Red bay

Red Bay is a fishing village on the Labrador Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador , northeastern Canada . In the period from the middle of the XVI to the beginning of the XVII century, the main population of the village were Basque seasonal migrants engaged in whaling . In June 2013, the village was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site ^[1] .

Red bay
A country	Canada
History and Geography
Square
Center height
Timezone
Digital identifiers
Telephone code	+1 709

Red Bay is located near the coastal natural harbor and bears its name in honor of it and the red granite rocks in this area (the name literally translates as "Red Bay"). There are two small islands in the bay, also previously used as harbors. The modern village has an area of ​​1.56 km², its population as of 2006 is 227 inhabitants.

Since the 30s of the XVI century, Red Bay, then bearing the Basque name "Balea Baya" ("whale bay"), has been the center of the Basque whaling industry. Each summer (hunting season), approximately 600 Basque sailors, searching and hunting for southern and Greenland whales in Bell Isle , separating Newfoundland from the Labrador Peninsula, sailed from approximately 15 whaling vessels from southern France and northern Spain. The mining of blubber was carried out right here, after which it was delivered by ship to Europe. The remains of the settlement include temporary dwellings, whale bones, blubber mining equipment, a graveyard of a number of ships that have sunk here for many years, and are currently used as a tourist attraction, the most famous element of which is San Juan, which sank around 1565 year. At the beginning of the XVII century, the village was abandoned - probably due to a decrease in the number of whales. During World War II, the village served as a natural harbor for ships of the naval forces of the anti-Hitler coalition.