Cantabrian Sea redirects here. Not to be confused with Biscay Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador or Biscayne Bay. Origin of Name This name appears as early as 1675 in The English Pilot a guide to navigation Biscayne Bay ( Bahía Vizcaina, in Spanish) is a Lagoon that is approximately 35 miles (56 km long and up to 8 miles (13 km wide located on the

The Bay of Biscay (Spanish: Golfo de Vizcaya and Mar Cantábrico; French: Golfe de Gascogne; Basque: Bizkaiko Golkoa; Occitan: Golf de Gasconha) is a gulf of the North Atlantic Ocean. An algal bloom is a rapid increase in the population of Algae in an aquatic system French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Gascony (Gascogne gaskɔɲ Gascon Occitan: Gasconha, pronounced) is an area of southwest France that constituted a province of France Basque ( native name: euskara) is the Language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain Occitan ( IPA BrE: /ˈɒksɪtn/ AmE: /ˈɑksəˌtɑn/ known also as Lenga d'òc or Langue d'oc (native name occitan Headlands and bays are two related features of the coastal environment It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Punta de Estaca de Bares, and is named for the Spanish province of Biscay. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Brest (bʁɛst in French, in Breton) is a city in the Finistère department in Bretagne in northwestern France. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Punta de Estaca de Bares is the northernmost point of mainland Spain, at a Latitude of 43º 47' 38" North Population Of the 1133444 people who live in Biscay about 35% live in the capital Bilbao and 88% in its metropolitan area. Biscay is also an area of the British Shipping Forecast, familiar to BBC Radio 4 listeners. The Shipping Forecast is a four-times-daily BBC radio broadcast of Weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the coasts of the British Isles.

Contents 1 Geography 1.1 Rivers 1.2 Main cities 2 History 3 Wildlife

Geography

Parts of the continental shelf extend far into the bay, resulting in fairly shallow water in many areas which creates the rough seas the region is known for. The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each Continent and associated Coastal plain, which is covered during interglacial periods such The Bay of Biscay is home to some of the Atlantic Ocean's fiercest weather. The weather is a set of all the phenomena occurring in a given Atmosphere at a given Time. Large storms occur in the bay, especially during the winter months. Up until recent years it was a regular occurrence for merchant vessels to founder in Biscay storms, and many lives were lost. Improved ships and weather prediction have reduced the toll of the storms.

Rivers

The main rivers that end in the Bay of Biscay are:

• France: Loire, Charente, Garonne, Dordogne, Adour. The Loire River (lwaʁ in French) is the longest River in France. The Charente is a River in western France, flowing into the Atlantic Ocean. The Garonne (Garonne in Occitan, Catalan and Spanish: Garona; Garumna is a River in southwest France and northern The Dordogne ( Occitan: Dordonha) is a River in south-central and southwest France. The Adour (Aturri is a River in southwestern France. It rises in High- Bigorre ( Pyrenees) at the Col du Tourmalet, and flows into
• Spain: named westward : Bidasoa, Urola , Nervión, Asón, Pas, Deva, Nalón, Navia, Eo, Sor. The Bidasoa (Bidassoa is a river in the Basque Country of northern Spain that runs largely south to north The Urola is a river and valley in Guipuzcoa ( Basque Gipuzkoa Basque Country, Spain The River Nervión runs through the city of Bilbao Spain into the Cantabrian Sea ( Bay of Biscay) The Asón is a river in Northern Spain, flowing through the Autonomous Community of Cantabria and flows into the Cantabrian Sea in the town of Colindres The Pas River is located in the region of Cantabria in the northern part of Spain. The Deva is a river in Northern Spain, flowing through the Autonomous Communities of Cantabria and Asturias until it joins the Cares River For other uses see Nalón. The Nalón is the longest river in Asturias. The Eo is a River in northwestern Spain. Some 91 km in length its estuary forms the boundary between the regions of Galicia and Asturias. The River Sor of Mañón flows between the provinces of A Coruña and Lugo, in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.

