Three natural factors have influenced the utilisation of the delta land for agricultural purposes: topography (the fact that the north of the delta is higher than the south); the increase in salinity as one approaches the sea; and the nature of the soil, which is alluvial in the east and sandy in the west. Local combinations of these three factors dictate the types of agriculture that are most viable. Salt concentrations are high over much of the delta, especially in the low-lying land, where the preference is given to crops whose method of cultivation has a desalinating effect. There are around 18,000 hectares of rice, which makes it the dominant crop. Vineyards and asparagus cultivation take prominence in the sandy soil of the Petite Camargue, towards the west. In the north, at the top of the delta, and along the banks of the Grand Rhône, vegetables are grown; and there is arboriculture on irrigated land. Farmland currently takes up a third of the delta, i.e. around 50,000 hectares, 25,000 of which are situated between the two arms of the Rhône.
Salt deposits on the "sansouires" (salt plains)
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