The Ambracian Gulf, also known as the Gulf of Arta or the Gulf of Actium, and in some official documents as the Amvrakikos Gulf ( el, Αμβρακικός κόλπος, translit=Amvrakikos kolpos), is a

gulf A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...

of the Ionian Sea in northwestern Greece. About long and wide, it is one of the largest enclosed gulfs in Greece, and due to its ecological importance is one of the National Parks of Greece. The towns of

Preveza Preveza ( el, Πρέβεζα, ) is a city in the region of Epirus, northwestern Greece, located on the northern peninsula at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the regional unit of Preveza, which is part of the region of Epi ...

, Amphilochia (formerly Karvassaras), and

Vonitsa Vonitsa ( el, Βόνιτσα) is a town in the northwestern part of Aetolia-Acarnania in Greece, seat of the municipality of Aktio-Vonitsa. Population 4,916 (2011). The beach town is situated on the south coast of the Ambracian Gulf, and is domin ...

lie on its shores.

Name

The gulf takes its name from the ancient city of

Ambracia Ambracia (; grc-gre, Ἀμβρακία, occasionally , ''Ampracia'') was a city of ancient Greece on the site of modern Arta. It was captured by the Corinthians in 625 BC and was situated about from the Ambracian Gulf, on a bend of the navigab ...

located near its shores. Its alternative name comes from the medieval (and modern) city of Arta, located in the same place as ancient Ambracia.

Geography

The entrance to the gulf is through a -wide channel between Aktio (ancient

Actium Actium or Aktion ( grc, Ἄκτιον) was a town on a promontory in ancient Acarnania at the entrance of the Ambraciot Gulf, off which Octavian gained his celebrated victory, the Battle of Actium, over Antony and Cleopatra, on September 2, 31& ...

) on the south and

on the north; a recent road tunnel connects the two. The gulf is quite shallow, and its northern shore is broken by numerous marshes, large parts of which form an estuary system. The

Louros Louros ( el, Λούρος) is a town and a former municipality in the Preveza regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Preveza, of which it is a municipal unit. The seat of the municipal ...

and Arachthos (or Arta) rivers drain into it; for this reason it is warmer and less salty than the Ionian, and a current flows from the gulf into the sea. It is rich in grey mullet, sole, and

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

, and is also very famous for the local variety of large shrimp (gabari, in Greek γάμπαρη). Sea turtles and dolphins regularly make an appearance, while it contains lagoons very important for birds.

History

The Ambracian Gulf was the site of the

Battle of Actium The Battle of Actium was a naval battle fought between a maritime fleet of Octavian led by Marcus Agrippa and the combined fleets of both Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII Philopator. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC in the Ionian Sea, nea ...

, in which

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

' forces defeated those of Mark Antony and

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler. ...

. From Greek independence ( Treaty of Constantinople, 1832) until the Second Balkan War ( Treaty of Bucharest, 1913), the gulf formed part of the border between the Kingdom of Greece and the Ottoman Empire. The remains of numerous ancient cities lie on its shores:

at the entrance, where the famous

was fought in 31 BC;

Nicopolis Nicopolis ( grc-gre, Νικόπολις, Nikópolis, City of Victory) or Actia Nicopolis was the capital city of the Roman province of Epirus Vetus. It was located in the western part of the modern state of Greece. The city was founded in 29 ...

, Argos Ippatum, Limnaea, and

Olpae Olpae or Olpai ( grc, Ὄλπαι) was a town of ancient Amphilochia, where the Battle of Olpae was fought between the Spartans and the Athenians in 426 BC during the Peloponnesian War. Olpae sat upon a fortified hill, in the territory of A ...

Transportation

Since 2002, the northern and southern sides at the mouth of the gulf are connected by the Aktio-Preveza Undersea Tunnel. The tunnel greatly shortens the travel distance across the gulf, which used to be possible only by ferry. The Aktion International Airport (airport code PVK) is built near the Gulf's entrance and serves the region.

References

Notes

*James Wolfe, "Observations on the Gulf of Arta, Made in 1830" ''Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London'' 3:77-94 (1833
at JSTOR
*

External links

Preveza Weather Station SV6GMQ - Live Weather Conditions
(in English and Greek) {{Authority control Gulfs of Greece Gulfs of the Ionian Sea Ramsar sites in Greece Landforms of Preveza (regional unit) Landforms of Epirus (region) Landforms of Aetolia-Acarnania Landforms of Western Greece