The Messenian Gulf (, ''Messiniakós Kólpos'') is a sea that is part 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, ...

. The gulf is circumscribed by the southern coasts of

Messenia Messenia or Messinia ( ; ) is a regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, in Greece. Until the implementation of the Kallikratis plan on 1 January 2011, Messenia was a prefecture (''nomos' ...

and the southwestern coast of the Mani peninsula in

Laconia Laconia or Lakonia (, , ) is a historical and Administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparti (municipality), Sparta. The word ...

. Its bounds are Venetiko Island to the west and Cape Tainaron to the southeast. The western shores are mostly low-lying, fertile and well-developed, while the eastern shore is dominated by the southern foothills of the Taygetos and comparatively rocky and inaccessible, with few settlements. The

Pamisos River The Pamisos (, ) is the largest river of the Messenia regional unit of the southern Peloponnese in Greece. It is long, and its drainage area is . Its source is on the western slopes of the Taygetus mountains,Kalamata Kalamata ( ) is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece after Patras, and the largest city of the Peloponnese (region), homonymous administrative region. As the capital and chief port of the Messenia regiona ...

, which is the gulf's major urban centre.

Places by the gulf

* Koroni - west * Longa - west *

Petalidi Petalidi () is a village and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Messini, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 104.970 km ...

- northwest * Messini - northwest *

Kalamata Kalamata ( ) is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece after Patras, and the largest city of the Peloponnese (region), homonymous administrative region. As the capital and chief port of the Messenia regiona ...

- northeast *

Kardamyli Kardamyli (, variously transliterated as ''Kardamyle'', ''Cardamyle'', ''Kardhamili'', and ''Kardamili'', and sometimes called "Skardamoula", especially on old maps) is a town by the sea thirty-five kilometers southeast of Kalamata, Greece. It i ...

- east * Stoupa - east * Agios Nikolaos - east * Trahila - southeast *

Areopoli Areopoli (; before 1912 , ) is a town on the Mani Peninsula, Laconia, Greece. The word ''Areopoli'', which means "city of Ares", the Greek mythology, ancient Greek god of war, became the official name in 1912. It was the seat of Oitylo municipal ...

- southeast * Gerolimenas - southeast

External links

* {{Coord, 36, 45, N, 22, 10, E, source:GNS_scale:1000000, display=title Gulfs of the Ionian Sea Gulfs of Greece Landforms of Messenia Landforms of Peloponnese (region)