Cap Ferret

Cap Ferret is a cape, and the southernmost point on the spit that separates the Bassin d' Arcachon on the Atlantic Ocean. The peninsula is located in the Gironde department in southwestern France. The Cape is known mainly for its lighthouse and a frequented Sommerausflugsort in the heart of the Landes de Gascogne and the Pays de Buch.

On the peninsula from north to south are the places Claouey Les Jacquet, Petit and Grand Piquey, Piraillan, Le Canon, L' Herbe, La Vigne and the Cap Ferret.

Geology

The peninsula on which the chapter is located, has a very short geological history that does not even cover 3000 years into the past. She is one of the youngest stretch of coastline of Gascony.

As in the rest of the Landes de Gascogne, the floor is composed of a layer of sandstone, whose origin is due to the connection of the quartz grains with each other due to the decomposition of the clay by the presence of iron and organic matter. It forms the hardpan, called Alios. Thus, the water seeps into the groundwater is heavily saturated with dissolved iron and caused so on the shore visible traces, a trace of rust.

It is this phenomenon that justified the designation of the headland as "Cap Herré " what "iron peak " means in the Gascon language. It later became the present name.

The first inhabitants

In the 19th century some fishermen had settled in different places of the peninsula, while maintaining the headland was only temporarily inhabited.

The fishermen of La Teste and from Gujan came with pinnaces to catch the fish at the entrance of the basin. They built on the banks of a few huts, which they could easily reach. Lying behind the tip of the cape, they offered protection from the harsh west winds. In 1857, there were about a dozen of these huts near the lighthouse. In the second half of the 19th century, more groups of people to some officials, tax collectors, lighthouse wardens and forestry workers join.

Under Napoleon III. became common after 1860 the breeding of oysters in Gascony. The Wadden was parceled out for this purpose, and the plots were sold. Oyster farming, resin and the forestry industry dominated the landscape, later joined by the tourism of the most important industries in the area. Located on the peninsula of Lege -Cap -Ferret community is benefiting from both the mudflats of the basin as well as the width of the Côte d' Argent. The Dune du Pilat is located opposite the central portion of the strait to the Bassin d' Arcachon.