NOUADHIBOU

formerly Port-tienne, town, northwestern Mauritania, on Ras Nouadhibou (formerly Cape Blanc) peninsula facing a protective bay on the Atlantic coast. It has developed as a fishing centre, and fishing continues to be important; but, since 1964, with the completion of a special pier and a 419-mile (674-kilometre) railway to the Iron Mountains near Zourt and Fdrik, the port's main economic importance has rested on exports of high-grade iron ore to Europe and the United States. Nouadhibou is the site of an international airport. Pop. (1987 est.) 30,000.