Curonian Bay of the B altic Sea: description, water temperature and the underwater world

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:40

The name of the Curonian Lagoon comes from the ancient B altic tribe of Curonians. The bay is separated from the sea by the Curonian Spit. Most of it belongs to Russia, and in the north 415 sq. km of water surface belongs to Lithuania.

History of occurrence

Several hundred years ago, the Curonian Bay was an open bay of the B altic and went into the land for quite a long distance. Its depth was about 20 meters. The spit that separates this gigantic lagoon from the B altic Sea was created by the gradual application of silt and sand by sea currents.

As a result, the Eastern coast increased towards the bay by tens of kilometers, and sand dunes formed on the Curonian Spit itself. This barrier gradually grew, more and more dividing the bay and the sea (B altic). The Curonian Lagoon was filled with fresh water brought by numerous rivers (the largest of them is the Neman). The water became less and less s alty, and freshwater fish began to appear in it, while marine species, on the contrary, disappeared. The depth, due to the large amount of sand, became much less.

In today's form, the bay has existed for 4000 years. At that time, the braid had already gainedits full length. On the banks and on the spit itself lived the people of the ancient tribe of the Curonians.

General Description

Gulf area owned by Russia - 1118 sq. km. Its depth is small and averages 3.7 meters. But there are depressions where the depth reaches 6 meters.

The length of the Curonian Lagoon is about 100 km. It is separated from the sea by the Curonian Spit. And in the region of Klaipeda there is a small strait, which connects the bay with the B altic Sea. The water level in the bay is about 15 cm above sea level, which causes the difference in volume to flow into the sea. In the Curonian Lagoon itself, the water is fresh, the salinity is not more than 8 ppm.

Underwater world

The Curonian Bay is a shallow lagoon of the B altic Sea with low-salinity, almost fresh water. The bottom has a cauldron shape with slight slopes. The richness of aquatic vegetation in the lagoon is represented by numerous thickets of reeds, cattails, reeds.

Several species of elodea, water lily, lily, water moss, arrowhead, hornwort grow rapidly off the coast. By the way, the abundance of aquatic plants is important, since many fish lay their eggs here during spawning.

Thanks to underwater thickets, all kinds of fish (both fry and adults) can find food and shelter. Zooplankton is food for almost all species of fish living in the bay: cladocerans, copepods, daphnia, various worms, etc. Plankton and bottom organisms are also a rich food base.

The rich food base has led to the fact that among the inhabitants of the Curonian Lagoon there are more than 50 species of fish. They are divided into 3 groups:

Those species of fish that live in the bay permanently (residential fish). The most numerous in their group, which are of commercial importance: pike, perch, roach, smelt.
Fishes that come only to spawn (migratory), such as whitefish, smelt.
Inhabiting in rivers, but sometimes entering the bay (river fish). They are few and rarely caught. These are, for example, catfish, white-eye and loach.

Also, lamprey lives in the waters of the Curonian Lagoon (2 species at once: river and sea), as well as a common newt.

Curonian Spit

Narrow, long, saber-shaped sandy spit along the B altic Sea and the Curonian Lagoon is called the Curonian Spit. It stretched from the city of Zelenogradsk (Kaliningrad region) to the city of Klaipeda (Lithuania). In 2000, the Curonian Spit was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Territorially, it is located in Russia and Lithuania. On its Russian part, there is the Curonian Spit National Natural Park, the villages of Rybachy, Lesnoy and Morskoy. And since 1991, there has also been a national park on the Lithuanian side of the spit.

The natural diversity of the described area is unique due to the unusual landscape and microclimate. There are pine forests here, the trunks of trees growing there have intricate shapes (“dancing forest”), sand dunes, lichen fields, deciduous forests.

In the national parkthere are very strict rules for visiting, since the nature of the Curonian Spit is easily vulnerable. Any human influence can cause significant damage. Therefore, the passage and passage here are limited. It is forbidden to burn fires here, and pitching tents and parking cars is possible only in special places. Hiking is recommended along the paved paths available in sufficient numbers.

Curonian Spit as a tourist attraction

For educational tourism the Curonian Bay and the sandy spit along it are the most interesting objects. The buildings of all the villages located on the coast are very interesting. They are distinguished by the traditional architecture of the B altic States: unique wood carvings, peculiar combinations of colors, tiled roofs. For example, the settlement called Morske perfectly preserved all the features traditionally inherent in the Curonian fishing way of life.

To take a fascinating walk along the waters of the bay, it is enough to take a boat ticket. You can combine this holiday with fishing. The Curonian Lagoon is quite suitable for swimming in the summer. The water temperature in July-August (the most suitable months for a beach holiday) is 19-19, 5ºС. For recreation, the weather conditions are favorable from May to October.

Fishing in the Curonian Lagoon

The described places also attract anglers. Perch, pike, pike perch are caught here all year round, warming up the hunting azar of spinning players. For lovers of fishing with float tackle, the Kaliningrad Bay, the Curonian Bay are the mostvisited reservoirs of the Kaliningrad region. The most popular types of fish for them are bream, silver bream, crucian carp. From the Kaliningrad Bay, the bream goes to the B altic Sea for fattening, while it lives in the Curonian Sea for a whole year.

Perch in the bay is famous for its large size, you can catch it with fishing rods and spinning rods. The best places for fishing are the mouths of the rivers Deyma, Matrosovka and sand bars.

Main fish species

The fish of the Curonian Lagoon is very diverse, including both permanent (bream, roach, pike, pike perch, perch) and seasonal spawning (smelt, trout, whitefish). The B altic whitefish has been in the bay since autumn. In winter, he feeds on smelt and smelt, gaining weight. The Curonian Bay is the place of its spawning, which falls on the autumn-winter period. It is at this time that the whitefish is available for fishing. Whitefish do not form in the sea of commercial concentrations.

The main fish species of interest to amateur anglers are: perch, roach, pike, eel, along the coast you can often catch quite large carp.

Curonian Lagoon in winter

The arrival of winter significantly reduces the number of tourists. The water in the bay cools down quickly (in September its temperature is 16ºС, by November it drops to 6-8ºС), cold winds blow almost constantly. But the winter landscapes of the Curonian Spit are still attractive. Fans of outdoor activities and winter fishing are frequent visitors to the bay with the advent of frost and the beginning of ice formation.

The ice on the Curonian Lagoon lasts from 2 to 5 months in winterperiod. Around February, an official ban on people entering the ice comes into play, since its thickness becomes dangerous and is only about 5 cm.

Legends and tales

The Curonian Lagoon and the Curonian Spit are mysterious places surrounded by mysticism in folklore. There are many legends and legends about them. The most popular and most important is the saga of the giantess Neringa, created by the goddess Laima. The legends about the “dancing forest”, “black sails”, a cat from a tavern, etc. are also interesting - all of them are reflected in modern tourist sites.