The Bay of Montevideo () is the bay around the city of

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

in the

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (; ), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda, Colonia, Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and ...

. It was previously named by

Pedro de Mendoza Pedro de Mendoza () (c. 1487 – June 23, 1537) was a Spanish ''conquistador'', soldier and explorer, and the first ''adelantado'' of New Andalusia. Setting sail Pedro de Mendoza was born in Guadix, Grenada, part of a large noble family that ...

as "Bahía de la Candelaria".

Description

The bay has a round shape – approximately in diameter at low tide – and a very secure port suited for boats with a deep draft. On its west side, is the Cerro de Montevideo crowned by the fortress of the same name with a lighthouse which dominates the landscape.

Port

The

Port of Montevideo The Port of Montevideo (), in the northern part of the Old City of Montevideo, Uruguay, is one of the major ports of South America and plays a very important role in the economy of Uruguay. Notably the port includes a number of important faciliti ...

annually receives many passengers and cargo. It is one of the major ports of South America and plays a very important role in the economy of Uruguay. The port's proximity has contributed to the installation of various industries in the area surrounding the bay, particularly import/export businesses, and business related to port activity and naval activity. Because of the density of industrial development in the area surrounding the port, the residential popularity is relatively low. The main environmental problems are subaquatic sedimentation and air and water contamination. The port has been growing rapidly and consistently at an average annual rate of 14 percent due to an increase in foreign trade. The city has received a

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

20 million loan from the

Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international development finance institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America. It serves as one of the leading sources of development financing for the countri ...

to modernize the port, increase its size and efficiency, and enable lower maritime and river transportation costs.

References

External links

{{Coord, 34, 53, 59, S, 56, 14, 3, W, type:landmark, display=title Coasts of Uruguay Bodies of water of Uruguay Geography of Montevideo Bays of Uruguay Ciudad Vieja, Montevideo Aguada, Montevideo Capurro Villa del Cerro