Canche
Encyclopedia
The river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 Canche (Dutch: De Kwinte) is one of the rivers that flow from the plateau of the southern Boulonnais
Boulonnais (land area)
The Boulonnais is a coastal area of northern France, around Calais and Boulogne-sur-Mer. It has a curved belt of chalk downs which run into the sea at both ends, and geologically is the east end of the Weald-Artois Anticline.- Administration :...

 and Picardy
Picardy
This article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France...

, into the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...

. The Somme
Somme River
The Somme is a river in Picardy, northern France. The name Somme comes from a Celtic word meaning tranquility. The department Somme was named after this river....

 is the largest example. The basin of the Canche extends to 1,274 square kilometres and lies in the southern end of the département
Départements of France
The departments of France are French administrative divisions. The 101 departments form one of the three levels of local government, together with the 22 metropolitan and 5 overseas regions above them and more than 36 000 communes beneath them...

 of Pas-de-Calais. Forming an alluvial valley
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...

 from 1 to 2 kilometers wide, the Canche is a verdant landscape of calm waters, marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....

es, meadows and small woods
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...

. The gentle gradient, averaging 1.5%, gives the river a meander
Meander
A meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse. A meander is formed when the moving water in a stream erodes the outer banks and widens its valley. A stream of any volume may assume a meandering course, alternately eroding sediments from the outside of a bend and depositing them on the...

ing course.

The river rises at Gouy-en-Ternois
Gouy-en-Ternois
Gouy-en-Ternois is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A small farming village situated west of Arras, on the D82 road.-Population:-References:* -External links:*...

 and passes Frévent
Frévent
Frévent is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A farming town situated in the valley of the Canche river, west of Arras, at the junction of the D946, the D939 and the D941 roads.-History:...

, Hesdin
Hesdin
Hesdin is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.-Geography:The N39, from Arras to Montreuil, used to be the main thoroughfare of the town. In the 1950s, a circular route was created to help traffic flow...

, Montreuil-sur-Mer
Montreuil-sur-Mer
Montreuil or Montreuil-sur-Mer is a sub-prefecture in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. It is located on the Canche river, not far from Étaples...

 before leaving the chalk to flow to the coast between Étaples
Étaples
Étaples or Étaples-sur-Mer is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. It is a fishing and leisure port on the Canche river.There is a separate commune named Staple, Nord.-History:...

 and Le Touquet-Paris-Plage
Le Touquet-Paris-Plage
Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, commonly referred to as Le Touquet, is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. It has a population of 5,355....

. Its principal tributaries are the Ternoise
Ternoise
The river Ternoise is one of the small chalk streams that flow from the plateau of the southern Boulonnais and Picardy, via the Canche, into the English Channel. The basin of the Ternoise extends to 342 km² and lies in the southern end of the département of Pas-de-Calais...

, the Planquette
Planquette
The river Planquette is one of the small streams that flow from the plateau of the southern Boulonnais and Picardy, into the Canche.The river rises at Planques and passes Fressin, Wambercourt, Cavron-Saint-Martin and joins the Canche at Contes.-References:...

, the Créquoise
Créquoise
The river Créquoise is one of the small streams that flow from the plateau of the southern Boulonnais and Picardy, into the Canche.The river rises at Créquy and passes by Torcy, Lebiez, Hesmond, Offin, Loison-sur-Créquoise and joins the Canche at Beaurainville.Three small tributaries join the...

, the Bras de Bronne, the Course, the Dordogne (not the Dordogne
Dordogne
Dordogne is a départment in south-west France. The départment is located in the region of Aquitaine, between the Loire valley and the High Pyrénées named after the great river Dordogne that runs through it...

) and the Huitrepin which all join on its right bank, i.e. to the north of the Canche. The lie of the land means there’s no notable tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 from the south until the Grande Tringue, which flows from marshland into the small, dredged estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....

.

History

The valley of the Canche has been occupied by man since ancient times because of the productive nature of the land. The unhealthy aspect of marshland means much has been done over the centuries to drain the land efficiently, which has brought about the partial destruction of its original character. The principal activities of the village communities occupying the valley and its surrounds have been (and still are) farming, fishing and reed
Reed bed
Reed beds are natural habitats found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions andestuaries. Reed beds are part of a succession from young reed colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground...

 harvesting.

The extraction of peat
Peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...

 from the marshes of the lower river was known in the 16th century; peat being the principal means of heating and also a multi-purpose fertilizer. The alder
Alder
Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...

 tree, which grew well in the local marshy soils, contributed to bind the ground, and of course, it furnishing timber for many purposes. It was realized that forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...

 also helped in drainage
Drainage
Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from an area. Many agricultural soils need drainage to improve production or to manage water supplies.-Early history:...

