Walvis Bay in the context of "Guano"

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⭐ Core Definition: Walvis Bay

Walvis Bay (Afrikaans: Walvisbaai; German: Walfischbucht or Walfischbai) is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The city covers an area of 29 square kilometres (11 sq mi) of land.The bay is a haven for sea vessels due to its harbour, protected by the Pelican Point sand spit, which is the only natural deep-water harbour along the country's coast. Being rich in plankton and marine life, these waters also draw large numbers of southern right whales, attracting whalers and fishing vessels.

A succession of colonists developed the location and resources of this strategic harbour settlement. The harbour's value about the sea route around the Cape of Good Hope had caught the attention of world powers since it was discovered by the outside world in 1485. The importance of the harbour, combined with its extreme isolation by land, explains the complicated political history of the town. For much of its history, Walvis Bay was governed as an exclave separate from the rest of the territory that today is Namibia.

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👉 Walvis Bay in the context of Guano

Guano (Spanish from Quechua: wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. Guano is a highly effective fertiliser due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a lesser extent, sought for the production of gunpowder and other explosive materials.

The 19th-century seabird guano trade played a pivotal role in the development of modern input-intensive farming. The demand for guano spurred the human colonisation of remote bird islands in many parts of the world.

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Walvis Bay in the context of Cape Province

The Province of the Cape of Good Hope (Afrikaans: Provinsie Kaap die Goeie Hoop), commonly referred to as the Cape Province (Afrikaans: Kaapprovinsie) and colloquially as The Cape (Afrikaans: Die Kaap), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa. It encompassed the old Cape Colony, as well as Walvis Bay, and had Cape Town as its capital. In 1994, the Cape Province was divided into the new Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and Western Cape provinces, along with part of the North West.

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Walvis Bay in the context of Bird Island (Namibia)

Bird Island is a man-made platform off the coast of Namibia between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund. It serves as a breeding ground for birds (primarily Cape cormorants) and yields guano, which is collected and sold, as a highly effective fertilizer.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Guano ← Cape Province ← Bird Island (Namibia)
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Afrikaans language → German language → Namibia → Bay → List of cities in Namibia → Plankton → Marine life → Southern right whale → Cape of Good Hope → Exclave →