Taganrog Bay (; ) is the northeastern arm of the

Sea of Azov The Sea of Azov is an inland Continental shelf#Shelf seas, shelf sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, and sometimes regarded as a northern extension of the Black Sea. The sea is bounded by Ru ...

. It also may be perceived as a flooded

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

of the

Don River The Don () is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its basin is betwee ...

Geography

The bay serves as a natural boundary between the Kuban coast line in Russia and the northern Azov littoral region in Ukraine and Russia. At its northeast end is the mouth of the

. Length: about , width at the mouth: , median depth: about . It may freeze some winters from December to March. Three other rivers, the

Kalmius The Kalmius (, ) is a river flowing through Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Its source is near the Ukrainian city of Yasynuvata, and its mouth is in Mariupol. The Kalmius is one of two rivers flowing through Mariupol. The other is the Kalchyk, which f ...

Mius The Mius (; ) is a river in Eastern Europe that flows through Ukraine and Russia. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .Миус

and the

Yeya The Yeya () is a river in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It falls into the Yeya Firth of Taganrog Bay, Sea of Azov. It is long with a drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point ...

, flow into the bay. The flow of water into the bay is the chief factor for current development in the Sea of Azov.

Landforms

Its mouth is marked by the

Dolgaya Spit The Dolgaya Spit or Kosa Dolgaya () is a sandy spit in the Sea of Azov.spits that partly enclose shallow bays. The bay contains sandy isles. Other major spits: :uk:Крива коса, :uk:Біглицька коса, :uk:Єйська коса. The major ports are

Taganrog Taganrog (, ) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don (river), Don River. It is in the Black Sea region. Population: Located at the site of a ...

Mariupol Mariupol is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius, Kalmius River. Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was the tenth-largest city in the coun ...

(

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 ...

), and

Yeysk Yeysk () is a port and a resort town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated on the shore of the Taganrog Gulf of the Sea of Azov. The town is built primarily on the Yeysk Spit, which separates the Yeya River from the Sea of Azov. Population: ...

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

is a few miles up the Don river.

Water

The concentration of salt water in the Gulf is uneven. The water in the eastern and shallower part of the bay, which receives water from the Don River, is mostly desalinized. The western end of the bay is completely salt water. Besides Don, the bay receives waters of

Mius The Mius (; ) is a river in Eastern Europe that flows through Ukraine and Russia. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .Миус

(with its prominent ('' liman'')), and

rivers.

References

{{coord, 46.9859, N, 38.4494, E, source:kolossus-frwiki_scale:1000000, display=title Bays of the Sea of Azov Bays of Ukraine Russia–Ukraine border Bays of Krasnodar Krai Bodies of water of Rostov Oblast Don basin

Geography

Landforms

Water

See also

References