The Bay of Santander

Venue for port-related activities

Panoramic view of the port

The Port of Santander is situated in a coastal opening on the Cantabrian coast, in a location called the Bay of Santander. This estuary measures 22,420,000 m2 and is the largest of all estuaries on the northern Spanish coast. The entrance into the bay is preceded by the Sardinero inlet, where we find the Isle of Mouro. The isle can be accessed via a narrow stretch of sea between the Magdalena Peninsula, where the islets of Torre and Horadada are located as well as the Puntal sandy area, which is a large longitudinal sandbank of beaches and dunes that protect the calm inner waters of the bay.

A number of rivers flow into the interior area of the Bay of Santander. The most important of these river mouths are located on the south, where we find the Solía, San Salvador and Boó rias that flow into the centre of the bay via the Astillero ria. The Cubas ria is located on the west bank, which is the name given to the mouth of the river Miera.

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Panoramic view of the Port

The water level in the bay during high tide* might make us think that the sea bed is flat, like the bottom of a glass of water. During low tides* however, we are able to see that large sandy and marshy areas are left uncovered, especially on the banks and at the mouths of the rias and in the central area and the western side of the estuary. In actual fact, different areas of the bay have very different depths*, which can reach heights of up to 15 metres. Information on the topography of the ocean floor is called bathymetry.

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Panoramic view of the Port

The bay's exceptional natural conditions have encouraged a considerable number of communities to settle and develop close to the water. Such is the situation that currently 45% of Cantabria's inhabitants live in the seven municipalities located along its shores; the towns of Santander, Maliaño and Astillero are those with the highest number of inhabitants.

In order to provide them with everything they needed, the settlers used the resources of the bay and its surrounding area in such a way that today, important agricultural and livestock*, urban, industrial, commercial and leisure etc. activities coexist along the shores of the bay, making it Cantabria's main financial and social centre.

One of the most important and traditional activities in the Bay of Santander is transport. This includes activities designed to make the movement of people and things between different geographical areas easier. In our bay, we are lucky to have examples of the three methods of transport that have allowed us to move goods and individuals throughout history: land, sea and air.

In order to transport people and goods, we need to prepare the earth's crust and we call the result of this preparation work transport infrastructures. In terms of land transport, these infrastructures can be identified as roads, motorways, freight centres, railways and train stations; in terms of air transport the infrastructures are airports and for sea transport these infrastructures are the ports. In the Bay of Santander, these different means of transport are linked to each other and make up an important "communication hub".

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Panoramic view of the Port

The size of the Bay of Santander, its depths, the fact that it is sheltered from prevailing northern winds and its entrance, which is protected from storms by the Magdalena Peninsula, make this estuary the best natural port on the Cantabrian coast.

As you will have noticed, the main port facilities at Santander are located on the northern and eastern shores of the bay, lining the channel. Currently, the Port of Santander has a surface area of around three million square metres. Can you imagine an area that big? To give you an idea, the port is the same size as 277 football pitches placed side by side.

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Panoramic view of the Port

Originally, the Bay of Santander measured 44,467,000 m2. Currently, this area has been reduced to half that size. The majority of this lost space is a result of the draining, filling and enclosing activities undertaken by man since the end of the19th century when the mining, industrial and urban activities undertaken in the bay and the surrounding area were expanded.

Today, almost half of the sea area taken from the bay (41%) is used for agricultural and livestock purposes, areas that were originally filled in as a result of the dumping of mineral waste and with the contents of tips. The remaining occupied area is used for urban and industrial activities, transport infrastructures, etc. The whole area of land where port activities are carried out has been taken from the sea and now totals 13.5% in relation to the total area taken from the bay.

To give you an idea of the proportions of these figures and for you to be able to make comparisons, look at these three numbers. The biggest of them represents the bay's original surface area. The second number represents the area that man has occupied up until today and the third figure represents the area that the port currently uses.

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