river Rhone to Narbonne.

It is about 30Km long and 4/5Km wide, with an area of 7,012 hectares. Much of the etang is shallow, but in the central navigation channel it can be 10 metres deep. At Balaruc les Bains there is a 200 metre diameter depression of 30 metres. This 'Fosse de la Vise' is the source of a hot spring that feeds to spa in Balaruc.

Until relatively recently the etangs from Marseillan to the Rhone were a continuous stretch of inland waterway. Early settlers described this as 'une petite mer intérieure et tranquille'. It provided access to, in particular, Marseillan - a fishing village that became a trade centre.

Linked, now, by the Canal Rhone/Sète to the river Rhone and by the Canal du Midi to Bordeaux via Toulouse, the Etang also has access to the Mediterranean at Sète. There is also a small canal 'le canal des Allemands' or the 'pisse-saume' that links the western end to the sea at Marseillan Plage. This, small, canal is only suitable for small craft since both road and railway bridges restrict height.

Open to the sea the etang has fish such as the 'dorade' (bream), but more importantly a thriving shellfish industry. 18 sorts of shellfish are taken from the etang - the most important being the 'Bouziques" oysters. 750 producers farm 2,750 oyster tables and take some 12,000 tonnes annually. This provides for about 10% of France's consumption. Etang water is graded A and so shellfish can be caught and consumed within minutes.

Towns and villages on the etang, clockwise from the north-east, are Sète, Marseillan, Meze, Bouziques and Balarac-les-Bains.