Twice-Daily Tides Shape Guinea-Bissau's Remote 88-Island Bijagós Archipelago
UNESCO named the Bijagós a World Heritage Site in 2025, home to 870,000 migratory shorebirds and nesting sea turtles.
- Landsat 8 imaged the archipelago Nov. 28, 2025, as tides swing up to 7 meters.
- 7-meter tidal swings are seven times the 1-meter norm along West Africa's coast.
- Fewer than 1% of the sea turtle hatchlings born on Poilão reach adulthood.
Why it matters: UNESCO's 2025 listing did not create this sanctuary; the tide has run it for millennia.
NASA Earth Observatory ↗ · Jul 17, 20267/17/26 · ✓ Checked✓ Check