Main cities

The main cities on the shores of the Bay of Biscay are:

• France: Brest, Nantes, La Rochelle, Bordeaux, Bayonne. Brest (bʁɛst in French, in Breton) is a city in the Finistère department in Bretagne in northwestern France. Nantes (Naoned Gallo: Naunnt) is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast La Rochelle is a city in western France, and a Seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. ( Gascon: Bordèu) is a port city in southwest France, with one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area at a 2008 estimate Bayonne ( French: Bayonne bajɔn Gascon Occitan and Basque: Baiona) is a city and commune of southwest
• Spain: San Sebastian, Bilbao, Santander, Gijon. Donostia-San Sebastián ( Basque: Donostia, IPA; Spanish: San Sebastián, known officially as Donostia-San Sebastián Bilbao, (also Bilbo) in the North of Spain, is the largest city in the Basque Country and the capital of the province of Biscay (Basque The port city of Santander is the capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain between Asturias (to the west and Gijón ( Asturian: Xixón) is a coastal industrial city

History

The southern end of the gulf is also called in Spanish "Mar Cantábrico" (Cantabrian Sea), for the region of Cantabria, but this name is not generally used in English. Cantabria is a Spanish province and Autonomous community with Santander as its capital city It was named by Romans in 1st century BC as Sinus Cantabrorum (Bay of the Cantabri). The Cantabri were an ancient confederacy of eleven tribes either Celtic or pre-Indo European, that inhabited the north coast of Hispania in the whole

On some medieval maps, the Bay of Biscay is marked as El Mar del los Vascos, the Basque Sea. The Bay of Biscay is the birthplace of what is considered one of the world's most successful and most renowned maritime industry, the Basque and Cantabrian shipbuilders and fishermen.

This area was considered to be the final (European) destination for the Soviet Red Army (the former U.S.S.R.'s military force) during the Cold War. The Red Army ( Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия R aboche- K rest'yanskaya K rasnaya A rmiya The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the The location has both geopolitical as well as strategic importance. The former is representative of potential Soviet dominance of Europe, and the latter applies to the strategic importance of Soviet naval access to the Atlantic Ocean.

The British Yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur finished her first trip around the world here, and there is a famous song based on this. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur, DBE (born 8 July 1976) is an English Sailor from Whatstandwell near Matlock

Wildlife

The car ferries from Portsmouth to Bilbao and from Plymouth to Santander provide one of the most convenient ways to see cetaceans in European waters, and there are often specialist trips on board. History See also History of Portsmouth There have been settlements in the area since before Roman times mostly being offshoots of Portchester, which Bilbao, (also Bilbo) in the North of Spain, is the largest city in the Basque Country and the capital of the province of Biscay (Basque Plymouth ( is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England about south west of London. The port city of Santander is the capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain between Asturias (to the west and The Order Cetacea (sɪˈteɪʃiə L cetus, whale includes Whales Dolphins and Porpoises Cetus is

Volunteers and employees from the Biscay Dolphin Research Programme use the bridge of the vessel on the P&O Portsmouth to Bilbao run to observe and monitor cetacean activity. The P&O Cruises brand is not owned by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company Many species of whales and dolphins can be seen in this area but it is one of the few places where the beaked whales such as the Cuvier's beaked whale have been observed. Whales are marine mammals which are neither Dolphins (ie members of the families Delphinidae or Platanistoidae) nor Porpoises Orcas Dolphins are Marine mammals that are closely related to Whales and Porpoises There are almost forty species of dolphin in seventeen genera. Cuvier's Beaked Whale, Ziphius cavirostris is the most widely distributed of all the Beaked whales It is the only member of the Genus Ziphius

The best areas to see the larger cetaceans are those over deep water off the continental shelf particularly over the Santander Canyon and Torrelavega Canyon in the south of the Bay.

The three-day round trip also gives sightings of good numbers of several species of seabirds, particularly gannets. Seabirds are Birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment Gannets are Seabirds in the family Sulidae, closely related to the boobies.

The alga Colpomenia peregrina was introduced and first noticed by oyster fishermen in the Bay of Biscay in 1906. Colpomenia peregrina (Sauvageau Hamel is a Seaweed ( Alga) not native to the British Isles but recorded in Ireland since 1934

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