in 1596 to 1615 and the New Hoben-Dike in the east in 1643. South of this dike, the coast became a mossy bog. The bog was affected by high floods, and dikes built on the bog proved to be very fragile. Harbour Tidal flows make the neck of Jade Bight the deepest natural channel near Germany's North Sea coast. In 1853, the Kingdom of Prussia bought a part of the western shore of the bay from Oldenburg, in order to use the harbour as a Prussian naval base, later called Wilhelmshaven. During World War I, the German High Seas Fleet (Hochseeflotte), the main battle fleet of the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine), was based at Wilhelmshaven in the Jade Bight. After World War II, Wilhelmshaven became the main German port for the import of petroleum. Nature The foreshore areas of Jade Bight form a part of the German Wadden Sea National Parks. References Sources Karl-Ernst Behre: Die Geschichte der Landschaft um den Jadebusen, Brune-Mettker GmbH, Wilhelmshaven 2012, Karl-Ernst Behre: Das Moor von Sehestedt − Landschaftsgeschichte am östlichen Jadebusen. Vol. 21 of the Reihe Oldenburger Forschungen David Blackbourn: The Conquest of Nature: Water, Landscape, and the Making of Modern Germany (2006) Eilert Schimmelpenning: Der Jadebusen und das Schwarze Brack, Schortens, 2004, More texts and linked historical maps, see list of sources of the map "Jadebusen und Weserdelta" Bays of Lower Saxony Bights (geography)