The most visited city in the western hemisphere stands on Guanabara Bay. What is it?
Guanabara Bay Guanabara Bay Guanabara Bay (, ) is an oceanic bay located in Southeast Brazil in the state of Rio de Janeiro. On its western shore lies the city of Rio de Janeiro and Duque de Caxias, and on its eastern shore the cities of Niterói and São Gonçalo. Four other municipalities surround the bay's shores. Guanabara Bay is the second largest bay in area in Brazil (after the All Saints' Bay), at , with a perimeter of . Guanabara Bay is long and wide at its maximum. Its wide mouth is flanked at the eastern tip by the Pico do
Guanabara Bay Papagaio (Parrot's Peak) and the western tip by Pão de Açúcar (Sugar Loaf). The name Guanabara comes from the Tupi language, "goanã-pará", from "gwa" "bay", plus "nã" "similar to" and "ba'ra" "sea". Traditionally, it is also translated as "the bosom of sea". Guanabara Bay was first encountered by Europeans on January 1, 1502, when one of the Portuguese explorers Gaspar de Lemos and Gonçalo Coelho arrived on its shores. According to some historians, the name given by the exploration team to the bay was originally "Ria de Janeiro" "January's Lagoon", then a confusion took place between the word "ria" "lagoon"