Bay of Arguin

The Bay of Arguin (French: Baie d'Arguin; Portuguese: Baía de Arguim) is a bay on the Atlantic shore of Mauritania and the former mouth of the Tamanrasset River, now a Paleo-river.

Bay of Arguin
Map of the wider gulf area showing the Banc d'Arguin National Park
Bay of Arguin is located in Mauritania
Bay of Arguin
Bay of Arguin
Location in Mauritania
Coordinates20.08°N 16.62°W / 20.08; -16.62
Native name
Ocean/sea sourcesAtlantic Ocean
Basin countriesMauritania
Max. length13 km (8.1 mi)
Max. width20 km (12 mi)
IslandsÎle d’Arguin, Île de l'Ardent

Geography

It is located south of Cap Blanc, north of Cap Timiris.

The bay contains three islands, including Arguin and Tidra, as well as numerous sandbanks. It is also the site of the 12,000 km² Banc d'Arguin National Park which includes most of the bay. The park's northern boundary is at Minou; it does not include the Dakhlet Nouadhibou, or the westernmost areas. Smaller bays within the Bay of Arguin include Dakhlet Nouadhibou in the north and Baie de Tanoudert in the east. Other promontories include Minou, Cap Sainte-Anne, Argun, Alzaz, Tagarit and Tafarit. The Oued Chibka, a seasonal and occasional stream flowing only when the climate is partly wet, is in the north-central part.

Inhabited places by the bay include Nouadhibou in the north, Arkeiss and Tel-Alloul to the east and Teichott, R'Gueiba and Awguei to the south.

History

The bay is the possible location of Cerne, a Carthaginian outpost founded by Hanno the Navigator around 500 B.C.

In 1035, Abdallah ibn Yasin founded a ribat (military refuge) on the island of Tidra at the beginning of the Almoravid Dynasty.[1]

The first European to visit the bay was Nuno Tristão in 1443, after which the remainder of the bay was explored.

The area is also known as the place where the French frigate Méduse was famously wrecked in 1816.[2]

References
  1. "terremauritanie.com". Archived from the original on 2016-10-24. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  2. Corréard, Alexandre; Savigny, Jean Baptiste Henri (2004-04-01). Narrative of a Voyage to Senegal in 1816 Undertaken by Order of the French Government, Comprising an Account of the Shipwreck of the Medusa, the Sufferings of the Crew, and the Various Occurrences on Board the Raft, in the Desert of Zaara, at St. Louis, and at the Camp of Daccard. to Which Are Subjoined Observations Respecting the Agriculture of the Western Coast of Africa, from Cape Blanco to the Mouth of the Gambia. Archived from the original on 2016-01-16. Retrieved 2016-07-03.


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