Gulf of Fos
Coordinates: 43 ° 22 ′ 0 ″ N , 4 ° 55 ′ 14 ″ E
The Gulf of Fos is a subordinate bay of the Golfe du Lion in the Mediterranean . It is located in the French coastal area northwest of Marseille between the mouth of the Rhône and the Cap Couronne , where the Estaque mountains reach the sea. The gulf takes its name from the port town of Fos-sur-Mer in the center of the bay. It contains the main port facilities of the Great Seaport of Marseille , including transshipment points for containers , bulk goods as well as crude oil and natural gas . Numerous industrial zones have emerged in the surrounding area , in which the delivered products are processed. In the coastal areas there are a large number of salt pans for the production of sea salt . Although the area is heavily industrialized, there are some wetlands that have been protected . The gulf at the mouth of the Rhône also has a share in the Camargue Regional Nature Park . In the hinterland there are some lagoon lakes , of which the Étang de Berre with its surface of around 155 km² is the most important.
The coast of the Gulf belongs to the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region . The following municipalities border the Gulf of Fos:
- Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône
- Fos-sur-Mer
- Port-de-Bouc
- Martigues (the city itself is on the Étang de Berre)
Transport infrastructure
The Rhône, which is an important inland waterway for large parts of Europe , becomes an important transshipment point from inland shipping to maritime shipping and vice versa at its mouth . Of course, reloading from or to road and rail transport is also an important issue. The following shipping channels lead into the Gulf of Fos:
- Canal du Rhône à Fos , sea canal from the Rhône into the Gulf of Fos
- Canal Saint-Louis , sea canal from the Rhône to the Gulf of Fos
- Canal de Fos à Port-de-Bouc , sea canal along the coastline of the Gulf of Fos
- Canal de Caronte , sea canal connecting the Gulf of Fos with the Étang de Berre
- Canal de Marseille au Rhône , sea canal from the port of Marseille to the Étang de Berre (out of order due to the collapse of the Tunnel du Rove )
The coastal area is accessed by the A55 motorway from Marseille to Martigues, which continues in the direction of Arles on the N568 national road. Further connections to the A54 , A7 and A8 testify to the high-ranking location in the road network .
One of the main ports for rail freight around the Gulf is the transit route from Marseille along the Côte Bleue leads to Port-de-Bouc and in Miramas an important railway junction with the one on the northeast side of the Pond of Berre running railway line Marseille-Paris forms . There are separate feeder routes to the port facilities in Fos-sur-Mer and Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône.