Coastal and Oceanic Landform (11.Bight)



                                                                                                                                      Back to Coastal and Oceanic Landform 

bight has two meanings.
                                           -bend
                                           -curve
  • A bend or curve in the line between land and water.
  • Alternatively, the term can refer to a large bay.
  • It is distinguished from a sound by being shallower.
  • Traditionally explorers defined a bight as a bay.


Most popular bights are;


The Great Australian Bight
  •  Large bight.
  • The coast line is characterised by;
                                                            -cliff faces
                                                           -surfing beaches
                                                           -rock platforms
                                                           -ideal for whale-watching. 

  • The waters of the Great Australian Bight, despite being relatively shallow, are not fertile. 
  • Great Australian Bight receives very little of the runoff that fertilises most continental shelves.



The Bight of Benin



  • Located on the western African coast.
  • From Cape St. Paul to the Nun outlet of the Niger River.
  • The bight is part of the Gulf of Guinea.
  •  The Republic of Benin and this bight were both named after the Benin Empire.
  • Which expanded greatly after the arrival of European powers and turned into a global trade with the colonization of the Americas.



German Bight

German Bight, Jutland to the right
German Bight, Jutland to the right
  • Southeastern bight of the North Sea bounded by the Netherlands & Germany to the south
  • The Bight contains the Frisian and Danish Islands
  • The Wadden Sea is approximately10to 12 km  wide at the location of the German Bight.
  • Now referred to as German Bight.



The Heligoland Bight




  • The southern part of the German Bight
  • Located at the mouth of the Elbe river
  • From the mouth of the River Elbe to the islands of Heligoland
  • Lies between the East Frisian island of Wangerooge & the North Frisian peninsula of Eiderstedt.
  • The bight is up to 56 metres deep.




The New York Bight


  • A slight indentation along the Atlantic coast of the United States.
  • Extending northeasterly from Cape May Inlet in New Jersey to Montauk Point on the eastern tip of Long Island.
  • The sea floor of the bight consists largely of continental shelf.
  •  Formed by the Hudson River during the ice ages.




The South Taranaki Bight


  • From the south coast of Taranaki in New Zealand's North Island.
  • The size of the bight depends to a large extent on the Kaupokonui Stream of Mount 
  • Taranaki to the mouth of the Patea River.



Southern Bight



  • Bounded by the coasts of the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Great Britain.
  • The Southern Bight is south west of the German Bight and the Wadden Sea.
  • The North Sea similar to the Atlantic ocean.


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