Gulf of Odessa


The Gulf of Odessa, or Odessa Bay, is a part of the Black Sea between North Odessa Cape in the north and Cape Velyky Fontan in the south.

Overview

The coasts of the gulf have capes Langeron and Malyi Fontan. In the north-western part of the gulf the estuaries Kuyalnik and Khadzhibey are separated by the Kuyalnik-Khadzhibey sandbar. The gulf of Odessa is more like a bight, especially considering the fact that geologically it is an extension of Black Sea Lowland. The gulf has a shape of ellipse stretched from southwest to northeast. Its northeastern portion is more shallow having only up to of depth where its southwestern portion has.
The Gulf of Odessa is under the influence of the flows of the rivers Dnieper, Dniester, and Danube. The salinity of the surface waters is 10–17‰, in the case of upwelling up to 18‰, in some years about 5–7‰.
The City of Odessa and the Port of Odessa are located on the coasts of the gulf.