The Bay of Biscay is known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay (Spanish:Golfo de Vizcaya;Basque:Bizkaiko Golkoa). In France, it is called the Gulf ofGascony (French:Golfe de Gascogne[ɡɔl.f(ə)dəɡas.kɔɲ];Occitan:Golf de Gasconha;Breton:Pleg-mor Gwaskogn;Basque:Gaskoiniako Golkoa). InLatin, the bay was known asSinus Cantabrorum (Cantabrian Gulf); the nameCantabrian Sea is still used locally for the southern area of the Bay of Biscay that washes over the northern coast of Spain (Cantabria). The English name comes fromBiscay on the northern Spanish coast, probably standing for thewestern Basque districts (Biscay up to the early 19th century).
Parts of thecontinental shelf extend far into the bay, resulting in fairly shallow waters in many areas and thus the rough seas for which the region is known. Heavy storms occur in the bay, especially during the winter months. The Bay of Biscay is home to some of theAtlantic Ocean's fiercestweather; abnormally high waves occur there.[2] Up until recent years it was a regular occurrence for merchant vessels to founder in Biscay storms.
In late spring and early summer, a large fog triangle fills the southwestern half of the bay, covering just a few kilometres inland.
As winter begins, weather becomes severe. Depressions enter from the west very frequently, and either they bounce north to theBritish Isles or they enter theEbro Valley, dry out, and are finally reborn in the form of powerful thunderstorms as they reach theMediterranean Sea. These depressions cause severe weather at sea and bring light but very constant rain to its shores (known asorballo,sirimiri,morrina,orbayu,orpin orcalabobos). Sometimes powerful windstorms form if the pressure falls rapidly (galerna), traveling along theGulf Stream at great speed, resembling a hurricane, and finally crashing in this bay with their maximum power, such as theKlaus storm.[5]
TheGulf Stream enters the bay following the continental shelf's border anti-clockwise (theRennell Current), keeping temperatures moderate all year long.
The southern end of the gulf is also called"Mar Cantábrico" in Spanish (Cantabrian Sea), from theEstaca de Bares, as far as the mouth ofAdour river, but this name is not generally used in English. It was named by Romans in the 1st century BC asSinus Cantabrorum (Bay of theCantabri) and also,Mare Gallaecum (the Sea of theGalicians). On some medieval maps, the Bay of Biscay is marked asEl Mar del los Vascos (the Basque Sea).[6]
On 12 April 1970,Soviet submarine K-8 sank in the Bay of Biscay due to a fire that crippled the submarine's nuclear reactors. An attempt to save the sub failed, resulting in the death of forty sailors and the loss of four nuclear torpedoes. Due to the great depth (15,000 ft or 4,600 m), no salvage operation was attempted.[citation needed]
ThePlaiaundi Ecology Park is a 24-hectare coastal wetland lying where theBidasoa River meets the sea in the Bay of Biscay.The nature ofPlaiaundi consists of a wide variety offlora (visitors view them mainly in the spring) andfauna (visitors with binoculars arrive all during the year, because of the birds' migratory habits). This nature park contains a variety ofbirds,reptiles,mammals andinsects.[9]
The car ferries fromGijón toNantes/Saint-Nazaire,Portsmouth toBilbao and fromPlymouth,Portsmouth andPoole toSantander provide one of the most convenient ways to seecetaceans in European waters. Often specialist groups take the ferries to collect more information. Volunteers and employees of ORCA regularly observe and monitor cetacean activity from thebridge of the ships onBrittany Ferries' Portsmouth to Santander route. Many species ofwhales anddolphins can be seen in this area. Most importantly, it is one of the few places in the world where thebeaked whales, such as theCuvier's beaked whale, have been observed relatively frequently. Biscay Dolphin Research monitored cetacean activity from theP&O Ferries cruise ferryPride of Bilbao, on voyages from Portsmouth to Bilbao.
North Atlantic right whales, one of the most endangered species of whales, once came to the bay for feeding and probably for calving as well, butwhaling activities by Basque people almost wiped them out sometime prior to the 1850s. The eastern population of this species are considered to be almost extinct, and there has been no record of right whales in the Bay of Biscay except for a pair in 1977 (possibly a mother and calf) at43°00′N10°30′W / 43.000°N 10.500°W /43.000; -10.500,[10] and another pair in June 1980. Other records in the late 20th century include one offGalicia at43°00′N10°30′W / 43.000°N 10.500°W /43.000; -10.500 in September 1977 reported by a whaling company and another one seen off the Iberian Peninsula.
^A Summary of Wave Data Needs and Availability: A Report. 1979. p. 7.Archived from the original on 2023-04-06. Retrieved2021-01-05.The Gulf Stream off Cape Hatteras, the Gulf of Alaska, the English Channel, and the Bay of Biscay are some of the other areas where storms and current combine to produce abnormally high, steep waves.
