Gulf of Corinth as seen from the mountains near upper Ziria

The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf ( el, Κορινθιακός Kόλπος, ''Korinthiakόs Kόlpos'', ) is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea, separating the Peloponnese from western mainland

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

. It is bounded in the east by the Isthmus of Corinth which includes the shipping-designed Corinth Canal and in the west by the Strait of Rion which widens into the shorter Gulf of Patras (part of the Ionian Sea) and of which the narrowest point is crossed since 2004 by the Rio–Antirrio bridge. The gulf is bordered by the large administrative divisions (regional units): Aetolia-Acarnania and

Phocis Phocis ( el, Φωκίδα ; grc, Φωκίς) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. It stretches from the western mountainsides of Parnassus on the east to the mountain range of Var ...

in the north,

Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its ...

in the northeast,

Attica Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean ...

in the east, Corinthia in the southeast and south and Achaea in the southwest. The gulf is in tectonic movement comparable to movement in parts of

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

, growing by per year. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, the gulf was known as the Gulf of Lepanto (the Italian form of

Naupactus Nafpaktos ( el, Ναύπακτος) is a town and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, situated on a bay on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, west of the mouth of the river Mornos. It is named for Naupaktos (, Lati ...

). Shipping routes between the Greek commercial port

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saro ...

(further away from ultimate destinations but larger and better connected to the south than the north-western Greek port of Igoumenitsa) to western Mediterranean and hemisphere ports pass along this gulf. A ferry crosses the gulf to link Aigio and Agios Nikolaos, towards the western part of the gulf.

Geology

The gulf was created by the expansion of a tectonic rift due to the westward movement of the Anatolian Plate, and expands by per year. The surrounding faults can produce earthquakes up to magnitude around 6.5, though they are relatively uncommon. On June 15, 1995 an earthquake of magnitude 6.2 occurred near the city of Aigion. A large part of the northern margin of gulf is characterized by gentle gradients (between 10 and 20 degrees). The southern margin of the gulf is largely characterized by steep gradients (between 30 and 40 degrees).

Nature

Delfine im Golf von Korinth, Griechenland

Cetacean Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively carnivorous diet. They propel th ...

s such as

fin whale The fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus''), also known as finback whale or common rorqual and formerly known as herring whale or razorback whale, is a cetacean belonging to the parvorder of baleen whales. It is the second-longest species of ceta ...

s or

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the b ...

s are known to enter the Corinthian gulf occasionally.Keep Talking Greece. 2011
Trapped Whale in Greece (video)
. Retrieved on November 6. 2014

Gulfs and bays

* Alkyonides Gulf, east *Crissaean Gulf (Gulf of

Crissa Crissa or Krissa ( grc, Κρίσσα) or Crisa or Krisa (Κρῖσα) was a town in ancient Phocis. Crissa was regarded as one of the most ancient cities in Greece. It was situated inland a little southwest of Delphi, at the southern end of a proj ...

), north * Bay of Antikyra, north *Dombraina (Domvrena), north * Strait of Rion, west

Islands

* Trizonia (the only inhabited),

Alkyonides Islands The Alcyonides (, ''Alkyonides'') were, in Greek mythology, the seven daughters of the giant Alcyoneus. Names These sisters were identified individually as, Alkippe, Anthe, Asteria, Drimo, Methone, Pallene and Phthonia ( Phosthonia or Cht ...

(group of islets), Ampelos (islet), Fonias (islet), Prasoudi (islet)

Bridges

* Rio–Antirrio bridge

Cities and towns

The main cities and towns that lie next to the gulf are, from the northwest clockwise, and grouped by regional unit: * Aetolia-Acarnania: Antirrio, Nafpaktos *

: Galaxidi, Itea, Kirra *

: Antikyra, Paralia Distomou * West Attica * Corinthia: Loutraki,

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part ...

, Assos,

Vrachati Vrachati ( el, Βραχάτι) is a beach town in the municipal unit of Vocha, Corinthia, Greece, population 3,338 (2011). It is located 12 km west of Corinth, and is a very popular destination for day trippers from Athens. Its beach has bee ...

, Velo, Kiato, Kato Diminio, Xylokastro * Achaea:

Aigeira Aigeira ( el, Αιγείρα) (, grc, Αἰγείρα or Αἴγειρα, la, Aegeira) is a town and a former municipality in northeastern Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it has been a municipal unit of th ...

, Diakopto, Aigio, Rododafni, Agios Vasileios, Aktaio

Tributaries

All tributaries are listed west to east.

Northern

* Mornos * Pleistos

Southern

* Selemnos *

Volinaios Volinaios ( el, Βολιναίος, also Δρεπανέικο ''Drepaneiko'', la, Bolinaeus) is a river in the northern part of Achaea, Greece. It empties into the Gulf of Corinth. The river is named after the ancient town of Boline. The river be ...

* Foinikas * Selinountas * Vouraikos * Krathis * Krios * Zacholitikos *

Fonissa Fonissa ( el, Φόνισσα) is a stream in western Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. It is long and flows into the Gulf of Corinth. The source of the river is in the hills near the village Rethi. It flows towards the southeast though a narrow g ...

* Sythas * Elissonas * Asopos

References

External links

The Corinth Rift Observatory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gulf Of Corinth Corinth, Gulf of Landforms of Aetolia-Acarnania Landforms of Phocis Landforms of Boeotia Landforms of Corinthia Landforms of Attica Landforms of Achaea Landforms of Western Greece Landforms of Central Greece Landforms of Peloponnese (region) Inlets of Greece