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Fishing ships, Banc d'Arguin (Kokopelado/Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0).
Banc d'Arguin is located on Mauritania Atlantic desert-coast extending up to 60km into the shallow sea and 35km inland into Sahara.
The contrast between the harsh Saharan desert environment and the Atlantic marine zone biodiversity has resulted in a land- and seascape of outstanding natural significance.
It’s composed of windblown Saharan sand-dunes, coastal swamps, together with a large expanse of mudflats, with well-developed tidal flats in the vicinity of a few islands there.
The coastal waters between Cap Blanc and Cap Timiris are very shallow, and only reach a depth of 5m at low tide even up to 60km offshore.
The arid inland comprises areas of sand hills and cliffs rising to 15m, while mangrove swamp is a relic of previous humid geological period when it was a vast estuary mouth for rivers flowing from Sahara.
Lying at the junction between Afrotropical and Palaearctic biogeographic realms, the vegetation of the sandy coastline, mudflats and islands is represented by halophytic species, while shallow water vegetation comprises seagrass beds and seaweeds, a favorable habitat for fish reproduction and development.
Of the estimated 7 million wading birds that use the Atlantic flyway, approximately 30% spends the winter here, hosting the world’s largest concentration of wintering waders and one of the world’s most diversified communities of nesting piscivorous birds.
Mammals include Dorcas gazelle, jackal, and fennec fox while marine mammals include killer whale, Atlantic humpbacked dolphin, common dolphin and sea turtle.
Neolithic archaeological sites and vestiges of the Almoravide civilization are found on a number of the islands.
The local people, the Imraguen, their customs to the natural environment and still maintain age-old lifestyles, based on harvesting migratory fish populations using traditional sailing boats.
Other traditional fishing techniques include the unique symbiotic collaboration with wild dolphins to catch schools of grey mullet.
Huge shell heap, Banc d'Arguin (Kokopelado/Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0).
Nearest Cities:
Nouadhibou (pop. 90,000) is a city in Mauritania. It's a major fishing center and large industrial port. A key economic center, it's home to roughly 90,000 people. Before independence, the town was called Port Etienne after the first boat which arrived here, Tienne. Since independence in 1960, it has been called Nouadhibou, which means Place of the Jackal. Many jackals used to come and drink water in a well. The town's three main parts are: Cansado, Keran and Numerowat. The distance from Keran to the end of Numerowatt is about 13 km. Cansado: Means tired in Spanish. This area is about 10 km from Keran. It was built by the French in 1960, for the workers of the SNIM mining company. It has a nice hotel, tennis courts and petanque grounds. Keran: The town centre was built in 1958. The central police, customs, banks, office supply and central market are here. Numerowatt: Starts with the area of Socogim and is divided into 6 water taps (French: robinets). It was built in 1982-83. The water comes from a underground lake in Boulenoir, about 90 km from here. The pipes were laid in 1960. The town has developed quite recently and is growing rapidly. Most of the town lives here. In 1990, the tarmac from Keran to Numerwatt was built. In 2000, The town center roads were paved and Internet and mobile phones arrived. In 2005, the highway between Nouadhibou and Nouakchott was completed. There is now a clean half-way stop at the 235 km mark built by a Moroccan business where you can get a fresh cup of coffee and tasty sandwiches as well as a tajine, a kind of meat stew. They also have separate toilets for men and women as well as a simple tire changing shop [read more].
Nouakchott (pop. 719,000) is the largest city in and capital of Mauritania [read more].
Akjoujt (pop. 11,000).
White-throated cormorant, Banc d'Arguin (John Spooner/Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0).
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