bight, broad bend or curve in a coastline, forming a large open bay. The New York bight, for example, is the curve in the coast described by the southern shore of Long Island and the eastern shore of New Jersey. The term bight may also refer to the bay so formed.

Great Australian Bight, wide bay of the Indian Ocean, indenting the southern coast of Australia. An unbroken line of cliffs c.200 ft (60 m) high runs along the coast and extends inland as the arid and desolate Nullarbor Plain. The bight is very stormy during winter months.

Biafra, Bight of, eastern bay of the Gulf of Guinea, W Africa. It extends approximately from the Niger River delta, in S Nigeria, to N Gabon. The bight gave its name to the secessionist Republic of Biafra in E Nigeria (1967-70).

Benin, Bight of, northern arm of the Gulf of Guinea, c.550 mi (885 km) wide, W Africa, between Cape Three Points, S Ghana, and the Niger River delta, SW Nigeria. The bight was an important area for slave trading between the 16th and 19th cent. After the 19th cent. palm oil trading became fo primary importance. In the late 1950s oil was discovered in the Niger River delta.

Bay of the Indian Ocean, southern Australian coast. Its generally accepted boundaries are from Cape Pasley, Western Australia, to Cape Carnot, South Australia—a distance of 720 mi (1,160 km). The head of the bight abuts on the arid Nullarbor Plain and is bounded by cliffs 200–400 ft (60–120 m) high. Near Eucla on the bight's shores is the Nuytsland Reserve. Lying in the track of the winter western winds, the bight has a reputation for storms and rough seas.

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Inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, West Africa. The innermost bay of the Gulf of Guinea, it is bounded by Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon, and receives portions of the Niger and Ogooué rivers. It includes several islands, including Bioko. Its ports include Malabo, Calabar, and Douala. In the 16th–19th century the bay was the scene of extensive slave dealing. By the 1830s palm-oil trading had surpassed slave trading. Today petroleum is a major economic resource.

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Bay, northern section of Gulf of Guinea. It extends along the West African coast about 400 mi (640 km) from Cape St. Paul, Ghana, past Togo and Benin to an outlet of the Niger River in Nigeria. Major ports include Lomé, Cotonou, and Lagos. It was the scene of extensive slave trading during the 16th–19th century, and the region of coastal lagoons west of the Niger delta became known as the Slave Coast. By the 1830s trade in palm oil had become the major economic activity. Petroleum was discovered in the Niger delta in the 1950s.

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Inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, West Africa. The innermost bay of the Gulf of Guinea, it is bounded by Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon, and receives portions of the Niger and Ogooué rivers. It includes several islands, including Bioko. Its ports include Malabo, Calabar, and Douala. In the 16th–19th century the bay was the scene of extensive slave dealing. By the 1830s palm-oil trading had surpassed slave trading. Today petroleum is a major economic resource.

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Bay, northern section of Gulf of Guinea. It extends along the West African coast about 400 mi (640 km) from Cape St. Paul, Ghana, past Togo and Benin to an outlet of the Niger River in Nigeria. Major ports include Lomé, Cotonou, and Lagos. It was the scene of extensive slave trading during the 16th–19th century, and the region of coastal lagoons west of the Niger delta became known as the Slave Coast. By the 1830s trade in palm oil had become the major economic activity. Petroleum was discovered in the Niger delta in the 1950s.

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