bay on the southeast coast of Mozambique, East Africa, near the South African border. The name probably derives from Baía da Lagoa (Bay of the Lagoon). It is 19 mi (31 km) long and 16 mi wide, with Inhaca Island, a tourist resort, at its mouth and the port of Maputo, capital of Mozambique, near its head. Discovered by António do Campo, a member of Vasco da Gama's expedition (1502), it was first explored by Lourenço Marques, a Portuguese trader, in 1544. It was important as an outlet for ivory and slaves, as a way station for Indian Ocean trade, and as an avenue of approach to South African diamond fields and goldfields. Ownership was contested by the Portuguese, Dutch, English, and Boers until by arbitration (1875) it was awarded to Portugal. Its inner bay receives the Matola, Tembe, and Umbelúzi rivers, which meet in the Espírito Santo, an estuary formerly known as the English River. The larger Maputo and Komati rivers discharge into its outer bay.