Restoring a Tidal Island in France

By ⋅ August 21, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment
Mont Saint-Michel during the low tides. (Photo: Wikipedia)

Mont Saint-Michel during the low tides. (Photo: Wikipedia)

For the Geo Quiz, we are heading to the second most popular tourist destination in France.

It’s an island, so it takes a bit of effort to get here, but that doesn’t stop the estimated 3 million people from trekking there each year.

This tiny island is on the north-west, just off the coast of Normandy. The island and it’s bay are on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. Restoration has been underway and is proving to be controversial.

Visitors have been banned from parking on the mudflats when the tide is low, while scientists and engineers work to remove the silt that has built up over time.

We’ll learn more about the controversy behind this restoration coming up.

Mont Saint-Michel is the answer to the Geo Quiz.

It is one of the biggest attractions in France that is undergoing mammoth restoration to ensure it remains an island. Mont Saint-Michel sits a kilometer from the Normandy coast. At low tide you can walk it and in the past hundred years the distance between the mainland and the mount has been narrowing.

Scientists are working with engineers to remove the silt that has built up, but the project is proving divisive. Since the work began visitors have been banned from parking on the mudflats in front of the rock and that has opened up a whole new can of sandworms.

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