Bay of Guanabara
| Guanabara Bay Baía de Guanabara |
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Satellite image of Guanabara Bay
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| Location | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Coordinates | 22°47′25″S 43°9′20″W / 22.79028°S 43.15556°WCoordinates: 22°47′25″S 43°9′20″W / 22.79028°S 43.15556°W |
| Type | Bay |
| River sources | |
| Ocean/sea sources | South Atlantic |
| Max. length | 31 km (19 mi) |
| Max. width | 28 km (17 mi) |
| Surface area | 412 km2 (159 sq mi) |
| Islands | Ilha do Governador, Paquetá, Freguesia |
| Settlements | Rio de Janeiro, Niterói, Duque de Caxias, São Gonçalo |
Guanabara Bay (Portuguese: Baía de Guanabara, IPA: [ɡwanaˈbaɾɐ]) is an oceanic bay located in Southeast Brazil in the state of Rio de Janeiro. On its western shore lies the city of Rio de Janeiro and Duque de Caxias, and on its eastern shore the cities of Niterói and São Gonçalo. Four other municipalities surround the bay's shores. Guanabara Bay is the second largest bay in area in Brazil (after the All Saints' Bay), at 412 square kilometres (159 sq mi), with a perimeter of 143 kilometres (89 mi).
Guanabara Bay is 31 kilometres (19 mi) long and 28 kilometres (17 mi) wide at its maximum. Its 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) wide mouth is flanked at the eastern tip by the Pico do Papagaio (Parrot's Peak) and the western tip by Pão de Açúcar (Sugar Loaf).
The name Guanabara comes from the Tupi language, goanã-pará, from gwa "bay", plus nã "similar to" and ba'ra "sea". Traditionally, it is also translated as "the bosom of sea".
Guanabara Bay was first encountered by Europeans on January 1, 1502, when one of the Portuguese explorers Gaspar de Lemos and Gonçalo Coelho arrived on its shores. According to some historians, the name given by the exploration team to the bay was originally Ria de Janeiro "January Sound", then a confusion took place between the word ria, which at the time was used to designate a bay or a sound, and rio "river". As a result, the name of the bay was soon fixed as Rio de Janeiro. Later, the city was named after the bay. Natives of the Tamoio and Tupiniquim tribes inhabited the shores of the bay.
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