Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland: description

The Neva Bay is called the water area, located in the east of the Gulf of Finland. To the top of the mouth are the arms of the Neva River. They feed the shallow bay, desalinating its waters. The Neva Bay is characterized by specific features that cause a special hydrochemical and hydrobiological regime.

The second name of the Neva Bay

At the beginning of the XIX century, sailors who served in the Baltic Fleet ironically called the Bay of Markizova puddle. The maritime ministry of the Russian Empire was then run by the Marquis II de Traverse. He imposed a ban on long-distance sea trips. Fleet, plying, did not leave the limits of Kronstadt. The Baltic officers, sarcastically mocking the politician of the official, used his title for the nickname of the bay.

Geographical position

From the east, the Bay of Neva Bay is delineated by the outskirts of a sandy bar formed by the Neva. In the west it is limited by the outline Lysias Nos-Kronstadt-Lomonosov. The northern side of the water area adjoins the reserve "Northern coast of the Neva Bay".

With the rest of the water area of the Gulf of Finland (until the defenses have appeared), the bay was connected by straits that were in the area of the island of Kotlin and were called the Northern and Southern Gates. Now the Gulf of Finland separates (from the outline of the Gorskaya-Kronstadt-Bronka) a monolithic complex formed by dams designed to protect St. Petersburg from floods. In the modern state, the Neva Bay is an isolated flowing reservoir.

Description of the Neva Bay

Before the construction of the dams, the water mirror of the lip occupied an area of 329 km ² . Now, taking into account the fact that the western boundary of the reservoir lies along the line of the protective complex formed by the dams, the area of the lip is close to 380 km ² . A water mass of 1,2 km³ fills the water area with a sandy flat bottom.

Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland from east to west stretched for 21 kilometers - this is the largest length of the reservoir. The maximum width of the water area is about 15 kilometers, and the depth varies from three to five meters.

Approaches to the defense complex from the western and eastern sides are framed by barriers of natural and artificial origin. Due to obstacles and monolithic structures, the water exchange between the salt waters filling the Gulf of Finland and the desalinated water area of the bay is difficult. Obstacles do not allow invading wind waves, walking along the bay, to the lip.

The western line of the Lomonosov Shoal, which is outlined by the protective complex, rests on the South Gate. Due to this navigable channel, the Gulf of Finland and the Neva Bay communicate among themselves. The area of the South Gate is not too wide, only 200 meters. The average depth of the passage is 16 meters.

The mouth of the Neva with the lip is connected by a navigable sea channel. In the Nevsky seaside, which occupies the eastern water area of the lip, an entire system of shoals and fairways, interspersed with longitudinal troughs, was formed. The fairways are represented by the canals: Elaginsky, Petrovsky, Galerny, Korabelny, Rowing and Sea. The minimum depth of the shallows is 1.5 meters. The length of the bar from west to east is 3-5 km, from south to north - 12-15 km.

Characteristics of coasts and weather conditions

The coast, which is framed by the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland from the north, low, sometimes swamped or elevated by reclamation. The coast here is covered with sparse forests and shrubs. The southern coast, stretching from Strelna to the mouth of the Neva, is also low. The shore stretching west of Strelna is elevated and covered with forests. The coasts in the surf areas are dotted with boulders.

The Neva Bay is filled with fresh water. Only in the west of the water area it is brackish. In the coastal zone, water exchange is slowed down. In summer, at the depths, the water warms up to 16-19 ° C, on the shallows - up to 21-23 ° C. The duration of the swimming season varies from 50 to 70 days.

Ice regime of the Neva Bay

With the approach of mid-November on the water mirror lip appear ice in the form of sludge and fat. Complete freezing of the reservoir is noted by the end of December. Completely ice cover is installed at different times. The length of the period depends on the weather conditions in the bay. In cold and windless weather, ice rises in 2-3 days. With winds and a weak frost, the process takes about a month.

Under typical conditions the ice thickness at the end of winter increases to 30-70 centimeters (in the fairway area it does not exceed 20 cm). In excessively cold winters, the ice thickness approaches 80-100 cm in the coastal zone, to 60-80 cm in the central part of the reservoir, and 20-30 centimeters in the fairways. Opening the ice sheet begins in the twentieth of April. And by the end of the month the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland is completely free of ice shackles.

The ice sheet collapses gradually. Ice everywhere cut through cracks, in the fairways gaping gullies. Ice is opened in two directions: from the central part of the lip to the coastlines and from the east to the west.

The fauna of the Neva Bay

Ichthyofauna of the reservoir is represented by 27 species of freshwater fish: perch, roach, pike, ruff, dace and others. In the boundaries of the Gulf of Finland, marine species are noted: cod, buckwheat, flounder, Baltic herring, Baltic sprat. Every year about 3,000 tons of fish are mined here. Smelt is especially important from commercial species.

The Neva Bay is a wonderful place for birds. The composition of the avifauna is varied here. There are many species of waterfowl and waterbird species nesting here. During migrations in the area of the lips, migratory birds organize their parking . Within the water area there are representatives of woodpecked and rakshcheobraznyh, Charadriiformes and passerines, anseriformes and falciformes.