Guanabara Bay ( pt, Baía de Guanabara, ) is an oceanic
bay located in
Southeast Brazil
The Southeast Region of Brazil ( pt, Região Sudeste do Brasil; ) is composed of the states of Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. It is the richest region of the country, responsible for approximately 60% of the Brazilian ...
in the state of
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
. On its western
shore
A shore or a shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. In physical oceanography, a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water past a ...
lie the cities of
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
and
Duque de Caxias
Duque is a Spanish surname meaning "duke".
People
Notable people with the name include:
* Jaime Enrique Duque Correa (1943–2013), Colombian Roman Catholic bishop
* Andrés Duque (21st century), American activist
* Carlos Duque (1930–2014), Pa ...
, and on its eastern shore the cities of
Niterói
Niterói (, ) is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality of the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro in the Southeast Region, Brazil, southeast region of Brazil. It lies across Guanabara Bay facing the city of Rio de Janeiro and forms ...
and
São Gonçalo. Four other municipalities surround the bay's shores. Guanabara Bay is the second largest bay in area in Brazil (after the
All Saints' Bay), at , with a perimeter of .
Guanabara Bay is long and wide at its maximum. Its wide mouth is flanked at the eastern tip by the Pico do Papagaio (Parrot's Peak) and the western tip by
Pão de Açúcar
Sugarloaf Mountain ( pt, Pão de Açúcar, ) is a peak situated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the mouth of Guanabara Bay on a peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean. Rising above the harbor, the peak is named for its resemblance t ...
(Sugar Loaf).
The name Guanabara comes from the
Tupi language
Old Tupi, Ancient Tupi or Classical Tupi (also spelled as Tupí) is an extinct Tupian language which was spoken by the aboriginal Tupi people of Brazil, mostly those who inhabited coastal regions in South and Southeast Brazil. It belongs to the ...
, ''goanã-pará'', from ''gwa'' "bay", plus ''nã'' "similar to" and ''ba'ra'' "sea". Traditionally, it is also translated as "the bosom of sea".
History
Guanabara Bay was first encountered by Europeans on January 1, 1502, when one of the Portuguese explorers
Gaspar de Lemos
Gaspar de Lemos (15th century) was a Portuguese explorer and captain of the supply ship of Pedro Álvares Cabral's fleet that arrived to Brazil. Gaspar de Lemos was sent back to Portugal with news of their discovery and was credited by the Viscount ...
and
Gonçalo Coelho
Gonçalo Coelho ( fl. 1501–04) was a Portuguese explorer who belonged to a prominent family in northern Portugal. He commanded two expeditions (1501–02 and 1503–04) which explored much of the coast of Brazil.
Biography
In 1501 Coelho was se ...
arrived on its shores. According to some historians, the name given by the exploration team to the bay was originally ''Ria de Janeiro'' "January's Lagoon", then a confusion took place between the word ''ria'' "lagoon" and ''rio'' "river". As a result, the name of the bay was soon fixed as ''Rio de Janeiro''.
Later, the city was named after the bay.
Natives
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
of the
Tamoio
A subdivision of the Tupi–Guarani languages, Tupi-Guarani linguistic families, the Tupi people were one of the largest groups of Indigenous peoples in Brazil, indigenous Brazilians before its colonization. Scholars believe that while they fi ...
and
Tupiniquim
Tupiniquim (also Tupinã-ki, Topinaquis, Tupinaquis, Tupinanquins, Tupiniquins) are an indigenous peoples of Brazil, indigenous people of Brazil, who now live in three Indigenous territory (Brazil), indigenous territories (''Terras Indígenas'' ...
tribes inhabited the shores of the bay.
After the initial arrival of the Portuguese, no significant European settlements were established until French colonists and soldiers, under the
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
Admiral
Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon
Nicolas Durand, sieur de Villegaignon, also Villegagnon (1510 – 9 January 1571) was a Commander of the Knights Hospitaller, Knights of Malta, and later a French naval officer (vice-admiral of Brittany) who attempted to help the Huguenots in Fra ...
invaded the region in 1555 to establish the
France Antarctique
France Antarctique (formerly also spelled ''France antartique'') was a French colony in Rio de Janeiro, in modern-day Brazil, which existed between 1555 and 1567, and had control over the coast from Rio de Janeiro to Cabo Frio. The colony quickly ...
