 | This articlerelies largely or entirely on asingle source. Relevant discussion may be found on thetalk page. Please helpimprove this article byintroducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "Bay of Arguin" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(March 2025) |
| Bay of Arguin | |
|---|---|
| |
 Map of the wider gulf area showing the Banc d'Arguin National Park | |
  Bay of Arguin Location in Mauritania | |
| Coordinates | 20°05′N16°37′W / 20.08°N 16.62°W /20.08; -16.62 |
| Ocean/sea sources | Atlantic Ocean |
| Basin countries | Mauritania |
| Max. length | 13 km (8.1 mi) |
| Max. width | 20 km (12 mi) |
| Islands | Île d’Arguin, Île de l'Ardent |
TheBay of Arguin (French:Baie d'Arguin;Portuguese:Baía de Arguim) is a bay on theAtlantic shore ofMauritania and the former mouth of theTamanrasset River, now a Paleo-river.
It is located south ofCap Blanc, north ofCap Timiris.
The bay contains three islands, includingArguin andTidra, as well as numerous sandbanks. It is also the site of the 12,000 km2Banc 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 includeDakhlet Nouadhibou in the north and Baie deTanoudert in the east. Other promontories includeMinou, Cap Sainte-Anne, Argun,Alzaz,Tagarit andTafarit. The OuedChibka, a seasonal and occasional stream flowing only when the climate is partly wet, is in the north-central part.
Inhabited places by the bay includeNouadhibou in the north,Arkeiss andTel-Alloul to the east andTeichott,R'Gueiba andAwguei to the south.
The bay is the possible location of Cerne, a Carthaginian outpost founded byHanno the Navigator around 500 B.C.
The first European to visit the bay wasNuno Tristão in 1443, after which the remainder of the bay was explored.
The area is also known as the place where theFrench frigateMéduse was famously wrecked in 1816.[1]
 | ThisMauritania location article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
