Arcachon Bay
Arcachon Bay
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Arcachon Bay

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Arcachon Bay

Arcachon Basin or alternatively Arcachon Bay (French: Bassin d'Arcachon, French pronunciation: [basɛ̃ daʁkaʃɔ̃]; Gascon: Laca d'Arcaishon) is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean on the southwest coast of France, situated in Pays de Buch between the Côte d'Argent and the Côte des Landes, in the region of Aquitaine. The bay covers an area of 150 square kilometres (60 sq mi) at high tide and 40 km2 (15 sq mi) at low tide. Some of its geological features are natural preservation areas.

The general shape of the Bassin d'Arcachon is that of an equilateral triangle pointing north, the southwest corner of which is open to the sea, between Cap Ferret and the town of Arcachon (more specifically, one of the suburbs of La Teste-de-Buch, Pyla-sur-Mer), through a three-kilometre-long (2 mi) narrow channel (Les Passes). On the north shore is the town of Arès, then Andernos-les-Bains on the northeast. Just south of the entrance is the Dune of Pilat. Nearly in the middle of the bay is a very particular island: L'île aux Oiseaux (Isle of the Birds).

In the past, similar areas became lakes (called in French lacs or étangs) and are nowadays filled with fresh water. On the French Atlantic coast, running north–south between the Gironde estuary to the Adour River mouth, are the Lac d'Hourtin-Carcans, the Lac de Lacanau, the Étang de Cazaux et de Sanguinet, the Étang de Biscarrosse et de Parentis, the Étang d'Aureilhan, the Étang de Léon, the Étang de Soustons, Étang Hardy, Étang Blanc and the Étang de Garros. Arcachon Bay is the last water area that remains open to the ocean.

The Bassin still has a link to the sea, possibly due to the Eyre River that runs from the Landes forest and has its mouth (Delta de l'Eyre) in its southeast corner. Otherwise, the Bassin would have become blocked by the sandbanks built up by the tides.

The brackish and productive waters of the Bay of Arcachon make them ideal for hosting a wide variety of organisms, including but not limited to those belonging to the families Sparidae, Mugilidae, and Triglidae. This fauna is typical from shallow-temperate waters and generally common along the northeastern and eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean sea.

Twenty-seven species of fish found in Arcachon bay include:

Within the family Sparidae:

Within the Mugilidae family:

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