A narrow inlet of the sea that was formed when a river valley flooded, creating an underwater extension of a coastline.
From Spanish and Portuguese 'ría' (inlet), borrowed from Celtic languages. The term was adopted by English geographers to describe these specific coastal formations found especially in Spain, Portugal, and other parts of Europe.
The coasts of Galicia in Spain are famous for their rias—some scientists think these flooded valleys might actually be where the Atlantis legend came from, since entire civilizations could have lived in valleys that suddenly flooded! They're like nature's proof of rising sea levels.
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