. They stayed briefly on Lajes Island, then moved to Serigipe Island, near the shore, where they built
Fort Coligny
Fort Coligny was a fortress founded by Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1555, in what constituted the so-called France Antarctique historical episode.
For protection against attacks by hostile Indians and the Portuguese ...
. After they were expelled by Portuguese military expeditions in 1563, the colonial government built fortifications in several points of Guanabara Bay, rendering it almost impregnable against a naval attack from the sea. They were the Santa Cruz, São João, Lajes and Villegaignon forts, forming a fearsome crossfire rectangle of big
naval guns
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
. Other islands were adapted by the
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
to host naval storehouses,
hospitals
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...
,
drydock
A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
s,
oil reservoir
A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations.
Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presence ...
s and the
National Naval Academy.
Underwater exploration in the bay was disallowed by the Brazilian government in 1985 amid a dispute with an American treasure hunter, who claimed to have found evidence of a Roman shipwreck.
Description
![Baía de Guanabara vista do Cristo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Ba%C3%ADa_de_Guanabara_vista_do_Cristo.jpg)
There are more than 130 islands dotting the bay, including:
*
Lajes
*
Ilha do Governador – site of Rio de Janeiro's
Galeão - Antônio Carlos Jobim International Airport Galeão (Portuguese meaning galleon) may refer to:
*Galeão Air Force Base, a Brazilian Air Force base in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
*Rio de Janeiro–Galeão International Airport (Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport), an airport in t ...
*
Ilha de Paquetá
*
Ilha das Cobras
Ilha das Cobras () is an island located within Guanabara Bay in the city and state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is east of the neighborhood Guanabara. It is home to the Arsenal de Marinha do Rio de Janeiro base of the Brazilian Navy
)
, color ...
*
Flores
Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Including the Komodo Islands off its west coast (but excluding the Solor Archipelago to the east of Flores), the land area is 15,530.58 km2, and th ...
*
Ilha Fiscal
Ilha Fiscal, or Fiscal Island, is an island in Guanabara Bay, bordering the historic city center of Rio de Janeiro, in southeastern Brazil.
Originally named by Europeans as Rat Island (), its current name comes from the fact that the customs dep ...
*
Ilha da Boa Viagem
*
Villegagnon
Nicolas Durand, sieur de Villegaignon, also Villegagnon (1510 – 9 January 1571) was a Commander of the Knights of Malta, and later a French naval officer (vice- admiral of Brittany) who attempted to help the Huguenots in France escape persecut ...
*
Fundão
![Baía de Guanabara vista do Pão de Açúcar 2020](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Ba%C3%ADa_de_Guanabara_vista_do_P%C3%A3o_de_A%C3%A7%C3%BAcar_2020.jpg)
The bay is crossed by the
Rio-Niterói Bridge ( long and with a central span high) and there is heavy boat and ship traffic, including regular
ferryboat
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
lines. The Port of Rio de Janeiro, as well as the city's two airports,
Galeão - Antônio Carlos Jobim International Airport Galeão (Portuguese meaning galleon) may refer to:
*Galeão Air Force Base, a Brazilian Air Force base in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
*Rio de Janeiro–Galeão International Airport (Galeão–Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport), an airport in t ...
(on Governador Island) and
Santos Dumont Airport
Santos Dumont Airport is the second major airport serving Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is named after the Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos Dumont (1873–1932). It is operated by Infraero.
Santos Dumont has slot restrictions operatin ...
(on
reclaimed land
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lak ...
next to downtown Rio), are located on its shores. The
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro or University of Brazil (UFRJ; pt, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro or ') is a public research university located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the largest federal university in the ...
main campus is located on the artificial Fundão Island. A maze of smaller bridges interconnect the two largest islands, Fundão and Governador, to the mainland.
There is an
Environmental Protection Area (APA), which is located mostly in the municipality of Guapimirim and given the name of
Guapimirim APA.
Environment
Guanabara Bay's once rich and diversified
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
has suffered extensive damage in recent decades, particularly along its
mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...
areas. The bay has been heavily impacted by
urbanization
Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...
