{{short description|Coastal lagoon partially or totally separated from the ocean by a sand or shingle bar}} {{Other uses}}
[[File:South Lake, Prince Edward Island in 2025.jpg|thumb|A barachois at South Lake, Prince Edward Island.]]
A '''barachois''' is a type of coastal [[lagoon]] partially or totally separated from the [[ocean]] by a sand or shingle bar. The term is used in [[Atlantic Canada]], [[Saint Pierre and Miquelon]], [[Réunion]], and [[Mauritius]]. On [[Diego Garcia]] in the [[British Indian Ocean Territory]], it describes narrow-mouthed saltwater wetlands within the lagoon.<ref>Deslarzes, K. J. P. and Evans, D., Smith, S. H.: '[https://chip.chagos-trust.org/resources_archive/uploads/uploads/publications/NAVFAC%20Marine%20Survey.pdf Marine Biological Survey at United States Navy Support Facility, Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory, August 2005]': Chagos Information Portal, Chagos Conservation Trust</ref>
In some cases, the separating bar is composed of boulders rather than sand, such as at Freshwater Bay near St. John’s, Newfoundland. [[Seawater|Salt water]] may enter a barachois during high [[tide]]s.
Barachois features often form as a result of [[sediment]] deposition in the [[river delta|delta]] of a [[river]] or, in some locations such as [[Miquelon Island]], by a [[tombolo]].
==Name== Despite its French form, the term ''barachois'' did not enter Canadian usage with the earliest French explorers. Writers such as [[Samuel de Champlain]] and [[Jacques Cartier]] instead used expressions such as ''havre de barre'' (or ''hable de barre''), meaning a natural harbour protected by a sandbar.
Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the origin of ''barachois''. A widely circulated folk etymology derives it from the French phrase ''barre à choir''; this and similar explanations have been rejected by linguists. According to the [[Trésor de la langue française au Québec]], the term is instead of [[Basque language|Basque]] origin, derived from ''barratxoa'', meaning “small bar”. The word was adopted into French through contact with Basque fishermen active in the [[Gulf of St. Lawrence]] from the 16th century onward, and later spread to other French-speaking regions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Barachois : origine du mot |url=https://www.tlfq.org/saviez-vous-que/barachois |website=Trésor de la langue française au Québec |publisher=Université Laval |language=fr |access-date=3 January 2026 }}</ref>
In [[Newfoundland English]], the term has developed local pronunciations such as ''barshwa'' and, more commonly, “barasway”.<ref>{{cite web |title=Barasway |url=https://www.heritage.nf.ca/dictionary/azlist/pages/180.html |website=Heritage Newfoundland & Labrador - Dictionary of Newfoundland English |access-date=3 January 2026 }}</ref>
==Selected examples== * Dark Harbour, [[Grand Manan]], [[New Brunswick]] * Barachois de Malbaie, [[Gaspé Peninsula]], Quebec * [[Grand Barachois, Miquelon Island]] * [[Grand-Barachois, New Brunswick|Grand-Barachois]], [[Westmorland County, New Brunswick]] * [[Barachois Pond Provincial Park]], western [[Newfoundland and Labrador]] * Big Barasway and Little Barasway, communities on Newfoundland’s [[Cape Shore]] * Several examples within [[Prince Edward Island National Park]] * Percival Bay (the “Big Barachois”), off the [[Northumberland Strait]] * Great Barachois, near Petit-de-Grat, Nova Scotia
==References== {{Reflist}}
[[Category:Landforms]] [[Category:Bodies of water]] [[Category:Lagoons]]
{{Topography-stub}} {{Hydrology-stub}}