Pornichet

Pornichet
Commune
Port
Coat of arms
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Coordinates: 47°16′39″N 2°20′20″W / 47.2775°N 2.3389°W / 47.2775; -2.3389Coordinates: 47°16′39″N 2°20′20″W / 47.2775°N 2.3389°W / 47.2775; -2.3389
Country	France
Region	Pays de la Loire
Department	Loire-Atlantique
Arrondissement	Saint-Nazaire
Canton	La Baule-Escoublac
Intercommunality	CA Région Nazairienne et Estuaire
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Jean-Claude Pelleteur
Area 1	12.67 km2 (4.89 sq mi)
Population  (Jan. 2018)[1]	10,952
• Density	860/km2 (2,200/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	44132 /44380
Elevation	0–44 m (0–144 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Pornichet (French pronunciation: ​[pɔʁniʃɛ]; Breton: Pornizhan) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.

Geography[]

Location[]

Pornichet is a coastal town of the , located 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 inland, 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 (), of 2 km length, is part of the Bay of Pouliguen (), shared with La Baule; the border is marked by the Mazy creek (currently underground). In the East, 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 into Nested Port^{[dubious – discuss]}. The town is named following its principal characteristic of 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.

Population[]

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

References[]

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