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TheDombes (French:[dɔ̃b]^ⓘ;Arpitan:Domba) is an area in easternFrance, once an independent municipality, formerly part of theprovince ofBurgundy, and now a district comprised in thedepartment ofAin, and bounded on the west by theSaône River, on the south by theRhône, on the east by theAin and on the north by the district ofBresse.^[1]

The region forms an undulating plateau with a slight slope towards the north-west, the higher ground bordering the Ain and the Rhône attaining an average height of about 1,000 ft (300 m). The Dombes is characterized by an impervious surface consisting ofboulder clay and other relics of glacial action. Because of this, there are a large number of rain-water pools, varying for the most part from 35 to 250 acres (1.0 km²) in size which cover some 23,000 acres (93 km²) of its total area of 282,000 acres (1,140 km²). These pools, artificially created, date in many cases from the 15th century, some to earlier periods, and were formed by landed proprietors who in those disturbed times saw a surer source of revenue in fish-breeding than in agriculture.^[1]

Disease and depopulation resulted from this policy and at the end of the 18th century theLegislative Assembly decided to reduce the area of the pools which then covered twice their present extent. Drainage works were continued, roads cut, and other improvements effected during the 19th century; partly as a result ofNapoleon III's installation ofTrappist monks in the district to set about the task. Large numbers of fish, principallycarp,pike, andtench are still reared profitably. The pools are periodically dried up so the ground can be cultivated.^[1]

The Dombes[1] (LatinDumbae) once formed part of theKingdom of Burgundy-Arles. In the 11th century, when the kingdom began to break up, the northern part of the Dombes came under the power of the lords ofBâgé, and in 1218, by the marriage ofMarguerite de Baugé withHumbert IV of Beaujeu, passed to the lords of Beaujeu. The southern portion was held in succession by the lords ofVillars and ofThoire. Its lords took advantage of theexcommunication ofFrederick II, Holy Roman Emperor to assert their complete independence of theHoly Roman Empire.^[1]

In 1400,Louis II, Duke of Bourbon, acquired the northern part of the Dombes, together with the lordship of Beaujeu, and two years later bought the southern part from the sires de Thoire, forming the whole into a new sovereign principality of the Dombes, withTrévoux as its capital.^[1]

The principality was confiscated by KingFrancis I of France in 1523, along with the other possessions of the Constable de Bourbon, was granted in 1527 to the queen-mother,Louise of Savoy, and after her death was held successively by kings Francis I,Henry II andFrancis II, and byCatherine de' Medici. In 1561 it was granted to Louis,duc de Montpensier, by whose descendants it was held till, in 1682,Anne Marie Louise of Orléans, the duchess of Montpensier, gave it toLouis XIV's bastard, theDuke of Maine, as part of the price for the release of her loverLauzun.^[1]

The eldest son of the duke of Maine,Louis-Auguste de Bourbon (1700–1755), prince of Dombes, served in the army ofPrince Eugene of Savoyagainst the Turks (1717), took part in theWar of the Polish Succession (1733–1734), and in that of theAustrian Succession (1742-1747). He was made colonel-general of the Swiss regiment, governor ofLanguedoc and master of the hounds of France. He was succeeded, as prince of Dombes, by his brother the count ofEu, who in 1762 surrendered the principality to the crown. The little principality of Dombes showed in some respects signs of a vigorous life; the prince's mint and printing works atTrévoux were long famous, and the college atThoissey was well endowed and influential.^[1]

Taking the above information from 1911 with that from other sources, the district is composed of glacialtill, from a period when the Alpine ice sheet extended over the area, probably from theMindel andRiss glacials. This appears to be mainly clay depositedin situ as the ice melted. There appears to be also, sand and gravel on the clay in places. This may date from the latest glacial, theWürm.

The clay till which also goes by the now rather old-fashioned but still useful name ofboulder clay, is usually very sticky when wet and hard when thoroughly dry. This madearable use of the land with medieval implements impossible and it was unsuitable forpasture most of the time. Usually, such land was left as woodland but here, enterprising landowners seem to have taken it on when nobody else wanted it and attempted to make it produce income by excavating lakes forfish farming.

This was a sensible, commercial idea except in that the open, still and shallow water will have harboured thevectors ofmalaria. The population therefore remained small and probably sickly, until more effective, 19th century drainage permitted use of some of the land for pasture and modern agricultural methods permitted the heavier land to be used for ploughing. In parallel with these, medical advances overcame the malaria. Since the mid 20th century, the district has become fairly prosperous and theINSEE statistics now indicate a steady climb in population numbers.

The borders of the Dombes are not sharply defined, especially towards the north, where it continues into theBresse. The Dombes plateau proper does not include the escarpments (e.g.Côtière) and the plains along the Rivers Saône, Rhône and Ain.^[2] Thecommunes in the wider Dombes region co-operate in severalintercommunalities:Communauté de communes de la Dombes (36 communes, seat inChâtillon-sur-Chalaronne),^[3]Communauté de communes Dombes Saône Vallée (19 communes, seat inTrévoux),^[4] and part of theCommunauté d'agglomération du Bassin de Bourg-en-Bresse^[5] (indicated "CAB" in the table below).

• The Dombes, a historical ground near to Lyon between the Rhone the Alps and Burgundy which still remains to be discovered (French)

45°58′N05°00′E / 45.967°N 5.000°E /45.967; 5.000

• Dombes
• Geography of Ain
• Former provinces of France

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