Eyre (river)

Eyre
Native name L'Eyre (f)
Country France
Physical characteristics
Main source Sabres, Landes
82 m (269 ft)
River mouth Arcachon Bay
44°39′52″N 1°1′23″W / 44.66444°N 1.02306°W / 44.66444; -1.02306 (Arcachon Bay-Eyre)Coordinates: 44°39′52″N 1°1′23″W / 44.66444°N 1.02306°W / 44.66444; -1.02306 (Arcachon Bay-Eyre)
Length 118 km (73 mi)
Discharge
  • Average rate:
    18.8 m3/s (660 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Basin size 1,700 km2 (660 sq mi)
Official name Bassin d'Arcachon - Secteur du delta de l'Eyre
Designated 27 October 2011
Reference no. 1996[1]

The Eyre is a coastal river that flows through the Moors of Gascony, in Aquitaine, Southwest France.

The river is generally presented as the confluence of:

  • the Grande Leyre (Large Leyre), its principal course, upstream from Moustey,
  • the Petite Leyre (Small Leyre), its main tributary.

Note that Leyre is a variant of the name Eyre, affected by an agglutination of the Romance article.

Geography

The Eyre in the Moors of Gascony
The Eyre in Mios.

The basin of the Eyre in included in the parc régional des Landes de Gascogne (National Park of the Moors of Gascony).

The river takes form in the Plantiet Marsh, in Grande Lande near Sabres, Landes.

It flows north into the Bassin d'Arcachon, a large bay on the Atlantic coast, in the Pays de Buch, Gironde. Its delta of 30 square kilometres (12 sq mi) contains the Le Teich ornithological park.

The Eyre flows through a preserved environment. Its banks are bordered by a broad-leaved forest. Branches join over the river, forming a gallery forest, that contrasts with the Landes forest, planted with maritime pines.


Départements and towns

The Eyre flows through the following départements and towns:

Tributaries

The main tributary of the Eyre is the Petite-Leyre. It rises between Luxey and Retjons, in Landes, and flows northwest to join the Grande Leyre downstream from Pissos.

  • (R) Petite Leyre

N.B. : (R) = right tributary; (L) = left tributary

Historical anecdote

During the creation of French départements in 1790, it has been suggested to create a large département matching with the natural region of Moors of Gascony, that is the today Landes forest (by the time not yet planted). The name of this département would have been the Eyre.

Name

Eyre is an Aquitanian hydronym. It can be found in names as Eyres-Moncube, Landes, or the craste de l'Eyron (Eyron ditch) in Lacanau, Gironde.

Activities

References

  1. ↑ "Bassin d'Arcachon - Secteur du delta de la Leyre". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
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