Liman is a small narrow bay

In this article we will talk about estuaries. What it is? What is the meaning of the word liman? In a mountainous area, the seacoast is often not level, but severely cut, resulting in large and small bays, such as the lagoon and the estuary. This word is translated from Greek as a harbor or a bay. However, bays, which are called similarly, have some distinctive features. So what are they?

What is the estuary?

In geography, this term refers to a narrow, elongated and shallow bay. It is formed as a result of the lowering of the coastal strip. After a while, the estuary begins to separate from the sea with a sandy scythe or a backfill. Between the main body of water and this small bay, a shallow water zone may also form, and in the event of complete separation from the sea, an estuary lake appears in its place. Such bays are most often found at the northern and western shores of the Azov and Black Seas. They can be as open, otherwise called "lips", and closed, with a sprinkling.

However, not all narrow and shallow bays are called limans. On the site of the formation of all the creeks of limnic origin in former times were the mouths of the rivers, which are now flooded by the sea. If you look at the map, you will often notice that all the limans have a twisty shape. This has its own explanation. If the river valley is meandering, then the estuary takes the same shape, and also absorbs the valleys of its tributaries. The degree of salinity of the estuary is intermediate, something between the fresh water of the river and the salt water of the sea. However, due to lack of or insufficient amount of precipitation, river water may not be sufficient, and the liman very quickly becomes very salty as a result of evaporation.

From the above, it is possible to draw conclusions about the origin and nutrition of these natural bays, and also to give them a definition. Thus, the estuary is a narrow and elongated bay formed in the lower reaches of the river. As a rule, their bottom is rich in curative muds used in medicine to treat various diseases of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems.

What are the benefits of mud formed on the bottom of the estuaries?

In the water of closed estuaries, that is, in liman lakes, in the course of time specific microorganisms begin to develop. And at the bottom of the saline, which is salted to the state of brine, a black oily silty sediment consisting of the remains of these microorganisms is deposited. It consists of sulphurous iron and colloidal iron oxides. These mud dirts have medicinal properties, therefore they are widely used in medicine for healing from various ailments. They also deposited magnesian, sulphurous and other salt layers. This occurs as a result of fluctuations in salinity in enclosed estuaries. Ilusto-salt deposits can have a thickness of several tens of meters. Such limans can be found off the coast of the Crimean Peninsula (in the Saki, Sasyk and other regions), in Dnepropetrovsk, off the coast of Odessa.

Lake Lyman

Near the Black Sea coast of Crimea near the village of Olenovka there is a lake with the characteristic name Liman. It is not difficult to guess that it has an eminent origin and was formed as a result of the flooding of the river valley by the sea. This reservoir has an area of 0.4 km². Its length is 1.6 m and its width is 1.2 km. Lake Lyman is separated from the Karajin bay by a narrow overflow. At the moment, there is not a single river that would flow into or out of the lake. It feeds on precipitation and sea water, so depending on the season, its depth ranges from 40 cm to 1 meter. The silt layer, which lies on the bottom of the lake, has a high mineralization coefficient. In the summer season there are competitions in windsurfing. In addition to the Crimean lake Liman, this name is worn by other small lakes. For example, the same name lakes are in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions.

The names of estuaries

• Dniester Liman (Odessa region). Formed at the mouth of the Dniester River at the confluence of the Black Sea. By the way, its former name is Ovidievo Lake.
• Anadyr estuary. This is the name of the part of the Anadyr Gulf near the Bering Sea.
• Hadzhibey estuary. It is located in the north-east of the Black Sea near Odessa. Its width is about 5 km.
• The dry estuary. It is located on the Black Sea coast, like Dniester, near the city of Odessa. On its shore is the seaport of Illichivsk. By the way, the last dying autobiographical work of a native of the city-hero of Odessa, the Soviet writer Valentin Kataev is the story "Dry Liman."

Settlements called Lyman

This name in Russia, and throughout the world, various settlements are called. For example, in the Republic of Azerbaijan (Lankaran district) and in the state of Wyoming (USA) there are cities called Liman. Similar settlements are in the Astrakhan, Voronezh, Rostov regions, in the Stavropol Territory (RF), as well as in Ukraine: Kharkiv, Kherson and other areas.

Conclusion

So, from the above, it became clear that the estuary is a shallow salt bay or a bay that was formed in the lower reaches of the river valley (at the mouth) as a result of the flooding of the river valley by the sea. These natural bays can be open, direct access to the sea, and can be separated from the sea by a sprinkling. If the estuary is completely separated from the sea, then it turns into a lake of liminal origin. The greatest wealth of these reservoirs are the healing muds that are extracted from their bottom, therefore on the shores of the lagoon lakes there are sanatoriums and hospitals that provide a wide range of both curative and preventive services for all comers. All year round in these health resorts people with various health problems are treated. By the way, one of the indications is infertility. They say that the Crimean muds do wonders, and many women, after completing the course of treatment with the help of limed mud, can finally understand the joy of motherhood.