Aigues Mortes

Description of the article « Aigues Mortes »

The town of Aigues-Mortes lies next to the ponds used for salt production. The red color of the waters in the foreground is due to a hallobacterium and a microalga rich in beta-carotene. This microalga serves as food for a small phyllopod crustacean, a favorite food of the flamingos in the foreground. Once located on the coast before the Rhône's alluvial deposits separated it from the sea, Aigues-Mortes was the only port of the Kingdom of France on the Mediterranean. It was from this port that Louis IX, known as Saint-Louis, embarked twice for the Crusades to the Holy Land. The fortifications served to protect the town, mainly from Barbary pirates.