{{Infobox body of water | name = Acul Bay | native_name ={{native name|fr|Baie de l'Acul}} | image = | alt = | caption = |pushpin_map=Haiti | image_bathymetry = | alt_bathymetry = | caption_bathymetry = | location = Haiti | coordinates = {{coord|19.7333|-72.3333|display=inline,title}} | type = Bay | part_of = Caribbean Sea | inflow = | rivers = | outflow = | catchment = | basin_countries = | agency = | designation = | length = {{convert|7|km|abbr=on}} | width = {{convert|10|km|abbr=on}} | area = {{convert|30|km2|abbr=on}} | depth = | max-depth = | volume = | residence_time = | salinity = | shore = | elevation = | frozen = | islands = | sections = | trenches = | benches = | cities = | website = | reference = }}
'''Acul Bay''', also known as '''North Acul Bay''', is a bay on the northern coast of Haiti north of the city of Acul-du-Nord and west of the city of Cap-Haïtien.
== Geography == Acul Bay is open to the ocean on the North. It extends from the tip of Labadee to the East of Cape Balimbé West. Acul Bay gradually slopes and is nearly {{convert|5|km|mi}} in length and {{convert|2|km|mi}} in width, with a bottleneck in the middle of a width of about {{convert|500|m|ft}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kay-soley.blogspot.fr/2007/12/la-baie-de-lacul.html |title=Pointe Sable et la Baie de l'Acul |language=French |trans-title=Sand Pointe and Acul Bay |author=Kay Soley |accessdate=19 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Baie+de+I'Acul,+Haiti/@19.748984,-72.3420212,13z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x8eb6ea968421eaa9:0xf0f15b0995374465 |title=Bay de l'Acul |website=Google Maps |publisher=Google |accessdate=19 November 2014}}</ref>
Out from the bay, many shoals emerge, forming numerous islets that are dangerous to navigation. Many shipwrecks dating back several centuries are stranded or lying at the bottom of the water. Among these islands, ''Rat Island'' was also named ''l'île La Amiga'' (Friendly Island)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.petitfute.com/v46894-labadie/c1173-visites-points-d-interet/676646-l-ile-a-rats-ou-l-ile-amiga.html |title=L'ÎLE À RATS OU L'ÎLE AMIGA |language=French |trans-title=Rat Island or Friendly Island |publisher=Petit Futé |accessdate=19 November 2014}}</ref> by Christopher Columbus because it was where he first encountered Guacanagaríx, who was a cacique of the indigenous Taino people, and established the settlement La Navidad.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Columbus |first=Ferdinand |title=The Life of the Admiral Christopher Columbus by his son Ferdinand |publisher=New Brunswick: Rutgers, The State University. |year=1959 |pages=82–86, 121}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[https://maps.google.com/maps?t=h&ll=19.7600973,-72.3114683&spn=0.1405107,0.1990805&cid=9686168441377781325&q=Arrondissement+d'Acul-du-Nord,+Ha%C3%AFti&output=classic&dg=ntvb Google Maps] *[http://kay-soley.blogspot.fr/2007/12/la-baie-de-lacul.html Description de la baie de l'Acul (Description of Acul Bay)] {{in lang|fr}}
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Category:Bays of Haiti Category:Shipwrecks in the Caribbean Sea