The Lagoon of Salses-Leucate is over 8.7 miles (14 km) long and is the largest pond of Occitany after Thau's. Its water is characterized by a brackish nature of variable temperature and salinity but also a shallow depth. Although it is only one whole body of water, the lagoon of Salses-Leucate consists of three parts: the Leucate basin, the Salses basin, and the loop of Paurel. The line separating the two basins also represents the boundary between the departments of Aude and Pyrénées-Orientales