The salt-producing vocation of Aigues-Mortes in the Gard department dates back to Antiquity. At the beginning of the Christian era, Peccius, a Roman engineer, was commissioned to organize the production of salt in Aigues-Mortes. Today, the local operation produces 500,000 tons of salt renowned worldwide each year. The soil of Camargue is particularly flat and clayey and dotted with ponds, which makes it ideal for sea salt extraction. The region also experiences intense evaporation and very low rain levels. The saltworks of Aigues-Mortes are recognizable by their pink color created by the proliferation of the Dunaliella salina microscopic algae.