Inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, West Africa.
The innermost bay of the Gulf of Guinea , it is bounded by Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon, and receives portions of the Niger and Ogooué rivers. It includes several islands, including Bioko . Its ports include Malabo , Calabar , and Douala . In the 16th19th century the bay was the scene of extensive slave dealing. By the 1830s palm-oil trading had surpassed slave trading. Today petroleum is a major economic resource.