The Baie de 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, ci ...

Finistère Finistère (, ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. Its prefecture is Quimper and its largest city is Brest, France, Brest. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, between the

Crozon Crozon (, ; , , ) 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 Crozon penin ...

Peninsula to the north and the

Cap Sizun The Cap Sizun (; ) is a headland forming the western extremity of the Cornouaille, in the French département of Finistère in Brittany, corresponding to the former canton of Pont-Croix. The best known sites in this region are the pointe du R ...

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, it opens out again to a width of on the side of the Mer d'Iroise. 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 estua ...

, 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 suborder Clupeoidei. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century; a somewhat dubious etymology says it com ...

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