Sukhyi Estuary, or Sukhyi Lyman (Ukrainian: Сухий лиман - dried estuary), is on open estuary in the north-western Black Sea, near the cities of Odesa and Chornomorsk, Ukraine. In 1957 the estuary was connected to the sea via 14-m depth navigation canal, therefore the water body de facto transformed to the marine bay. Upper site of the estuary is more shallow, up to 1.5 m depth. Northern and western parts are separated by artificial dam and transformed to fresh water ponds. The Dalnyk River inflows to the estuary.
| Sukhyi Estuary | |
|---|---|
 View to marine part of the estuary | |
  Sukhyi Estuary | |
| Location | Black Sea |
| Coordinates | 46°20′N 30°38′E / 46.333°N 30.633°E |
| River sources | Dalnyk River, Akkarzhanka River |
| Ocean/sea sources | Atlantic Ocean |
| Basin countries | Ukraine |
| Max. length | 7.2 km (4.5 mi) |
| Max. width | 1.5 km (0.93 mi) |
| Surface area | 5.7 km2 (2.2 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 7.3 m (24 ft) |
| Max. depth | 14 m (46 ft) |
| Salinity | 10-18 ‰ |
| Settlements | Odesa, Chornomorsk |
The modern name, "Dry Estuary", the water body have got in the time when it was isolated from the Black Sea. That time the estuary dried regularly, sometime up to 1 km² area. The earlier name is Kleinliebenthal Estuary, origine from the German: Kleinliebenthal, "Small valley of love". The name of the water body is given by German colonists. The upper part of the estuary is located in two valleys:
- Kleinliebenthal, "Small valley of love". The main part of the estuary is located in this valley. The Dalnyk River inflows in this part. On the coast is a village Malodolynske (old name is Kleinliebenthal).
- Großliebenthal, "Grand valley of love". In this valley is a bay, the Akkarzhanka River inflows in which. On the coast is a village Velykodolynske (old name is Großliebenthal).
The estuary is a place of spawning and feeding of fish, such as flounder, gobies (the grass goby is most numerous), sand-smelts, mullets.
References
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- Starushenko L.I., Bushuyev S.G. (2001) Prichernomorskiye limany Odeschiny i ih rybohoziaystvennoye znacheniye. Astroprint, Odesa, 151 pp. (in Russian)
- North-western Black Sea: biology and ecology, Eds.: Y.P. Zaitsev, B.G. Aleksandrov, G.G. Minicheva, Naukova Dumka, Kyiv, 2006, 701 pp.
Gallery
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Crassing though the estuary -
On the coast -
Sunset on the Sukhyi Estuary
