The Banc d'Arguin National Park (Arabic: حوض أركين, French: Parc national du Banc d'Arguin) is located in the Bay of Arguin on the west coast of Mauritania, between Nouakchott and Nouadhibou. It was once the mouth of the Tamanrasset River. This area is very important for birds that travel long distances and for birds that lay their eggs there, like flamingos, pelicans, and terns. Many of these birds nest on sandbanks, such as the islands of Tidra, Niroumi, Nair, Kijji, and Arguim. The surrounding waters are among the richest fishing areas in western Africa and serve as nesting grounds for birds in the western region.

The Banc d'Arguin National Park was created in 1976 to protect natural resources and important fish populations, which help the country's economy and have scientific and artistic value. It also protects geological sites of interest to the public for recreation.

The park's large areas of mudflats are home to more than two million wading birds that travel from northern Europe, Siberia, and Greenland. The region's mild climate and lack of human activity make it one of the most important places in the world for these birds. There are many nesting birds here, with between 25,000 and 40,000 pairs from 15 different species. This is the largest group of water birds in West Africa. Because the park supports many wintering waterbirds, BirdLife International has named it an Important Bird Area (IBA).

Conservation

The large areas where land and sea meet in Parc National du Banc d'Arguin protect some of the cleanest and most untouched seagrass beds on Earth. People have not affected this area much compared to other similar places along the East Atlantic Flyway. Only a small group of local people are allowed to fish within the park using simple tools and methods. Motor boats are not allowed in the area. In the past ten years, however, the international market for shark and ray products has reached PNBA. Local people began catching these animals even though it is against the rules. This is the biggest challenge for protecting the park's environment.

People

The local population includes around 500 Imraguen people who live in seven villages inside the park. They rely on fishing to meet their basic needs and use traditional methods to catch fish.

Fauna

The park is home to one of the world's most diverse groups of fish-eating birds that nest there. At least 108 bird species have been observed, coming from two major regions of the world: the Palaearctic and the Afrotropical. During winter, more than two million wading birds and other wetland birds visit the area. These include greater flamingos (up to 96,000), ringed plovers (up to nearly 98,000), grey plovers (up to 68,000), red knots (up to 366,000), curlew sandpipers (up to nearly 250,000), sanderlings (up to 50,000), dunlins (up to one million), little stints (up to 65,000), common redshanks (up to 120,000), and bar-tailed godwits (up to 500,000).

This area, along with places like Cintra Bay and the Dakhla Peninsula in the north, is a key wintering site for Eurasian spoonbills. Birds that breed here include white pelicans, reed cormorants, gull-billed terns, Caspian terns, West African crested terns, and common terns. Other birds found here include species native to Africa, such as grey herons, Eurasian spoonbills, and western reef herons.

Marine mammals, including endangered species, can be seen in the area all year. Examples include Mediterranean monk seals, Atlantic humpback dolphins, and bottlenose dolphins. Other animals spotted here include orcas (killer whales), pilot whales, Risso's dolphins, common dolphins, and rough-toothed dolphins. Fin whales and harbour porpoises also visit the region. Some whales, like North Atlantic right whales and the now-extinct Atlantic grey whales, may have once been seen here. Other baleen whales, such as humpback whales, Sei whales, blue whales, Bryde's whales, and minke whales, might also be present, as they have been observed in coastal or offshore waters.

Banc d'Arguin has a rich supply of fish. A rare type of shark ray, known only from this region, lives there.

Flora

Strong waves and moving sandbanks are found along the entire shoreline. The Ras Nouadhibou (formerly Cap Blanc) peninsula, which forms Dakhlet Nouadhibou (formerly Lévrier Bay) to the east, is 50 kilometers (31 miles) long and up to 13 kilometers (8.1 miles) wide. The peninsula is divided into parts for government purposes between Morocco and Mauritania. The Mauritanian port and rail station of Nouadhibou is located on the eastern shore (see fig. 11). Dakhlet Nouadhibou, one of the largest natural harbors on the west coast of Africa, is 43 kilometers (27 miles) long and 32 kilometers (20 miles) wide at its widest point. About 50 kilometers (31 miles) southeast of Ras Nouadhibou is Arguin. In 1455, the first Portuguese settlement south of Cape Bojador (in present-day southern Morocco) was built at Arguin. Farther south is the coastline's only major land projection, Cape Timiris, which is 7 meters (23 feet) high. From this cape to the wet area near the mouth of the Senegal River, the coast is mostly flat and has only a few high dunes.

