The Gironde is a navigable estuary (often falsely referred to as
a river), in southwest France and is formed from the meeting of
the rivers Dordogne and Garonne just downstream of the centre of
Bordeaux. Covering around 635 km2 (245 sq mi), it is the largest
estuary in western Europe. The Gironde is approximately 80 km
(50 mi) long and 3–11 km (2–7 miles) wide and the French
département Gironde is named after it. The Gironde is subject to
very strong tidal currents and great care is needed when
navigating the estuary by any size or type of boat. The Gironde
was the setting for Operation Frankton, a British special forces
operation during the Second World War tasked with the objective
of destroying shipping moored at the docks in Bordeaux. Within
the estuary between the Pointe de Grave at the seaward end and
le bec d’Ambes are a series of small islands. The Île de Patiras
is 200 ha in size with a lighthouse to aid navigation in the
estuary. Vines and maize are grown there. The Île Sans-Pain and
Île Bouchaud ar