An arm of the North
Atlantic Ocean, lying along the west coast of
France from
Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of
Spain. As the
shipping forecast will tell you, it is an area renowned for rough seas and
high tides.
During World War II, the Bay of Biscay was known as the "Valley of Death" among U-boat men, particularly after
1943 when the Royal Air Force gained air superiority over the area. A substantial number of the U-boat fleet were lost there.
In more recent times, aside from the occasional ship loss, the bay enjoys a more peaceful reputation as the natural habitat of many forms of sea life including whales, dolphins and sea birds, attracting many scuba divers to the area.
The South-East of the bay is one of the few parts of the world to feature bright phytoplankton bloom, covering 15000 square kilometres (approxiamtely 5800 sq. miles). The bloom was initially sighted in 2001 by NASA from the SeaWiFS project satellite.
Sources:
http://www.visibleearth.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/viewrecord?8073
http://uboat.net/maps/biscay.htm