Abarachois is a type of coastallagoon partially or totally separated from theocean by a sand or shingle bar. The term is used inAtlantic Canada,Saint Pierre and Miquelon,Réunion, andMauritius. OnDiego Garcia in theBritish Indian Ocean Territory, it describes narrow-mouthed saltwater wetlands within the lagoon.[1]
In some cases, the separating bar is composed of boulders rather than sand, such as at Freshwater Bay near St. John’s, Newfoundland.Salt water may enter a barachois during hightides.
Barachois features often form as a result ofsediment deposition in thedelta of ariver or, in some locations such asMiquelon Island, by atombolo.
Despite its French form, the termbarachois did not enter Canadian usage with the earliest French explorers. Writers such asSamuel de Champlain andJacques Cartier instead used expressions such ashavre de barre (orhable de barre), meaning a natural harbour protected by a sandbar.
Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the origin ofbarachois. A widely circulated folk etymology derives it from the French phrasebarre à choir; this and similar explanations have been rejected by linguists. According to theTrésor de la langue française au Québec, the term is instead ofBasque origin, derived frombarratxoa, meaning “small bar”. The word was adopted into French through contact with Basque fishermen active in theGulf of St. Lawrence from the 16th century onward, and later spread to other French-speaking regions.[2]
InNewfoundland English, the term has developed local pronunciations such asbarshwa and, more commonly, “barasway”.[3]
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