Samana Bay

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Samana Bay
Bacardi Island

Bacardi Island

Waters Caribbean
Land mass Hispaniola
Geographical location 19 ° 9 ′  N , 69 ° 0 ′  W Coordinates: 19 ° 9 ′  N , 69 ° 0 ′  W
Samaná Bay (Dominican Republic)
Samana Bay
width (N-S) 10 km
length (E-W) 40 km
surface 400 km²
Greatest water depth 45 m
Islands Cayo Levantado - Isla Bacardi
Tributaries Río Yuna , Rio Barracote
Former port facility in Los Haitises National Park

The Bay of Samaná is a sea bay in the northeast of the Dominican Republic , which is formed by the Cordillera Septentrional mountain range on the north coast of the island . It is named after the city of Samaná on the north coast of the bay. The two most important tributaries coming from the west of this eight to ten kilometers wide and around 40 kilometers long bay are the Rio Barracote and the Río Yuna .

In the southwest corner of the bay is the Parque Nacional Los Haitises , which is home to many animal species and is about twice the size of Samaná Bay. The mangrove forests growing along the coast are the largest on Hispaniola Island . Samaná Bay is an important region for whale calving each winter . In the shallow, maximally 45 meters deep water, the newly born marine mammals can quickly reach the sea surface in order to breathe vital oxygen. In the province of Samaná , whale watching is an important line of business.

history

In January 1493 Christopher Columbus discovered this bay during his first voyage to the Caribbean and named it Golfo de las Flechas (Gulf of the Arrows) because he was massively attacked here by the indigenous Taínos .

Individual evidence

  1. Oliver Dunn, James Kelly: The Diario of Christopher Columbus's First Voyage to America . University of Oklahoma Press, London 1991, pp. 333-343