Gulf of Fos

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Coordinates: 43 ° 22 ′ 0 ″  N , 4 ° 55 ′ 14 ″  E

The mouth of the Rhône and the Gulf of Fos east of it
The Gulf of Fos (bottom left) and the Étang der Berre (top right)

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:

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:

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.

Picture gallery

  • Saline at the mouth of the Rhône

  • In the port of Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône

  • Container loading in the port of Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône

  • In the port of Fos-sur-Mer

  • Container loading in the port of Fos-sur-Mer

  • Port-de-Bouc with industrial complex in the background

  • The Fort de Bouc at the entrance to the Canal de Caronte

  • Motorway bridge over the Canal de Caronte

  • Rail connection at the Lavéra refinery (Martigues)

  • Coast at Cap Couronne

  • Railway line on the Côte Bleue

  • Marseille-Provence Airport at the Étang de Berre