Pornichet

Pornichet
Sunset at the entrance to the port of Pornichet
Coat of arms
Pornichet
Location within Pays de la Loire region  Pornichet
Coordinates: 47°16′39″N 2°20′20″W / 47.2775°N 2.3389°WCoordinates: 47°16′39″N 2°20′20″W / 47.2775°N 2.3389°W
Country	France
Region	Pays de la Loire
Department	Loire-Atlantique
Arrondissement	Saint-Nazaire
Canton	La Baule-Escoublac
Intercommunality	région nazairienne et l'estuaire
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Robert Belliot
Area^1	12.67 km^2 (4.89 sq mi)
Population (2008)^2	10,502
• Density	830/km^2 (2,100/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	44132 / 44380
Elevation	0–44 m (0–144 ft)
Website	http://www.mairie-pornichet.fr/
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. ^2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Pornichet is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.

Geography

Location

Pornichet is a coastal town of the Côte d'Amour, located a tens of kilometers west of Saint-Nazaire.

The adjacent towns are Saint-Nazaire and La Baule-Escoublac.

Physical geography

The town of Pornichet is located

• on the line sillon de Guérande, orientated NW-SE ; the town border is located on the Route de Guérande, D392d, at approximately 4 km from the shore, at a place called Pont de Terre (railway junction) at the Quatre Vents ;
• on a coastal rock belt located upfront of the sillon de Guérande (same orientation), between two rock heads, the Pointe du Bec and the Pointe de la Lande (border with Saint-Nazaire), separated of 4,25 km ;
• on sandy terranes part of the sand dune unit of Escoublac, between the place named Mazy (border with La Baule-Escoublac) and the Pointe du Bec (length : 2 km ; width : 100 m at Mazy, 1 km at the head) ;
• on former swamp area (racetrack).

The lowest altitude (except shoreline) is of 4 m at the racetrack ; The dune behind the beach of the Libraires reaches 9 m. The cliffs of Bonne Source and Sainte-Marguerite can reach 12 m. Going in lands, altitudes progressively increase up to 44 m ; the highest point is located in the hamlet called Ville ès Blais.

Shore and beaches

Pornichet has three beaches : in the West, the Beach of the Libraires (plage des Libraires), of 2 km length, is part of the Bay of Pouliguen (baie du Pouliguen), shared with La Baule ; the border is marked by the Mazy creek (currently underground). In the Est, between the Pointe du Bec and the Pointe de la Lande, are located the beaches of Bonne-Source (2,5 km) and Sainte-Marguerite (1,5 km), separated by a rocky head called the Pointe de Congrigoux.

Toponymy

The name of Pornichet comes from Port Niché, which could be translated by Port in a niche. The town is named following its principal characteristic a port located in an alcove along a salt-work channel, which was connecting the salt-works (current racetrack) and the bay.

History

Until the town was created in 1900, Pornichet was a hamlet of Saint-Nazaire.

Sister cities

• Bexbach (Germany)
• San Vicente de la Barquera (Spain)

See also

• Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department
• La Baule - Guérande Peninsula
• Parc naturel régional de Brière