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4 unusual facts about Banc d'Arguin National Park


Banc d'Arguin National Park

The Ras Nouadhibou (formerly Cap Blanc) peninsula, which forms Dakhlet Nouadhibou (formerly Lévrier Bay) to the east, is fifty kilometers long and up to thirteen kilometers wide.

Lured by legends of vast wealth in interior kingdoms, the Portuguese established a trading fort at Arguin, southeast of Cap Blanc (present-day Ras Nouadhibou), in 1455.

By 1763 the British had expelled France from the West African coast, and France recovered control only when the Congress of Vienna in 1815 recognized French sovereignty over the coast of West Africa from Cap Blanc south to Senegal.

Rainfall here is minimal; in Nouadhibou it averages less than three centimeters annually and occurs between July and September.


Cintra Bay

Many species of migratory birds and oceanic birds such as Western Palearctic waders inhabit for wintering on West Sahara´s coastline and more notably in the Cintra Bay region and the Banc d'Arguin National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Mauritania where nearly 110species of sea birds are confirmed.


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