The Baie de Douarnenez (; br, Bae Douarnenez) is a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a nar ...

Finistère Finistère (, ; br, Penn-ar-Bed ) is a department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, between the

Crozon Crozon (, ; br, Kraozon, , ) is a commune in the department of Finistère and the administrative region of Brittany, northwestern France. As well as the town of Crozon, the village of Morgat is part of the commune. Crozon is located on the Cr ...

Peninsula to the north and the Cap Sizun to the south. It is a vast semi-circular basin over wide and from its entrance to the opposite shore. Although half closed off to the west by

Cap de la Chèvre The cap de la Chèvre is the southernmost point of the Crozon peninsula in western Brittany in France. Facing south, it faces the north side of cap Sizun and closes off the baie de Douarnenez. Consisting of heath, heather and maritime pines, t ...

, it opens out again to a width of on the side of the

Mer d'Iroise Iroise () or the Iroise Sea (french: mer d'Iroise ; br, An Hirwazh) is the part of the Atlantic Ocean which stretches from the Ile de Sein to Ushant off the coast of Brittany in north-western France. It is contained within the Celtic Sea, bo ...

. To the south-east is the port of

Douarnenez Douarnenez (, ; meaning ''douar'' (land) ''an enez'' (the island) or land of the island), is a commune in the French department of Finistère, region of Brittany, northwestern France. It is located at the mouth of the Pouldavid River, an e ...

, which was the center of a large

sardine "Sardine" and "pilchard" are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century, a folk etymology says it comes from the ...

industry in the early 20th century. The bay was named after it. Dourarnenez is the only settlement of importance on the banks of the bay. The bathing station at

Morgat Crozon (, ; br, Kraozon, , ) is a commune in the department of Finistère and the administrative region of Brittany, northwestern France. As well as the town of Crozon, the village of Morgat is part of the commune. Crozon is located on the Cro ...

is located to the north, on the Crozon peninsula. The mythical town of Ys, which legend says was engulfed by the ocean, is commonly said to be located in this bay.

References

Geography of Brest, France

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