France: West Coast of France

Introduction

From the Island of Ushant, the Brittany coast runs south to the large Rade de Brest ria and the wider Bay of Douarnenez. The Armorican massif has folding and faulting along mainly west to east lines, and these structures influence the outlines of peninsulas and bays along the southern coast of Brittany (Guilcher 1948). The Bay of Audierne faces SW into Atlantic Ocean swell, and the southern coast of Brittany is embayed with rocky headlands such as Quiberon, outlying island such as Ile de Groix and Belle Ile, and inlets of which the Gulf of Morbihan is the largest and most complex. At St Nazaire is the estuary of the Loire, and the coast swings southward along the Bay of Biscay with large bays and promontories, mainly of Mesozoic rock, and several islands: Noirmoutier, Yeu, Ré; and Oléron. The wide Gironde estuary is followed by a long, almost straight sandy coastline, backed by dunes and interrupted by the Bassin d’Arcachon. In the far south, this curves out to Biarritz...