The Ria of Ferrol (or bay of Ferrol;

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

and Galician: ''ría de Ferrol'') is a

ria A ria (; gl, ría) is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea. Definitions Typically rias have a dendritic, treelike outline although they ca ...

in Galicia, Spain, the saline estuary of the Xuvia River. Located in the

province of A Coruña The province of A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical en, link=no, Corunna) is the northwesternmost province of Spain, and one of the four provinces which constitute the autonomous community of Galicia. This province is surrounded by the At ...

, in the northwestern end of the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...

, it forms along the ''rías'' of A Coruña, Ares and Betanzos the gulf known as ''Portus Magnus Artabrorum'' in

Roman times In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

. An important harbour, it became a base of the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...

during the

Hapsburg dynasty The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

, with the forts of San Felipe and La Palma watching over the in and out of the ria. Bordered by the municipalities of Ferrol,

Narón Narón is a municipality in northwestern Spain in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It belongs to the comarca of Ferrol (comarca), Ferrol. Geographically, the town is very close to the Atlantic Ocean. The city of Ferrol, Spain ...

, Neda,

Fene Fene is a municipality in the province of A Coruña in the autonomous community of Galicia in northwestern Spain. It is located to the northeast of Galicia on the Ria of Ferrol. Economy The Navantia Shipyards and services in the parts which ...

Mugardos Mugardos is a small fishing borough and municipality in the comarca of Ferrol, located in the province of A Coruña in the autonomous community of Galicia, northwestern Spain. It is bordered with the municipalities of Ares and Fene. Climate Du ...

, it stands out among the Galician rias in terms of the degree of alteration caused by human activities. Also featuring nonetheless a rich sealife, the bay of Ferrol (itself included within the so-called "

Rías Altas Rías Altas (also called "Upper Rias") is the northernmost of three sections of '' A Costa do Marisco'' (the Seafood Coast) in Galicia, Spain. It extends from the port of Ribadeo to Santa Cruz. The Upper Rias refers to the coast of the northern ...

") is exploited to obtain seafood, chiefly varieties of

clam Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve molluscs. The word is often applied only to those that are edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the seafloor or riverbeds. Clams have two shel ...

and cockle.

References

Geography of the Province of A Coruña Landforms of Galicia (Spain) Estuaries of Spain {{Spain-geo-stub