On coastal dunes, plant life is uncommon. At the base of ridges, however, large tamarisk bushes, small acacia trees, and swallowworts may be found. Some tall grass, mixed with balsam, spurge, and spiny shrubs, grows in the central area. The northern region has very little plant life.

Climate

The Coastal Zone, also known as the Sub-Canarian Zone, covers the Atlantic coastline that is about 754 kilometers long. Strong winds from the Canary Islands change the effect of the harmattan, creating a moist and mild climate. Rainfall in this area is very low. In Nouadhibou, it averages less than 30 millimeters each year, and most of this rain falls between July and September. Temperatures are generally moderate. The average highest temperature in Nouadhibou is 28 degrees Celsius, while in Nouakchott it is 32 degrees Celsius. The average lowest temperature in Nouadhibou is 16 degrees Celsius, and in Nouakchott it is 19 degrees Celsius.

Geology

The northern part of the Banc d'Arguin has a flat, top surface where large deposits of carbonate materials formed mainly in water less than 10 meters deep. Much of the Banc d'Arguin is covered by sediments that mix carbonate and siliciclastic materials, including remains of barnacles and mollusks, along with wind-blown siliciclastics. These sediments build up into large shoals, creating water depths less than 5 meters many kilometers away from the current shoreline. The edge of the bank has a sudden drop in depth, changing from 10–20 meters to 30–50 meters, and separates the shallow inner shelf (less than 5–10 meters; carbonate bank) from the deeper outer shelf. The outer shelf is covered by sediments containing benthic foraminifers, mollusks, and thick layers of bivalve shells mixed with wind-blown silt.

In the central and southern parts of the outer shelf, small quartz particles form distinct deposits called the Arguin and Timiris Mud Wedges. These deposits began forming when rising sea levels flooded the area during the early Holocene and have grown quickly over the past 9,000 years. In some places, these mud wedge deposits are cut by gullies and canyons that extend toward the shelf break, which lies at about 80–110 meters deep. The southernmost part of the Golfe d'Arguin has a gently sloping surface with large tidal flat areas near Tidra Island.

History

Because of its valuable fish supply and important location, the area has been greatly wanted and argued over by European powers, including Portugal, France, England, Brandenberg/Prussia, and Holland.

• The Wreck of Medusa – La Méduse was a French ship that ran aground during high tide near Banc d'Arguin on July 2, 1816. A painting titled "The Raft of the Medusa," created in 1819 by Théodore Géricault, was inspired by the story of survivors Alexandre Corréard and Jean-Baptiste-Henri Savigny. The artwork is now displayed in the Louvre Museum in Paris, France.

Although the Almoravid rulers controlled parts of Spain during the 11th and 12th centuries, there is little evidence of contact between Mauritania and Europe during that time. The difficult coastline of Mauritania kept explorers away until the Portuguese began exploring Africa in the 15th century. Drawn by stories of wealth in African kingdoms, the Portuguese built a trading post at Arguin, southeast of Cap Blanc (now Ras Nouadhibou), in 1455. The king of Portugal also sent a commercial agent to Ouadane in the Adrar region to try to control gold moving north through caravans. When the Portuguese had little success finding gold, they shifted to trading enslaved people. By the mid-15th century, as many as 1,000 enslaved individuals were sent each year from Arguin to Europe and to Portuguese sugar plantations on the island of São Tomé in the Gulf of Guinea.

When the Portuguese and Spanish crowns joined in 1580, Spain became the main power along the coast. However, in 1638, the Dutch replaced the Spanish and began using the area for trade in gum arabic. This substance, made by acacia trees in Trarza and Brakna, was used to print fabric patterns and was considered better than gum from Arabia. By 1678, the French had driven out the Dutch and created a permanent settlement at Saint Louis at the mouth of the Senegal River. The French Company of the Senegal River had been trading there for over 50 years.

The Moors, who traded with Europeans, saw the competition between European powers as a weakness and used it to their advantage. For example, they gave trading rights to both the French and the Dutch at the same time. The Maures also took advantage of Europeans whenever possible. When the French made a deal with the amir of Trarza to control the gum arabic trade, the amir asked for many gifts in return. This led to a tradition of annual payments expected by the Maures for doing business with governments or companies. By 1763, the British had forced France out of West Africa. France regained control only after the Congress of Vienna in 1815 granted France authority over the West African coast from Cap Blanc south to Senegal.