The area of the commune is 16 km2 (6.2 sq mi). The village of Camiers itself is small and stands just inland from the dunes on the south-west and west-facing coast just north ofÉtaples. The space between the village and the mouth of the RiverCanche is occupied by anature reserve in thedunes. The local solid geology is theCretaceous plateau of Artois with theBoulonnais just to the north. In its highest part, the commune rises onto theUpper Cretaceous at 176 metres but most lies on the levelled marine sand which in the medieval period, was off-shore.
The coastal road, the D940 now by-passes the village to the west while the main traffic betweenCalais andAbbeville is carried by theAutorouteA16 on the higher ground to the east. The Autoroute briefly passes through the eastern extremity of the commune.
Camiers belonged to the Lordship of Noailles. However the waters of the lagoon between the dunes and the shore of the solid geology, for many years, presented an obstacle to its development.
During theFirst World War the flat lands were the site of the huge base depot of theBritish army in France. It is usually known nowadays as Étaples camp. Through most of the war, close to it and part of the same complex, Camiers camp was the base depot, in France, of theMachine Gun Corps. Its home base depot was atBelton Park, nearGrantham.
In the 1890s, paintersHenri andMarie Huhem established themselves in Camiers and gathered other artists around them. The group would be known as "L'école de Wissant", taking the name of the nearby commune whereVirginie Demont-Breton lived.[4]
^Ball, Jean-Marie; Bourrut Lacouture, Annette; Gallois, Philippe (2013).L'École de Wissant et ses peintres [The School of Wissant and its painters] (in French). Art et Histoire de Wissant.ISBN9782954567303.