North Eastern Atlantic

The Atlantic off northwestern Iberia washes the deeply indented coast of Galicia and the shores of northern Portugal. The Rías Baixas open westward toward these waters, their long inlets sheltering harbors from the open ocean. Farther south, Viana at the mouth of the Lima became a port engaged in international navigation. In the early seventeenth century improvements to its harbor included the building of a customs quay, serving vessels that joined the coast to Atlantic commerce.