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 ...

. It is bounded in the east by the Isthmus of Corinth which includes the shipping-designed

Corinth Canal The Corinth Canal ( el, Διώρυγα της Κορίνθου, translit=Dhioryga tis Korinthou) is an artificial canal in Greece, that connects the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the ...

and in the west by the Strait of Rion which widens into the shorter

Gulf of Patras The Gulf of Patras ( el, Πατραϊκός Κόλπος, ''Patraikós Kólpos'') is a branch of the Ionian Sea in Western Greece. On the east, it is closed by the Strait of Rion between capes Rio and Antirrio, near the Rio-Antirrio bridge, that ...

(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 Aetolia-Acarnania ( el, Αιτωλοακαρνανία, ''Aitoloakarnanía'', ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the geographic region of Central Greece and the administrative region of West Greece. A combination of the histor ...

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 S ...

in the east,

Corinthia Corinthia ( el, Κορινθία ''Korinthía'') is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese. It is situated around the city of Corinth, in the north-eastern part ...

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 s ...

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 in ...

, 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 (, Latini ...

). 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 Saron ...

(further away from ultimate destinations but larger and better connected to the south than the north-western Greek port of

Igoumenitsa Igoumenitsa ( el, Ηγουμενίτσα, ) is a coastal city in northwestern Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Thesprotia. Igoumenitsa is the chief port of Thesprotia and Epirus, and one of the largest passenger ports of Greece, ...

) to western Mediterranean and hemisphere ports pass along this gulf. A ferry crosses the gulf to link

Aigio Aigio, also written as ''Aeghion, Aegion, Aegio, Egio'' ( el, Αίγιο, Aígio, ; la, Aegium), is a town and a former municipality in Achaea, West Greece, on the Peloponnese. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipal ...

and Agios Nikolaos, towards the western part of the gulf.

Geology

The gulf was created by the expansion of a tectonic

rift In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics. Typical rift features are a central linear downfaulted depression, called a graben, or more commonly a half-grabe ...

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

Cetaceans 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 ce ...

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 ...

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 The Alkyonides Gulf ( el, Κόλπος Αλκυονίδων - ''Kolpos Alkyonidon'') is a bay that connects with the Gulf of Corinth to the west. The bay is approximately 20 to 25 km long and 20 km wide. It stretches from Aigosthena t ...

, 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 (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: *

Antirrio Antirrio ( el, links=no, Αντίρριο, pronounced , la, links=no, Antirrhium) is a town and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Nafpaktia, of ...

Nafpaktos 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 (, Latini ...

Galaxidi Galaxidi or Galaxeidi ( el, Γαλαξίδι/Γαλαξείδι), is a town and a former municipality in the southern part of Phocis, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Delphi, of which it is a municipal ...

, Itea, Kirra *

Antikyra Antikyra or Anticyra ( el, Αντίκυρα) is a port on the west coast of the Gulf of Antikyra named after it. That gulf is a north-coast bay of the Gulf of Corinth. The settlement was made basically on a floor and beach fringing the northeas ...

, Paralia Distomou *

West Attica West Attica ( el, Δυτική Αττική) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Attica. The regional unit covers the western part of the agglomeration of Athens, and the area to its west. Administration The region ...

Loutraki Loutraki ( el, Λουτράκι) is a seaside resort on the Gulf of Corinth, in Corinthia, Greece. It is located west of Athens and northeast of Corinth. Loutraki is the seat of the municipality Loutraki-Perachora-Agioi Theodoroi. The tow ...

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

Assos Assos (; grc-gre, Ἄσσος, la, Assus) is a beautiful small and historically important town on the Aegean coast in the Ayvacık district of Çanakkale province, Turkey. It is on the southern side of Biga Peninsula (better known by its anc ...

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 Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an anci ...

, Velo,

Kiato Kiato ( el, Κιάτο) is a town in the northern part of Corinthia in the Peloponnese, Greece. It is the seat of the municipality of Sikyona. Kiato is situated on the Gulf of Corinth, near the mouth of the river Asopos. It has much tourist activ ...

Kato Diminio Kato or Katō may refer to: Places *Kato, Guyana, a village in Guyana *Katō, Hyōgo, a city in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan * Katō District, Hokkaido, a district located in Tokachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan * Katowice, a city in Southern Poland ...

Xylokastro Xylokastro ( el, Ξυλόκαστρο) is a seaside town or village and a former municipality in Corinthia in the Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Xylokastro-Evrostina, of which it is a un ...

* 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 the ...

Diakopto Diakopto ( el, Διακοπτό) is a coastal town municipality in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reforms it is a municipal unit of the Aigialeia municipality. The municipal unit has an area of 103.932 km2. Popul ...

Rododafni Rododafni (Greek: Ροδοδάφνη, before 1928: Μουρλά - ''Mourla'') is a town in northern Achaea, Greece. It is located on the Gulf of Corinth, 4 km northwest of Aigio and 28 km east of Patras. Rododafni had a population of 2,5 ...

, Agios Vasileios, Aktaio

Tributaries

All tributaries are listed west to east.

Northern

Mornos The Mornos ( el, Μόρνος) is a river in Phocis and Aetolia-Acarnania in Greece. It is long. Its source is in the southwestern part of the Oiti mountains, near the village Mavrolithari, Phocis. It flows towards the south, and enters the Morno ...

Pleistos The Pleistos ( el, Πλείστος, grc, Πλεῖστος, la, Pleistus) is a river in central Greece. It drains the Pleistos valley, named after it, a relatively recent rift valley north of the Gulf of Corinth, and parallel to it. They ha ...

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 ...

* Foinikas * Selinountas *

Vouraikos The Vouraikos ( el, Βουραϊκός, la, Buraïcus, ''Erasinus'' ( grc, Ἐρασῖνος, Erasinos) according to Strabo) is a river in Achaea, Greece. In ancient times it was called Erasinos. Its source is in the Aroania mountains, near th ...

Krathis Krathis ( el, Κράθις, la, Crathis) is a river in the eastern part of Achaea, southern Greece. The river flows through the municipal unit of Akrata. It is long. Geography The river's course is from the south to the north. It begins in the ...

* Krios *

Zacholitikos Zacholitikos ( el, Ζαχολήτικος, also Δερβένιος - ''Dervenios'') is a small river in the western part of Corinthia, Greece. The source of the river is in the mountains near Evrostina. It empties into the Gulf of Corinth east of ...

* Fonissa * Sythas * Elissonas *

Asopos Asopos ( el, Ασωπός; also Latinised as Asopus) is a village and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Monemvasia Monemvasia ( el, Μονεμβασιά, ...

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