Antsiranana Bay (also known as

Diego-Suarez Antsiranana ( mg, Antsiran̈ana ), named Diego-Suárez prior to 1975, is a city in the far north of Madagascar. Antsiranana is the capital of Diana Region. It had an estimated population of 115,015 in 2013. History The bay and city originally u ...

Bay) is a natural bay that stretches close to north to south along the northeast coast of

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. The waters average a depth of more than , and the main channel can be as deep as . The bay, protected by a narrow inlet that provides shelter from strong

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

winds, is believed to be the result of a submerging coastline or a drowned river valley that formed many peninsulas around the bay. The bay's principal city,

Antsiranana Antsiranana ( mg, Antsiran̈ana ), named Diego-Suárez prior to 1975, is a city in the far north of Madagascar. Antsiranana is the capital of Diana Region. It had an estimated population of 115,015 in 2013. History The bay and city originally u ...

, is located on a headland.

History

The bay was first recorded by European explorers in 1500; sailors in the service of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

named the bay for the leader of their expedition, Diogo Soares. The bay was later used for shelter by a number of pirates and privateers during the

Golden Age of Piracy The Golden Age of Piracy is a common designation for the period between the 1650s and the 1730s, when maritime piracy was a significant factor in the histories of the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, the Indian Ocean, North America, and West Africa ...

, and it has been speculated as a possible location of the legendary pirate colony Libertalia.

References

External links

*
Sea-seek.com: nautical map of the ''Bay of Diego Suarez''
Bays of Madagascar Diana Region {{DianaMG-geo-stub