Daklha Bay

Dakhla Bay opens along the Rio de Oro Peninsula, where desert land narrows between the Atlantic and inland sands. The Canary Current moderates temperatures and supports a rich marine environment. From the sixteenth century onward, Spanish seafarers based in the Canary Islands hunted seals and whales and fished along the coast between Dakhla and Cabo Blanco. The bay's value rested on accessible marine produce. Sheltered water, dry land, offshore currents, and movement between the peninsula and the Canaries made the bay a meeting point of very different environments. The same offshore waters nourish bird populations and larger marine animals.