Coral Bay

Corral Bay shelters the mouth of the Valdivia River on the southern Chilean coast. Its deep water and surrounding headlands made it a valuable anchorage and a gateway to the river settlements inland. After a Dutch expedition briefly occupied the area in 1643, Spanish authorities began building a system of forts around the bay in 1645. Batteries at Corral, Niebla and nearby islands guarded the entrance against ships approaching from the Pacific.