Liman (landform)

Landsat satellite photo of limans along the Black Sea coast

Liman forming the Dnieper River and Southern Bug river estuaries

Dniester Liman forming the Dniester river estuary

Liman is a Russian adaptation of the Medieval Greek λιμένας meaning bay or port. The term is usually used for estuaries of Black Sea and Sea of Azov. There is another synonymous term guba which is used for estuaries of the Russian shores in the north. As an estuary, liman is formed at the mouth of a river where flow is blocked by a bar of sediments. Liman can be maritime (the bar being created by the current of a sea) or fluvial (the bar being created by the flow of a bigger river at the confluence).

Such features are found along the western and northern coast of the Black Sea, as well as along the lowest part of the Danube. Examples of limans include Lake Varna in Bulgaria, Lake Razelm in Romania, the Dniester Liman in the Ukraine, the Anadyrskiy Liman in Siberia and Amur Liman.

Etymology

The word was borrowed in English from Russian лима́н (Russian pronunciation: [lʲɪˈman]). However, the word came from the Medieval Greek λιμένας meaning bay or port. The word was spread by Turks when they occupied the western and northern shore of the Black Sea, with the meaning of harbour and port. In Bulgarian, Romanian, Ukrainian and Russian the word defined the particular estuary, Dniester Liman.

See also

• Estuary
• Lagoon