The Gulf of Morbihan is a

natural harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

on the coast of the department of

Morbihan Morbihan ( , ; br, Mor-Bihan ) is a department in the administrative region of Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton), the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastl ...

in southern

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Its English name is taken from the French version, ''le golfe du Morbihan'', though it would be more precisely called 'the Morbihan' as its

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

name 'Ar Mor Bihan' means 'the little sea'. (Compare the

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

''y môr bychan''), as opposed to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

outside, (''Ar Mor Bras''). Legend says that there are as many islands in the Gulf as there are days of the year. In fact the gulf has about 40, depending on the

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

s. Many islands are private property, except the largest two,

Île-aux-Moines Île-aux-Moines (; ''Enizenac'h'' in Breton; the name means ''island of the monks'') is a commune in the Morbihan department in the region of Brittany in northwestern France. It is the largest island in the Gulf of Morbihan. It is one of two is ...

and

Île-d'Arz Île-d'Arz (; br, An Arzh, ) is an archipelago of nine islands and a commune in the Morbihan department, Brittany, northwestern France, only to the southwest of Vannes. It is located in the Gulf of Morbihan. Île d'Arz and Île-aux-Moines ...

. The area around the gulf features an extraordinary range of megalithic monuments. There are passage dolmens, stepped

pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

s with underground dolmen chambers, stone circles, and giant

menhir A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be found ...

s, among others. The site best known to outsiders is Carnac, where remains of a dozen rows of huge standing stones run for over ten kilometers. The

passage grave A passage grave or passage tomb consists of one or more burial chambers covered in earth or with stone, and having a narrow access passage made of large stones. These structures usually date from the Neolithic Age, and are found largely in Wester ...

Gavrinis Gavrinis ( br, Gavriniz) is a small island in the Gulf of Morbihan in Brittany, France. It contains the Gavrinis tomb, a megalithic monument notable for its abundance of megalithic art in the European Neolithic. Administratively, it is part of ...

, on a small island in the Gulf, is one of the most important such sites in Europe. Some of the ruins have been dated to at least 3300 BC — 200 years older than

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

's Stonehenge.

Geography

Tides and currents

The gulf is sheltered from the

by the peninsula of Rhuys, but a 1 km long gap between Port-Navalo (in the commune of

Arzon Arzon () or ''Arzhon-Rewiz'' in Breton () is a commune located at the extremity of the Rhuys peninsula in the Morbihan department in the Brittany region in northwestern France. Geography Arzon is said to be the French village with the longes ...

) and Kerpenhir (commune of Locmariaquer) lets the water in and out. Because this gap is narrow, the

tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

currents are strong and water speeds can reach up to 9.4

knot A knot is an intentional complication in cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including hitches, bends, loop knots, and splices: a ''hitch'' fastens a rope to another object; a ' ...

Festivals

Every alternate year a yachting festival is held, it is known as 'La Semaine du Golfe Du Morbihan' celebrating the Brittany's culture, music and boating and marine traditions. In 2017, 1,450 boats entered the regatta in addition to the hundreds of spectator craft. The highlight of the festival is a 'Big Parade of Sail' in which all the boats are displayed en route from Port Navalo to Vannes.

Communes

* Locmariaquer * Auray * Plougoumelen * Le Bono *

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...

Larmor-Baden __NOTOC__ Larmor-Baden () is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in northwestern France. The inhabitants of Larmor-Baden are called in French ''Larmoriens''. Île de Berder Île de Berder (French for "The Island of Berder") is a s ...

Arradon Arradon (; br, Aradon) is a commune in the Morbihan department in the Brittany region in northwestern France. Population The inhabitants of Arradon are known as ''Arradonnais''. Map See also *Communes of the Morbihan department The ...

Vannes Vannes (; br, Gwened) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago. History Celtic Era The name ''Vannes'' comes from the Veneti, a seafaring Celtic people who live ...

* Séné * Theix * Noyalo *

Le Hézo Le Hézo (; br, Hezoù) is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France. Inhabitants of Le Hézo are called in French ''Hézotins''. See also *Communes of the Morbihan department The following is a list of the 249 ...

* Saint-Armel * Sarzeau *

Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys () is a Communes of France, commune in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in north-western France. Inhabitants of Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys are called in French ''Gildasie ...

External links

Gulf of Morbihan photos

Discover Brittany and the Gulf of Morbihan during a virtual visit that includes thousands of items of useful information.

Ramsar sites in Metropolitan France Landforms of Brittany {{europe-archaeology-stub