Walvis Bay

Walvis Bay is sheltered from the Atlantic by a sandy peninsula, with a lagoon and tidal shallows beside the Namib Desert. Birds gather on its mudflats, while cool, productive water supports marine life beyond the bay. In December 1487 Bartolomeu Dias's Portuguese expedition probably anchored here on its voyage south. Dias continued around the southern tip of Africa, opening a sea route that later expeditions followed toward the Indian Ocean.