Sligo Bay () is a natural ocean

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 ...

County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the loc ...

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

Geography

Stony beach at Drumcliffe bay - geograph

Sligo Bay is opened between Aughris Head (South side) and Roskeeragh Point (North). The inner part of the bay is divided into three smaller bodies of water, hosting the

estuaries 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 environme ...

of three rivers: Drumcliff, Garavogue and Bonet. The river Garavogue reaches the bay in its central part, named ''Sligo Harbour'', which is divided from the outer part of the bay by three small islands:

Coney Coney may refer to: Places * Côney, a river in eastern France * Coney, Georgia, an unincorporated community in the United States * Coney Island (disambiguation) People * Dean Coney (born 1963), English footballer * Hykiem Coney (1982–2006), A ...

, Oyster and Maguins. On the southern branch of Sligo Bay also has its mouth the

Ballisodare River The Ballisodare River ( ga, Abhainn Bhaile Easa Dara; also spelled ''Ballysadare'') is a river in Ireland, flowing through County Sligo. Course The Ballisodare River derives from three other Sligo rivers: the Unshin River, the Owenmore Rive ...

, near the village of the same name.

Landforms and islands

The bay is characterised by the peninsulas jutting out into it, which create vast areas of sandy beach at low tide, along with the tidal islands which are only accessible at low tide. The notable landforms within the bay and its peninsulas are: *

Maugherow Peninsula The Maugherow Peninsula () is the largest and westernmost peninsula of County Sligo, Ireland. It is also less commonly referred to as the Raghly Peninsula, after Raghly Point (), which is itself a headland of the peninsula. The peninsula acts ...

Rosses Point Peninsula The Rosses Point Peninsula () is a small peninsula in the centre of Sligo Bay, County Sligo, Ireland. The peninsula shares its name with the village of Rosses Point, a popular seaside resort located on the peninsula's southern coast, roughly we ...

Coolera Peninsula The Coolera Peninsula () is a peninsula in Sligo Bay, County Sligo, Ireland. It is the most populous of County Sligo's peninsulas, and the second-largest by land area. The primary population centres on Coolera are the coastal town of Strandhil ...

*Oyster Island *

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to th ...

*Maguins Island

History

Large beaches and tidal plains located around the bay are a good habitat for

shellfish Shellfish is a colloquial and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater env ...

. This kind of food attracted settlers since the Stone Age, as demonstrated by a number of middens discovered in the area by

archeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes ...

s. During the centuries in waters of the bay occurred several

shipwrecks A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...

. Quite well studied is the wreck of ''Labia'' (25 September 1588), a 728-ton

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language s ...

ship. Shipwrecks became almost common during the following centuries and their number started to decrease with the decline of the port of Sligo in the 20th century.

Transport

Sligo Airport Sligo Airport ( ga, Aerfort Shligigh) is located in Strandhill, County Sligo, west of Sligo, at the end of the R277 road, in Ireland. The airport is a small regional airport and has no scheduled routes. Introduction and history Sligo Airport ...

is located on the bay's shore, at the foot of

Knocknarea Knocknarea (; ) is a large prominent hill west of Sligo town in County Sligo, Ireland, with a height of . Knocknarea is visually striking as it has steep limestone cliffs and stands on the Cúil Irra peninsula overlooking the Atlantic coast. A ...

, a hill which overlooks the peninsula between Sligo Harbour and

Ballysadare Ballysadare (), locally also Ballisodare, is a town in County Sligo, Ireland. It is about 7 kilometres (4 miles) south of Sligo town. The town developed on an important crossing of the Owenmore River. History Toponymy The Ox Mountains () a ...

Bay (Bonet estuary).

Lighthouses

There are four lighthouses in Sligo Bay.

Blackrock (Sligo) Lighthouse

The 25m high Blackrock lighthouse in Sligo Bay is notable for having external steps until halfway up the tower.

Lighthouses near Rosses Point

Sligo Bay hosts three lighthouses near Rosses Point, the Metal Man, Lower Rosses and Oyster Island lighthouses.

Hiking

Sligo Bay is concerned by the ''Donegal to Mayo'' section of the

Wild Atlantic Way The Wild Atlantic Way ( ga, Slí an Atlantaigh Fhiáin) is a tourism trail on the west coast, and on parts of the north and south coasts, of Ireland. The 2,500 km (1,553 mile) driving route passes through nine counties and three provinces, s ...

Nature

Bay hosts a well known

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

colony. The estuaries area is protected under European legislation being listed as a

NATURA 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

site; it is also a ''

Natural Heritage Area Natural Heritage Area () is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in Ireland. The Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000 makes legal provision for the designation and protection of a national network of Natural Heritage Areas (NHAs). The des ...

'', defined and managed by the Irish National Parks & Wildlife Service.

References

External links

{{commons category
INFOMAR page on Sligo Bay
(

Geological Survey of Ireland Geological Survey Ireland or Geological Survey of IrelandS.I. No. 300/2002 - Communications, Energy and Geological Survey of Ireland (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2002 ( ga, Suirbhéireacht Gheolaíochta ...

) Bays of County Sligo Protected areas of County Sligo Natura 2000 in Ireland