Bay

A bay is a large body of water connected to an ocean or sea formed by an inlet of land due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds. Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight. A cove is a circular or oval coastal inlet with a narrow entrance; some coves may be referred to as bays.

Bays were significant in the history of human settlement because they can provide a safe place for fishing. Later they were important in the development of sea trade as the safe anchorage they provide encouraged their selection as ports. Any bay may contain fish and other sea creatures or be adjacent to other bays. For example, James Bay is adjacent to Hudson Bay. Large bays, such as the Bay of Bengal and the Hudson Bay, have varied marine geology.


Read more about Bay:  Formation

Famous quotes containing the word bay:

    Shall we now
    Contaminate our fingers with base bribes,
    And sell the mighty space of our large honors
    For so much trash as may be grasped thus?
    I had rather be a dog and bay the moon
    Than such a Roman.
    William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

    A great work by an Englishman is like a great battle won by England. It is an unfading bay tree.
    Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–1889)

    The seagull’s wings shall dip and pivot him,
    Shedding white rings of tumult, building high
    Over the chained bay waters Liberty—
    Then, with inviolate curve, forsake our eyes
    Hart Crane (1899–1932)