The Laconian Gulf ( el, Λακωνικός Κόλπος, translit=Lakonikos Kolpos), is a gulf in the south-eastern
Peloponnese, in
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 ...
. It is the southernmost gulf in Greece and the largest in the Peloponnese.
In the shape of an inverted "U", it is approximately 58 km wide east-west, and 44 km long north-south. It is bounded to the west by the
Mani peninsula, which separates it from the
Messenian Gulf, and to the east by the
Cape Maleas
Cape Maleas (also ''Cape Malea''; el, Ακρωτήριον Μαλέας, colloquially Καβομαλιάς, ''Cavomaliás''), anciently Malea ( grc, Μαλέα) and Maleae or Maleai (Μαλέαι), is a peninsula and cape in the southeast of the ...
peninsula (also known as the Epidavros Limira peninsula), which separates it from the
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...
. To the south it opens onto the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...
. The Mani and Cape Maleas peninsulas are dry and rocky, but the northern shore, fed by the
Evrotas River
The Eurotas ( grc, Εὐρώτας) or Evrotas (modern Greek: ) is the main river of Laconia and one of the major rivers of the Peloponnese, in Greece. The river's springs are located just northwest of the border between Laconia and Arcadia, at ...
, which empties into the gulf at its apex, is fertile farmland. The island of
Elafonissos
Elafonisos ( el, Ελαφόνησος) is a small Greek island between the Peloponnese and Kythira. It lies off the coast of Cape Malea and Vatika. The area of the island is .
Overview
The population is between 300 and 350 during the winter b ...
lies in the Laconian Gulf, with the island of
Kythira
Kythira (, ; el, Κύθηρα, , also transliterated as Cythera, Kythera and Kithira) is an island in Greece lying opposite the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese peninsula. It is traditionally listed as one of the seven main Ionian Islands ...
directly to the south. The main ports and settlements on the gulf are
Gytheio
Gytheio ( el, Γύθειο, ) or Gythio, also the ancient Gythium or Gytheion ( grc, Γύθειον), is a town on the eastern shore of the Mani Peninsula, and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government ...
and
Neapolis.
Gulfs of Greece
Landforms of Laconia
Gulfs of the Mediterranean
Landforms of Peloponnese (region)
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