Walvis Bay

Chief port serving Namibia, situated on the Atlantic Ocean, 275 km/171 mi southwest of Windhoek; population (2001) 42,000. It is the only deep-water harbour on the Namibian coast and has a fishing industry with allied trades. Because of its central coastal position, harbour, rail links, and airport, Walvis Bay now handles most of Namibia's trade. It was a detached part (area 1,100 sq km/425 sq mi) of Cape Province, South Africa, 1884–1993 (administered solely by South Africa 1922–92; from 1992 jointly by South Africa and Namibia). In 1993 South Africa waived its claim to sovereignty and control was passed to Namibia in February 1994. Walvis Bay is now part of Erongo region.

The first European to land here was the Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Diaz in 1487. The port acquired its first jetty in 1898, but trade declined following the German development of nearby Swakopmund which had a rail link to the interior. A railway from Walvis Bay to Swakopmund was opened in 1915, and a new harbour constructed in 1927. The town grew rapidly after World War II. The Skeleton Coast national park extends from Walvis Bay along the Atlantic Coast to the frontier with Angola.