Samborombón Bay () 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 ...

on the coast of

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. Located at 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 ...

's mouth on the

Argentine Sea The Argentine Sea () is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the southern tip of South America. It ranges from the mouth of the estuary of the Río de la Plata in the north (35th parallel south) to the Isla de los Estados in the south, ...

, it begins about southeast of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

and is about wide.

Toponymy

The bay is thought to have been named in 1520 by members of

Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan ( – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer best known for having planned and led the 1519–22 Spanish expedition to the East Indies. During this expedition, he also discovered the Strait of Magellan, allowing his fl ...

's expedition, who attributed its nearly semicircular shape to the detachment of legendary Saint Brendan's Island from the South American mainland ("Samborombón" being a corruption of ''San Borondón''). The Samborombón River and the town of Samborombón share the bay's name.

Geography

Samborombón Bay is located at the mouth of the Río de la Plata, stretching from Punta Piedras in the north to

Punta Rasa Punta is an Afro-Indigenous dance and cultural music deeply rooted in the cultural traditions of the Garifuna of Honduras. It heavily incorporates West African/Central African drumming, the dance primarily of Angola and Congo origins. The musi ...

in the south, where Cape San Antonio begins. Depending on the boundaries used, the bay can be considered an

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

stretch of the Río de la Plata or a large bay of the Argentine Sea; the

International Hydrographic Organization The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) (French: ''Organisation Hydrographique Internationale'') is an intergovernmental organization representing hydrography. the IHO comprised 102 member states. A principal aim of the IHO is to ...

defines the eastern boundary of the Río de la Plata as "a line joining

Punta del Este Punta del Este () is a seaside city and peninsula on the Atlantic Coast in the Maldonado Department of southeastern Uruguay. Starting as a small town, Punta del Este grew to become a resort for the Latin and North American jet set and tourists. T ...

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 ...

and Cabo San Antonio, Argentina," a definition which includes Samborombón Bay as part of the river.

Hydrology

The bay receives inflow from the Southern Salado River, the Samborombón River, and other smaller streams, as well as numerous artificial

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

s constructed to drain eastern Buenos Aires Province. It also experiences a substantial flow of water coming out from the Río de la Plata into the Argentine Sea.

Conservation

Samborombón Bay exhibits an unusually high density of shorebird species, many of which use the bay as a stopping point in their seasonal migrations. It also serves as an important

nursery habitat In marine environments, a nursery habitat is a subset of all habitats where juveniles of a species occur, having a greater level of productivity per unit area than other juvenile habitats (Beck et al. 2001). Mangroves, salt marshes and seagrass ...

for fish species in the Río de la Plata estuary system. The bay and the adjoining coastal region are included in a number of

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

s because of the well preserved

Pampas The Pampas (; from Quechua 'plain'), also known as the Pampas Plain, are fertile South American low grasslands that cover more than and include the Argentine provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, and Córdoba; all o ...

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

and

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

s that characterize the area. The Province of Buenos Aires' Provincial Body for Sustainable Development has designated the central portion of the coast as the Samborombón Bay Provincial Nature Reserve because of its importance as a wildlife refuge; parts of the southern coast are included in the Rincón de Ajó Provincial Nature Reserve. The bay is also designated as a

Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network The Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) is a conservation movement, conservation strategy targeting shorebirds in the Americas launched in 1985. Its aim is to protect the nesting, reproduction, breeding and Staging area (birds), st ...

Site of International Importance, as well as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance, reflecting its significance as a habitat for the buff-breasted sandpiper and other threatened species. The southern shore includes

Campos del Tuyú National Park Campos del Tuyú National Park () is a national park in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Situated on the southern shore of Samborombón Bay, the park was established on May 13, 2009. The main attraction of Campos del Tuyú is the rare pampas de ...

, home to a population of rare

Pampas deer The Pampas deer (''Ozotoceros bezoarticus'') is a species of deer that live in the grasslands of South America at low elevations.Geist, Valerius. Deer of the world their evolution, behaviour, and ecology'. Mechanicsburg, Pa: Stackpole Books, 1998 ...

Recreation

The Samborombón Bay coast is known for its excellent

sport fishing Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is occupational fishing activities done for profit; or subsistence fishing, ...

, particularly in the waters near Punta Rasa and the town of General Lavalle, where large saltwater species such as black drum are abundant.

References

External links

Map of Samborombón Bay and its various protected areas
from the Argentine National Parks Administration {{DEFAULTSORT:Samborombon Bay Bays of Argentina La Plata basin Landforms of Buenos Aires Province Ramsar sites in Argentina