The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf (, ) is a deep

inlet An inlet is a typically long and narrow indentation of a shoreline such as a small arm, cove, bay, sound, fjord, lagoon or marsh, that leads to an enclosed larger body of water such as a lake, estuary, gulf or marginal sea. Overview In ...

of the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea (, ; or , ; , ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, and the Salento peninsula to the west, ...

, separating the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

from western mainland

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. It is bounded in the east by the

Isthmus of Corinth The Isthmus of Corinth ( Greek: Ισθμός της Κορίνθου) is the narrow land bridge which connects the Peloponnese peninsula with the rest of the mainland of Greece, near the city of Corinth. The wide Isthmus was known in the a ...

which includes the shipping-designed

Corinth Canal The Corinth Canal () is a canal in Greece that connects the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. Completed in 1893, it cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and "separates" the Peloponnese peninsula fro ...

and in the west by the Rion Strait which widens into the shorter Gulf of Patras (part of the

) 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 (, ''Aitoloakarnanía'', ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the geographic regions of Greece, geographic region of Central Greece (geographic region), Central Greece and the administrative regions of Greece, ...

and

Phocis Phocis (; ; ) 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 Vardousia on the west, upon the Gu ...

in the north,

Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinisation of names, Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia (; modern Greek, modern: ; ancient Greek, ancient: ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Central Greece (adm ...

in the northeast,

Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the entire Athens metropolitan area, which consists of the city of Athens, the capital city, capital of Greece and the core cit ...

in the east,

Corinthia Corinthia (; ) 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 of the Peloponnese peninsula. Ge ...

in the southeast and south and

Achaea Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek language, Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaḯa'', ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwest ...

in the southwest. The tectonic movement across the gulf is comparable to parts of

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, growing by per year. In the

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

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

Naupactus Nafpaktos () or Naupactus, is a town and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Nafpaktia, Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, situated on a bay on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, west of the mouth of the river Mor ...

). Shipping routes between the Greek commercial port

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) 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 Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...

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

Igoumenitsa Igoumenitsa () 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, connecting northwestern Main ...

) 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'' (, ; ), is a town and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Achaea, West Greece, on the Peloponnese. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the mun ...

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

Geology

Gulf of Corinth as seen from the mountains near upper Ziria

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-graben ...

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 the 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

Cetacean Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals belonging to the order Artiodactyla that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively c ...

s such as

fin whale The fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus''), also known as the finback whale or common rorqual, is a species of baleen whale and the second-longest cetacean after the blue whale. The biggest individual reportedly measured in length, wi ...

s or

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

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

Gulfs and bays

* Alkyonides Gulf, east *Crissaean Gulf (Gulf of Crissa), north * Bay of Antikyra, north *Dombraina (Domvrena), north * Rion Strait, links the Gulf to the Ionian Sea

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 (, pronounced , ) is a town and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Nafpaktia, of which it is a mu ...

, Nafpaktos *

Galaxidi Galaxidi or Galaxeidi (), 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 unit. The municipal unit has an area of ...

, Itea, Kirra *

: Antikyra,

Paralia Distomou Aspra Spitia (), is a town in the municipal unit Distomo-Arachova-Antikyra, in Boeotia, Greece. In 2021, its population was 1,676. History Aspra Spitia was founded in 1960, planned by Doxiadis Associates to house industrial workers for Aluminum ...

West Attica West Attica () 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 regional unit West Attica is subdivi ...

: Loutraki,

Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...

Assos Assos (; , ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city near today's Behramkale () or Behram for short, which most people still call by its ancient name of Assos. It is located on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast in the Ayvacık, Çanakkale, Ayvac ...

, Vrachati, Velo, Kiato, Kato Diminio,

Xylokastro Xylokastro () is a seaside town 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 unit or component. The municipal unit ...

: Aigeira,

Diakopto Diakopto () is a coastal town 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. The town of Diakopto is situated on the ...

, Rododafni, Agios Vasileios, Aktaio

Tributaries

All tributaries are listed west to east.

Northern

* Mornos *

Pleistos The Pleistos (, , ) 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 have the same geologic causes. Being situated in karst topograp ...

Southern

Selemnos Selemnos (Ancient Greek: Σέλεμνος, ) is a river in the northern part of Achaea, Greece. The river flows entirely in the municipal unit of Rio and empties into the Gulf of Corinth. Geography The river begins on the northwest side of the ...

* Volinaios * Foinikas * Selinountas * Vouraikos * Krathis * Krios * Zacholitikos * Fonissa * 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