Headlands and bays

The bay at San Sebastián, Spain

A headland is an area of land adjacent to water on three sides. A bay is the reverse, an area of water bordered by land on three sides. Large headlands may also be called peninsulas, long, narrow and high headlands promontories. When headlands dramatically affect the ocean currents they are often called capes. A gulf generally occupies an area larger than a bay and may itself contain one or more bays.

Geology and geography

Headlands and bays are usually found together on the same stretch of coastline. Headlands and bays form on discordant coastlines, where bands of rock of alternating resistance run perpendicular to the coast. Bays form where weak (less resistant) rocks (such as sands and clays) are eroded, leaving bands of stronger (more resistant) rocks (such as chalk, limestone, granite) forming a headland, or peninsula. Wave refraction occurs on headlands concentrating wave energy on them, so many other landforms, such as caves, natural archs and stacks, form on headlands. Wave refraction disperses wave energy through the bay, and along with the sheltering effect of the headlands this protects bays from storms. This effect means that the waves reaching the shore in a bay are usually constructive waves, and because of this most bays feature a beach. A bay may be only metres across, or it could be hundreds of kilometres across.

Sometimes bays form where movements of the earth's crust (tectonics) bring areas of land together, or move them apart. Usually these bays are referred to as seas or gulfs and not bays.

"Capes and bays geography" is a derogatory term for the approach to teaching geography that requires students to learn by rote the names of large number of geographical features rather than taking a more theoretically driven approach.

List of some well-known headlands

  • Africa
    • Cape Agulhas in South Africa
    • Cape of Good Hope in South Africa
    • Cape Juby in Morocco
    • Cape Guardafui in Somalia
  • Europe
    • Cabo da Roca in Portugal
    • Cape Arkona in Germany
    • Cape Finisterre in Spain
    • North Cape in Norway
    • Cape Wrath in Scotland
    • Cap Gris Nez in France
    • Pointe du Raz in France
  • Asia
    • Kanyakumari or Cape Comorin in Tamil Nadu, India
    • Cape Engaño on the Philippines
    • Indira Point in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India
    • Cape Dezhnev in Russia
  • North American, Central America and the Caribbean
    • Cape Canaveral in Florida, USA
    • Cape Chidley in Newfoundland and Labrador/Nunavut, Canada
    • Cape Cod in Massachusetts, USA
    • Cape Hatteras in North Carolina, USA
    • Cape Henry in Virginia, USA
    • Cape Prince of Wales in Alaska, USA
    • Cape Girardeau in Missouri, USA "The only inland cape in the world."
  • South America
    • Cape Froward in Chile
    • Cape Horn in Chile
    • Cape Virgenes in Argentina
  • Oceania
    • Cape Egmont in New Zealand
    • Cape Foulwind in New Zealand
    • Cape Leeuwin in Australia
    • Cape Reinga in New Zealand
    • Cape York in Australia
    • East Cape in New Zealand
    • North Cape in New Zealand
    • South East Cape in Australia
    • Young Nick's Head in New Zealand