. Further developments in the 18th century saw permanent enclosures with animals being fenced-in, keeping them off the crops, and property boundaries by the planting of hedges and the digging of ditches, contributing to organized and cooperative farming methods.
The 18th century also saw the emergence of new perceptions of marshland, long considered as unhealthy places in which to live. Administrative authorities encouraged action to recover the peat marshes by drainage work and the planting of more trees. The reduction of marshland again allowed for even more areas of cultivation to feed the increasing population.
During the 19th century, technical progress (for example, the replacement of windmill
Windmill
A windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...

s by steam engines) led to further improvements in drainage, contributing to the drying-up of the valley downstream as far as Hesdin
Hesdin
Hesdin is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.-Geography:The N39, from Arras to Montreuil, used to be the main thoroughfare of the town. In the 1950s, a circular route was created to help traffic flow...

). It wasn’t until the last quarter of the 20th century that authorities became aware of the importance of the marshes and started trying to preserve them, having earlier contributed to their disappearance. The Canche and its valley have been incorporated into a national natural reserve since 1987.
).

Environmental issues

The Canche estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....

 was the first site in northern France where a conservation victory, in respect of the coast, was first achieved, in 1976.
Plans had been made to put in place an earlier project, dating from the 1960s, to create an articial environment on the estuary. The work included creating a harbour and a marina. This was supposed to be “compensation” for extracting the waters of the Canche at Hesdin in order to supply the city of Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...

. Of course, this threatened to destroy the rich wildlife and flora of the estuary. The mobilisation of the local inhabitants, various associations and many scientists, after many public enquiries and heated arguments, stopped the plans and left the estuary to nature.
.

Flora and fauna

With sandbars and spits
Spits
Sp!ts, pronounced Spits, is a tabloid format newspaper freely distributed in trains, trams and buses in the Netherlands. Its competitors are Metro and De Pers....

, the estuary of the Canche is typical of the estuaries of this region of France. The coastal dunes, marshes and valley are home to 485 different plants and a diverse range of wildlife. 75 varieties of resident and migratory birds nest in and around the estuary and valley, such as the nightjar
Nightjar
Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds with long wings, short legs and very short bills. They are sometimes referred to as goatsuckers from the mistaken belief that they suck milk from goats . Some New World species are named as nighthawks...

, woodlark
Woodlark
The Woodlark is the only lark in the genus Lullula. It breeds across most of Europe, the Middle East Asia and the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident in the west of its range, but eastern populations of this passerine bird are more migratory, moving further south in winter...

, several types of warbler
Warbler
There are a number of Passeriformes called "warblers". They are not particularly closely related, but share some characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal and insectivorous....

s, snipe
Snipe
A snipe is any of about 25 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill and crypsis plumage. The Gallinago snipes have a nearly worldwide distribution, the Lymnocryptes Jack Snipe is restricted to Asia and Europe and the...

, oyster catchers (using rabbit-holes as homes) and the predatory merlin
Merlin (bird)
The Merlin is a small species of falcon from the Northern Hemisphere. A bird of prey once known colloquially as a pigeon hawk in North America, the Merlin breeds in the northern Holarctic; some migrate to subtropical and northern tropical regions in winter.-European and North American...

 and buzzard
Buzzard
A buzzard is one of several large birds, but there are a number of meanings as detailed below.-Old World:In the Old World Buzzard can mean:* One of several medium-sized, wide-ranging raptors with a robust body and broad wings....

.
This area shelters mammals such as deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...

, wild boar, fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...

es, badger
Badger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...

s, stoat
Stoat
The stoat , also known as the ermine or short-tailed weasel, is a species of Mustelid native to Eurasia and North America, distinguished from the least weasel by its larger size and longer tail with a prominent black tip...

s, squirrel
Squirrel
Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...

s, rabbits and the occasional seal, but, in contrast to the bay of the Somme
Somme
Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardy region of France....

, the estuary of the Canche does not seem to possess a seal colony.
Numerous amphibian
Amphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...

s (Common toad
Common Toad
The common toad or European toad is an amphibian widespread throughout Europe, with the exception of Iceland, Ireland and some Mediterranean islands...

s, newt
Newt
A newt is an aquatic amphibian of the family Salamandridae, although not all aquatic salamanders are considered newts. Newts are classified in the subfamily Pleurodelinae of the family Salamandridae, and are found in North America, Europe and Asia...

s and frog
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...

s) are found in and along the river..

External links


See also

  • French water management scheme
    Schéma directeur d'aménagement et de gestion des eaux
    In France, the schéma directeur d'aménagement et de gestion des eaux aims to put into effect the principles of the law of 3 January 1992 on the level of the major hydrographic basins. In translation, its name is outline for the organization of the development and management of water...

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