Walvis Bay, city in eastern Namibia, port on the Atlantic Ocean. Walvis Bay is located within a territory of 1,124 sq km (434 sq mi) that is also referred to as Walvis Bay. Situated about 400 km (about 250 mi) west of Windhoek, Namibia's capital, Walvis Bay is bordered on three sides by the Namib Desert. As the only deepwater harbor on the Namibian coast, the city of Walvis Bay serves as Namibia's principal port, handling 85 percent of the country's trade. Its primary exports are mineral ores such as copper, lead, fluorspar, and uranium, and imports include containerized goods, petroleum, and machinery. The port also serves as a processing, canning, and cold-storage center for the fishing industry. Fish such as pilchards, anchovies, and mackerel are caught in the rich fishing zone off Walvis Bay; most of the catch is then exported to South Africa or overseas. A lagoon well known for its rich bird life lies south of Walvis Bay.
The Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias became the first European to explore Walvis Bay in 1487. The bay was named for the Dutch word for whale because it was a popular port for American whaling ships in the 18th and 19th centuries. Britain formally annexed Walvis Bay and the territory immediately surrounding it in 1878, and in 1884 Walvis Bay was incorporated into the British-governed Cape Colony (in what is now South Africa). In the same year Germany annexed the region around the territory of Walvis Bay and called it Süd-West Afrika (South-West Africa). When the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, the enclave of Walvis Bay was included within its territory. The South African government then administered Walvis Bay as part of Cape Province until 1922. When Germany was forced to give up its claim to South-West Africa after World War I (1914-1918), the League of Nations established the region as the mandate of South-West Africa and placed it under South African control. Starting in 1922, the South African government included Walvis Bay under the administration of South-West Africa.