List of some well-known bays

  • Africa
    • Gulf of Guinea
    • Gulf of Sidra - coast of Tunisia and Libya
  • Europe - Atlantic
    • Bay of Biscay in France and Spain
    • Lyme Bay off the southern coast of England
  • Europe - Baltic Sea
    • Gulf of Bothnia between Sweden and Finland
    • Gulf of Finland between Finland and Estonia
    • Bay of Gdansk between Poland and Kaliningrad Oblast
      • Bay of Puck
      • Vistula Bay
    • Bay of Pomerania, between Poland and Germany
      • Bay of Szczecin, between Poland and Germany
    • Bay of Greifswald in Germany
    • Bay of Mecklenburg, between Germany and Denmark
    • Bay of Lubeck, in Germany
    • Bay of Kiel, between Germany and Denmark
    • Riddarfjärden in Stockholm, Sweden
  • Europe - Mediterranean Sea
    • Adriatic Sea's Gulf of Kotor in Montenegro
  • Asia
    • Bay of Bengal, near Bengal (India/Bangladesh)
    • Bohai Gulf (China)
      • Bohai Bay
      • Laizhou Bay
      • Liaodong Bay
    • Gulf of Cambay(Khambhat), Gujarat (India)
    • Gulf of Kutch, Gujarat (India)
    • Manila Bay on Luzon island in the Philippines
    • Persian Gulf between Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, and Iran
    • Red Sea
    • Subic Bay on Luzon island in the Philippines, the site of a former US Navy base
  • North American, Central America and the Caribbean
    • Baffin Bay, between Canada and Greenland
    • Bahía de Banderas, Mexico
    • Bay of Green Bay in Wisconsin
    • Bay of Pigs on Cuba
    • Bay of Fundy, between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
    • Buzzards Bay in Massachusetts
    • Cape Cod Bay in Massachusetts
    • Chesapeake Bay mostly in Maryland
    • Delaware Bay between Delaware and the New Jersey
    • Galveston Bay in Texas
    • Georgian Bay on Lake Huron
    • Grand Traverse Bay in Michigan
    • Gulf of California between the Baja California peninsula and the Mexican mainland.
    • Gulf of Santa Catalina in California
    • Gulf of Maine in Maine
    • Gulf of Mexico between Mexico and the United States
    • Hudson Bay, between the Canadian provinces and territories of Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nunavut
    • James Bay, between Ontario and Quebec, opens to Hudson Bay to the north
    • Massachusetts Bay in Massachusetts
    • Mobile Bay in Alabama
    • Monterey Bay in California
    • Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island
    • Penobscot Bay in Maine
    • Saginaw Bay in Michigan
    • San Francisco Bay in California
    • Tampa Bay in Florida
  • South America
  • Oceania
    • Great Australian Bight off the south coast of Australia
    • Botany Bay, near Sydney, Australia
    • Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia
    • Bay of Islands, New Zealand
    • Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
    • Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand
    • Hawke Bay, New Zealand
    • North Taranaki Bight, New Zealand
    • Port Phillip Bay, Australia
    • South Taranaki Bight, New Zealand
    • Tasman Bay, New Zealand

A couple of non-gulfs (actually straits) are:

  • Gulf of Oman
  • Gulf of Aden

This page about Bay includes information from a Wikipedia article.
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A couple of non-gulfs (actually straits) are:. For example, the Bathtub Boat is used in "bathtub races" in many cities, although it originated in Nanaimo, BC, Canada. "Capes and bays geography" is a derogatory term for the approach to teaching geography that requires students to learn by rote the names of large number of geographical features rather than taking a more theoretically driven approach. Unusual floating vehicles have been used for sports purposes as well. Usually these bays are referred to as seas or gulfs and not bays. For example, a forestay is standing rigging and a sheet or a halyard is part of the running rigging. Sometimes bays form where movements of the earth's crust (tectonics) bring areas of land together, or move them apart. That which is adjustable in use is running rigging.

A bay may be only metres across, or it could be hundreds of kilometres across. That which is set up in the yard and left is standing rigging. This effect means that the waves reaching the shore in a bay are usually constructive waves, and because of this most bays feature a beach. All the lines and wire collectively are referred to as "rigging". Wave refraction disperses wave energy through the bay, and along with the sheltering effect of the headlands this protects bays from storms. Most have specific names, but in general, lines used for raising things like sails and flags are "halyards" while the principal ones for adjusting the positions of the sails are called "sheets". Wave refraction occurs on headlands concentrating wave energy on them, so many other landforms, such as caves, natural archs and stacks, form on headlands. Therefore cordage used to control a sailing boat, tends to be referred to as "line" rather than rope.

