Photo : Bourrichon - fr:Bourrichon) / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
La Baie de Somme
The Bay of Somme, in the Somme, is in fact an estuary of about 70 km² where the river flows into the Channel. It extends from the Pointe du Hourdel, in the south, to Saint-Quentin-en-Tourmont, in the north. With the tides, three environments appear: the always-submerged zones, the mudflats (slikke) and the salt meadows (schorre). Le Crotoy, Saint-Valery-sur-Somme and Le Hourdel are the main localities.
The bay is recognised for its biodiversity, with about 400 plant species and 335 bird species. Seal populations, harbour seals and grey seals, are recovering: about 550 and 500 individuals respectively in 2025. More than 5,000 sheep graze the salt meadows, which produce salt-meadow lamb, and the bay supplies most of the samphire harvested in France. It is listed as a national nature reserve and Ramsar wetland, and has carried the Grand Site de France label since 2011.
