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Bakota Bay ( uk, Бакотська затока) is a
bay
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...
located on the
Dniester River that was formed after the construction of the
Dniester Hydro Power Station. The bay is part of the
Podilski Tovtry National Nature Park
Podilski Tovtry National Nature Park ( uk, Націона́льний приро́дний парк «Поді́льські То́втри») is a national park, located in Khmelnytskyi and Kamianets-Podilskyi Raions (districts) of Khmelnytskyi O ...
. Its area is about .
Overview
Bakota Bay is located near the villages of Horayivka and Kolodiyivka, southeast from
Kamianets-Podilskyi. Located in a river
canyon
A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...
, the
ecological environment is typical of that of the of upper Dniester basin. The bay plays an important role in the conservation of a number of rare species of Ukrainian plants and animals:
* species of birds
** first of all predatory (
Northern goshawk
The northern goshawk (; ''Accipiter gentilis'') is a species of medium-large bird of prey, raptor in the Family (biology), family Accipitridae, a family which also includes other extant diurnal raptors, such as eagles, buzzards and harrier (bird) ...
, ''Accipiter gentilis'';
Eurasian sparrowhawk
The Eurasian sparrowhawk (''Accipiter nisus''), also known as the northern sparrowhawk or simply the sparrowhawk, is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Adult male Eurasian sparrowhawks have bluish grey upperparts and orange-barred ...
, ''Accipiter nisus'';
Common buzzard
The common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') is a medium-to-large bird of prey which has a large range. A member of the genus ''Buteo'', it is a member of the family Accipitridae. The species lives in most of Europe and extends its breeding range across ...
, ''Buteo buteo'';
Short-toed snake eagle, ''Circaetus gallicus'';
Common kestrel, ''Falco tinnunculus''),
** of extended stay during spring and autumn migrations birds of the wetland habitat (
Mallard
The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...
, ''Anas platyrhynchos'';
Mute swan
The mute swan (''Cygnus olor'') is a species of swan and a member of the waterfowl family Anatidae. It is native to much of Eurosiberia, and (as a rare winter visitor) the far north of Africa. It is an introduced species in North America, home ...
, ''Cygnus olor'';
Great egret, ''Egretta alba'';
Little egret, ''Egretta garzetta'';
Wood sandpiper
The wood sandpiper (''Tringa glareola'') is a small wader. This Eurasian species is the smallest of the shanks, which are mid-sized long-legged waders of the family Scolopacidae. The genus name ''Tringa'' is the New Latin name given to the green ...
, ''Tringa glareola'';
Northern lapwing
The northern lapwing (''Vanellus vanellus''), also known as the peewit or pewit, tuit or tew-it, green plover, or (in Ireland and Britain) pyewipe or just lapwing, is a bird in the lapwing subfamily. It is common through temperate Eurosiberia. ...
, ''Vanellus vanellus''; others)
* spawning of fish.
Physical and biogeographical characteristics
Bakota Bay is a designated
continental biogeographical region
The Continental Biogeographic Region is a biogeographic region of Europe that extend in a broad band from east to west through the center of the continent.
Extent
The Continental Region extends from central France to the Ural Mountains.
The south ...
within the European
Emerald network
The Emerald network is a network of Areas of Special Conservation Interest to conserve wild flora and fauna and their natural habitats of Europe, which was launched in 1989 by the Council of Europe as part of its work under the Convention on the ...
. It is categorized as belonging to the East European province of the European broadleaf area, and belongs to the mid-portion of the Dniester basin (upstream of Dniester Reservoir).
Wetland physical features
The bay is located within the Volhynian-Podolian
tectonic block. The geology of the bay is characterized by
limestone,
marl
Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae.
Marl makes up the lower part o ...
s,
sandstones,
shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...
s, as well as
granites and
gneisses that are overlaid with
loess
Loess (, ; from german: Löss ) is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loess or similar deposits.
Loess is a periglacial or aeolian ...
es. The surrounding area forms part of a gentle rolling loess plain. The area belongs to the West-Podolian region of West Podolian Province of the Podolian Forest-steppe zone. Soils are dark grey
podzol,
chernozems
podzol, predominantly on loess rocks.
The bay was created in 1976 following the creation of the
Dniester Reservoir on the
Dniester River. It is long and holds a volume of of water. A buffer reservoir with a length of and a capacity of is located dowstream. The concentration of water minerals in upper Dniester varies around . The water, which is of good qualityis used to supply
Kamianets-Podilskyi.
See also
*
Bakota, Ukraine
References
External links
Bakota Bayat the Biomon Wetlands
Igotoworld.
View of the bay
{{Wetlands of Ukraine
Bays of Ukraine
Dniester
Ramsar sites in Ukraine