Bays form where weak (less resistant) rocks (such as sands and clays) are eroded, leaving bands of stronger (more resistant) rocks (such as chalk, limestone, granite) forming a headland, or peninsula. In the old days, cordage intended for the delicate hands of a yacht's owner was of linen, later cotton. Headlands and bays form on discordant coastlines, where bands of rock of alternating resistance run perpendicular to the coast. The compartments housing a toilet, and the toilet itself, are known as the "heads", and a trip to this area is a "head call". Headlands and bays are usually found together on the same stretch of coastline. It is the cockpit or wheelhouse, depending on its design. . It is somewhat risible in modern practice to call the command area of a large boat the "bridge".

A gulf generally occupies an area larger than a bay and may itself contain one or more bays. The right side is starboard and the left side is port. When headlands dramatically affect the ocean currents they are often called capes. The rear of the boat is called the stern. Large headlands may also be called peninsulas, long, narrow and high headlands promontories. The front of a boat is called the bow or prow. A bay is the reverse, an area of water bordered by land on three sides. Some are important parts of the vessel's structure.

A headland is an area of land adjacent to water on three sides. The vertical surfaces dividing the internal space are "bulkheads". Gulf of Aden. (A floor is properly, a structural member which ties a frame to the keelson and keel.) The underside of a deck is the deck head. Gulf of Oman. The "floor" of a cabin is properly known as the sole but is more likely to be called the floor. Tasman Bay, New Zealand. The similar but usually lighter structure which spans a raised cabin is a coarch-roof.

South Taranaki Bight, New Zealand. In a ship there are often several, but a boat is unlikely to have more than one. Port Phillip Bay, Australia. The roughly horizontal but cambered structures spanning the hull of the boat are referred to as the "deck". North Taranaki Bight, New Zealand. . Hawke Bay, New Zealand. A boat consists of one or more buoyancy structures called hulls and some system of propulsion, such as a screw, oars, paddles, a setting pole, a sail, paddlewheels or a water jet.

Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand. Some boats are commonly carried by a ship or on land using trailers. Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. A boat is a watercraft, usually smaller than most ships. Bay of Islands, New Zealand. A boat, short for full-boat is another term for a full-house in the card game poker. Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia. A boat can also be one of the massive cars manufactured in America from the 1950s through the 1970s.

Botany Bay, near Sydney, Australia. Similarly: "sauce boat". Great Australian Bight off the south coast of Australia. The term "gravy boat" is used to describe a small jug used to dispense meat gravy at the dining table. Oceania

    . In some versions of cockney rhyming slang, "boat" means face, from "boat race". South America. In Great Lakes shipping, "boat" refers to any vessel, even one which would normally be considered a "ship" on the ocean.

    Tampa Bay in Florida. This use is uncommon in the case of a warship. San Francisco Bay in California. A ship can be informally known as a boat, especially by its crew. Saginaw Bay in Michigan. In the modern combat environment where a typical attack submarine is the size of a destroyer and equipped with either a nuclear reactor or air independent propulsion which can allow it to stay submerged for months or weeks (and boomers are even larger, on the order of old-style battleships), this use is something of an anachronism. Penobscot Bay in Maine. This dates from the early days of submarine warfare, when submarines were essentially motor torpedo boats which could submerge.

    Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island. A submarine is generally referred to as a boat rather than a ship. Monterey Bay in California. So a university might refer to its first boat, meaning the rowers who make up their best team, rather than their best piece of equipment. Mobile Bay in Alabama. Often in rowing as a racing-type competitive sport, "boat" means the crew and "shell" means the craft. Massachusetts Bay in Massachusetts. Yawl.

    James Bay, between Ontario and Quebec, opens to Hudson Bay to the north. Yacht. Hudson Bay, between the Canadian provinces and territories of Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nunavut. Whaleboat. Gulf of Mexico between Mexico and the United States. Water taxi. Gulf of Maine in Maine. U-boat.

    Gulf of Santa Catalina in California. Tugboat. Gulf of California between the Baja California peninsula and the Mexican mainland. Trimaran. Grand Traverse Bay in Michigan. Tjalk. Georgian Bay on Lake Huron. Swift boat.

    Galveston Bay in Texas. Surf boat. Delaware Bay between Delaware and the New Jersey. Submarine. Chesapeake Bay mostly in Maryland. Sloop. Cape Cod Bay in Massachusetts. Skiff.

