Bight (geography)

In geography, a bight (/baɪt/) is a concave bend or curvature in a coastline, river or other geographical feature,^[1] or it may refer to a very open bay formed by such a feature.^[2] Such bays are typically broad, open, shallow and only slightly recessed.^[3]

A stretch of coastline of the Great Australian Bight

Description

Bights are distinguished from sounds, in that sounds are much deeper. Traditionally, explorers defined a bight as a bay that could be sailed out of on a single tack in a square-rigged sailing vessel, regardless of the direction of the wind^{[citation needed]} (typically meaning the apex of the bight is less than 25 degrees from the edges).

According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, an indentation with an area as large as (or larger than) that of the semi-circle whose diameter is a line drawn across the mouth of that indentation, can be regarded as a bay not merely a bight.^[4]

Etymology

The term is derived from Old English byht ("bend, angle, corner; bay, bight") with German Bucht and Danish bugt as cognates, both meaning "bay". Bight is not etymologically related to "bite" (Old English bītan).

Notable examples

• Bight of Bangkok
• Bay of Campeche
• Bay of Plenty
• Bight of Benin
• Bight of Biafra
• Canterbury Bight
• German Bight or Heligoland Bight
• Great Australian Bight
• McKenzie Bight
• Mecklenburg Bight
• Mid-Atlantic Bight
• New York Bight
• North Taranaki Bight
• Robson Bight
• Santa Monica Bay
• South Taranaki Bight
• Southern Bight
• Southern California Bight
• Trinity Bight, Newfoundland and Labrador

References

1. "Definition of bight in English". Oxford Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on August 24, 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
2. "bight". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
3. "What is a bight?". National Ocean Service. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
4. United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea "For the purposes of this Convention, a bay is a well-marked indentation whose penetration is in such proportion to the width of its mouth as to contain land-locked waters and constitute more than a mere curvature of the coast. An indentation shall not, however, be regarded as a bay unless its area is as large as, or larger than, that of the semi-circle whose diameter is a line drawn across the mouth of that indentation. For the purpose of measurement, the area of an indentation is that lying between the low-water mark around the shore of the indentation and a line joining the low-water mark of its natural entrance points. Where, because of the presence of islands, an indentation has more than one mouth, the semi-circle shall be drawn on a line as long as the sum total of the lengths of the lines across the different mouths. Islands within an indentation shall be included as if they were part of the water area of the indentation."