,
deforestation
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...
, and
pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...
of its waters with
sewage
Sewage (or domestic sewage, domestic wastewater, municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produced by a community of people. It is typically transported through a sewer system. Sewage consists of wastewater discharged from residenc ...
,
garbage
Garbage, trash, rubbish, or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or gaseous wastes, or toxic waste produc ...
, and
oil spills
An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into th ...
. As of 2014, more than 70% of the sewage from 12 million inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro now flows into the bay untreated.
There have been three major
oil spills in Guanabara Bay. The most recent was in 2000 when a leaking
Petrobras
Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., better known by the portmanteau Petrobras (), is a state owned enterprise, state-owned Brazilian multinational corporation in the petroleum industry headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The company's name transla ...
underwater pipeline released of oil into the bay, destroying large swaths of the
mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...
ecosystem. Recovery measures are currently being attempted, but more than a decade after the incident, the mangrove areas have not returned to life.
One of the world's largest
landfill
A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste ...
s is located at
Jardim Gramacho
Jardim Gramacho (Gramacho Gardens in English) is a neighborhood in the city of Duque de Caxias and the state of Rio de Janeiro.
Landfill
Jardim Gramacho was the site of one of the largest landfills in the world. It closed in June 2012 after 34 ...
adjacent to Guanabara Bay. It was closed in 2012 after 34 years of operation. The landfill attracted attention from environmentalists and it supported 1700 people scavenging for recyclable materials.
![Guanabara Bay pan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Guanabara_Bay_pan.jpg)
In June 2014 Dutch windsurfer and former Olympic and world champion
Dorian van Rijsselberghe
Dorian van Rijsselberghe (born 24 November 1988, in Den Burg) is a sailor (windsurfer) from the Netherlands.
He won his first Dutch title when he was 13.
Van Rijsselberghe on the Dutch RS:X won the gold medals at the 2012 Olympics in Weymo ...
made an urgent appeal to government and industry in the Netherlands to collaborate in cleaning up the bay, together with the
Plastic Soup Foundation
Plastic Soup Foundation is a non-profit marine conservation organisation that aims to reduce plastic pollution. Established in 2011, Plastic Soup Foundation advocates towards imposing bans and/or voluntary phase-outs of microbeads in cosmetics at ...
. The Dutch government picked up the message and formulated a Clean Urban Delta Initiative Rio de Janeiro together with a consortium of Dutch industry, knowledge institutes and NGOs which will be presented to the Brazilian authorities in the State of Rio de Janeiro.
As part of the preparations for the
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
in Rio, the government was supposed to improve the conditions, but progress has been slow. There have been concerns that the efforts may only be short-term and abandoned following the Games, as there would be little political incentive to continue with them.
The marine ecosystem of Guanabara Bay was severely damaged; the bay was once a whaling ground, and today whales are no longer or rarely seen while
Bryde's whale
Bryde's whale ( Brooder's), or the Bryde's whale complex, putatively comprises three species of rorqual and maybe four. The "complex" means the number and classification remains unclear because of a lack of definitive information and research ...
s can be seen around the bay entrance. The bay is also home to a population of
boto
Boto is a Portuguese name given to several types of dolphins and river dolphins native to the Amazon and the Orinoco River tributaries. A few botos exist exclusively in fresh water, and these are often considered primitive dolphins.
Classificatio ...
s and this population faces severe risks of
population decline
A population decline (also sometimes called underpopulation, depopulation, or population collapse) in humans is a reduction in a human population size. Over the long term, stretching from prehistory to the present, Earth's total human population ...
.
[Dale J.. 2016]
População de golfinhos da Baía de Guanabara sofre redução de 90% em três décadas
Globo.com. Retrieved on Septem8er 18, 2017
References
Further reading
RGSSA catalogue. Bell, Alured Gray, 1870-1925 ''The Beautiful Rio de Janeiro''. London : William Heinemann, 1914*
{{Authority control
Bays of Brazil
Bays of the Atlantic Ocean
Landforms of Rio de Janeiro (state)
Geography of Rio de Janeiro (city)
Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro
Niterói
Venues of the 2016 Summer Olympics
Olympic sailing venues
Cenozoic rifts and grabens
Cenozoic South America