Alibey Lagoon (, , ) is a salty

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...

( liman) on the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

coast of

Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Raion Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Raion (; ) is a raion (district) in Odesa Oblast of Ukraine. It is part of the historical region of Bessarabia. Its administrative center is the town of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi. Population: On 18 July 2020, as part of the adm ...

Odesa Oblast Odesa Oblast (), also referred to as Odeshchyna (Одещина), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, located along the northern coast of the Black Sea. Its administrative centre is the city of Ode ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. The

is originated from the old mouth of the

Khadzhyder River Khadzhyder Lagoon (, ) is a salty lagoon in the Tuzly Lagoons group in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Raion of Odesa Oblast, Ukraine. It is separated from the Alibey by a sandbar. Two river, Khadzhyder River and Hlyboka River, inflow into the lagoon. The ...

. The length of the lagoon is 15 km, width 11 km, area 72 km². The depth is 2.5 m. The

is separated from the sea by

sandbar In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body of water close to the surface or ...

. It is connected through the

Kurudiol Lagoon Kurudiol Lagoon (, , ) is a salty lagoon in the Tuzly Lagoons group in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Raion of Odesa Oblast, Ukraine. It is located between the Alibey and Burnas Lagoons. The water body is included to the Tuzly Lagoons National Nature Park ...

with the

Burnas Lagoon Burnas Lagoon (, ) is a marine lagoon (or liman), located in southern Ukraine in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Raion of Odesa Oblast. The salinity of the lagoon is two times higher than in the Black Sea. The lagoon is connected to the sea via a system o ...

on the south east, with the

Karachaus Lagoon Karachaus Lagoon (, ) is a salty lagoon in the Tuzly Lagoons group in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Raion of Odesa Oblast, Ukraine. It was a part of the Alibey Lagoon in past, locating in its south-west part, near the village of Roylianka. Now it is separ ...

and

Shahany Lagoon Shahany Lagoon (, , ) is a salty lagoon on the Black Sea coast of Ukraine in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Raion of Odesa Oblast. The lagoon is in the complex of Tuzly Lagoons, connected with the Alibey Lagoon. The area of the water body is 70 km2, sa ...

on the south west. Earlier, the

inflowed to the

, but now the river inflows to the

Khadzhyder Lagoon Khadzhyder Lagoon (, ) is a salty lagoon in the Tuzly Lagoons group in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Raion of Odesa Oblast, Ukraine. It is separated from the Alibey by a sandbar. Two river, Khadzhyder River and Hlyboka River, inflow into the lagoon. The ...

, which separated from the Alibey Lagoon by

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

History

Between 1840 and 1856, nearly 4 million tons of salt were extracted from the lake. Following the 1856 Treaty of Paris (1856), settled the Crimean War (1853-1856), Russia had to return to Moldova a strip of land from southwest

Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

(known as Cahul, Bolgrad and Ismail). As a result of this territorial loss, Russia had no access to the mouths of the Danube, and the exploitation of the salt was stopped. Following the Treaty of Berlin (1878),

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

was forced to return Southern Bessarabia to Russia. After that, Russians did not resume the salt extraction from the lake.

Sources

* Starushenko L.I., Bushuyev S.G. (2001) ''Prichernomorskiye limany Odeschiny i ih rybohoziaystvennoye znacheniye''. Astroprint, Odesa, 151 pp.
Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands — Shagany-Alibei-Burnas Lakes System
Tuzly Lagoons Dyviziia rural hromada {{BlackSea-stub