    Buzzards Bay in Massachusetts. Sharpie. Bay of Fundy, between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Scow. Bay of Pigs on Cuba. Schooner. Bay of Green Bay in Wisconsin. Sampan.

    Bahía de Banderas, Mexico. Sailboat, sailing boat. Baffin Bay, between Canada and Greenland. Rowboat, rowing boat. North American, Central America and the Caribbean

      . Rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RIB). Subic Bay on Luzon island in the Philippines, the site of a former US Navy base. Raft.

      Red Sea. Punt. Persian Gulf between Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, and Iran. Powerboat. Manila Bay on Luzon island in the Philippines. Pirogue. Gulf of Kutch, Gujarat (India). Pinnace.

      Gulf of Cambay(Khambhat), Gujarat (India). Padded V-hull. Liaodong Bay. Outrigger canoe. Laizhou Bay. Norfolk wherry. Bohai Bay. Narrowboat.

      Bohai Gulf (China)

        . Motorboat. Bay of Bengal, near Bengal (India/Bangladesh). Luxemotor. Asia
          . Longboat. Adriatic Sea's Gulf of Kotor in Montenegro. Log boat.

          Europe - Mediterranean Sea

            . Lifeboat. Riddarfjärden in Stockholm, Sweden. Ketch. Bay of Kiel, between Germany and Denmark. Kayak. Bay of Lubeck, in Germany. Junk.

            Bay of Mecklenburg, between Germany and Denmark. Jonsboat. Bay of Greifswald in Germany. Jetboat, Jetski. Bay of Szczecin, between Poland and Germany. Inflatable boat. Bay of Pomerania, between Poland and Germany

              . Houseboat.

              Vistula Bay. Gondola. Bay of Puck. Go-fast boat. Bay of Gdansk between Poland and Kaliningrad Oblast

                . Folding boat. Gulf of Finland between Finland and Estonia. Ferry.

                Gulf of Bothnia between Sweden and Finland. Felucca. Europe - Baltic Sea

                  . Dutch Barge. Lyme Bay off the southern coast of England. Durham Boat. Bay of Biscay in France and Spain. Dory.

                  Europe - Atlantic

                    . Dinghy. Gulf of Sidra - coast of Tunisia and Libya. Dhow. Gulf of Guinea. Cutter (sailing boat). Africa
                      . Cutter (pulling boat).

                      Young Nick's Head in New Zealand. Cruiser. South East Cape in Australia. Coracle. North Cape in New Zealand. Coble. East Cape in New Zealand. Catboat.

                      Cape York in Australia. Cape Islander. Cape Reinga in New Zealand. Catamaran. Cape Leeuwin in Australia. Canoe. Cape Foulwind in New Zealand. Cabin Cruiser.

                      Cape Egmont in New Zealand. Barge. Oceania

                        . Bateau. Cape Virgenes in Argentina. Bangca. Cape Horn in Chile. Banana boat.

                        Cape Froward in Chile. South America

                          . Cape Girardeau in Missouri, USA "The only inland cape in the world.". Cape Prince of Wales in Alaska, USA.

                          Cape Henry in Virginia, USA. Cape Hatteras in North Carolina, USA. Cape Cod in Massachusetts, USA. Cape Chidley in Newfoundland and Labrador/Nunavut, Canada.

                          Cape Canaveral in Florida, USA. North American, Central America and the Caribbean

                            . Cape Dezhnev in Russia. Indira Point in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India.

                            Cape Engaño on the Philippines. Kanyakumari or Cape Comorin in Tamil Nadu, India. Asia

                              . Pointe du Raz in France.

                              Cap Gris Nez in France. Cape Wrath in Scotland. North Cape in Norway. Cape Finisterre in Spain.

                              Cape Arkona in Germany. Cabo da Roca in Portugal. Europe

                                . Cape Guardafui in Somalia.

                                Cape Juby in Morocco. Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. Cape Agulhas in South Africa. Africa

                                  .