The Syvash or Sivash (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries * Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and p ...

and Ukrainian: ; ,

Cyrillic , bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця , fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs , fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic , fam3 = Phoenician , fam4 = Gr ...

: Сываш, "dirt"), also known as the or (, ''Gniloye More''; , ''Hnyle More''; ,

: Чюрюк Денъиз), is a large area of shallow

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'' ...

s on the west coast of the

Sea of Azov The Sea of Azov ( Crimean Tatar: ''Azaq deñizi''; russian: Азовское море, Azovskoye more; uk, Азовське море, Azovs'ke more) is a sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, ...

. Separated from the sea by the narrow

Arabat Spit The Arabat Spit ( uk, Арабатська коса; russian: Арабатская коса) or Arabat Arrow is a barrier spit that separates the large, shallow and very salty Syvash lagoons from the Sea of Azov. The spit runs between the Heni ...

, the water of the Syvash covers an area of around and the entire area spreads over about . The

Henichesk Strait The Henichesk Strait (alternatively Genichesk Strait; russian: Генический пролив, uk, Генічеська протока) is a narrow strait which connects the Syvash (the shallow lagoon system separating the Crimea from the res ...

is its eastern connection to the Sea of Azov. The Syvash borders the northeastern coast of the main

Crimean Peninsula Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a po ...

. Central and Eastern Syvash were registered as wetlands of Ukraine under the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It i ...

; however, after the

2014 Russian annexation of Crimea In February and March 2014, Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. This event took place in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity and is part of the wider Russo-Ukrainian War. The events in Kyiv th ...

they became subject to a territorial dispute. Since the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, the entire Syvash has been occupied by

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...

Overview

The Syvash nearly cuts the Crimean Peninsula off from the mainland, serving as a natural border for its autonomous republic. The long () and narrow ()

runs to its east, separating it from the

. The two bodies are connected in the north at the

beside the port of

Henichesk Henichesk ( uk, Гені́чеськ, Heniches’k, ; rus, links=on, Гени́ческ, r=Genichesk, p=ɡʲɪˈnʲit͡ɕɪsk) is a port city along the Sea of Azov in the Kherson Oblast of southern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centr ...

. To its west, the

isthmus of Perekop The Isthmus of Perekop, literally Isthmus of the Trench ( uk, Перекопський перешийок; transliteration: ''Perekops'kyy pereshyyok''; russian: Перекопский перешеек; transliteration: ''Perekopskiy peresheek ...

separates it from the Black Sea and connects Crimea to the mainland. Sivash, Ukraine

The Syvash is extremely shallow. The deepest place is about , with most areas between deep. The bottom is covered with

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel whe ...

up to thick. Being very shallow, the waters in the Syvash heat up in the summer and produce a putrid smell. The wide area for evaporation also leaves the water extremely salty. The amount of various salts is estimated at 200 million

metric ton The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton (United States c ...

s. Several industrial plants harvest the mineral resources of Syvash. The Syvash area is a

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free ( anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

of international importance. The shores are low, slightly sloping, swampy and salty. In summer, the water level of Syvash decreases significantly, revealing barren

solonets Solonetz ( uk, Солонець, rus, Солоне́ц, p=səlɐˈnʲɛts) is a Reference Soil Group of the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB). They have, within the upper 100 cm of the soil profile, a so-called "natric horizon" ( ...

soils called "syvashes" by locals. The Syvash is sometimes divided into the Western Syvash and Eastern Syvash. These are connected to each other by the

Chongar Strait The Chongar Strait (russian: Чонгарский пролив; uk, Чонгарська протока) is a short, shallow, narrow strait separating the eastern and western portions of the Syvash, the shallow lagoon system separating the Crime ...

History

During the

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

, the Syvash became famous for a surprise crossing by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

during the

Perekop-Chongar Operation The siege of Perekop, also known as the Perekop-Çonğar Operation, was the final battle of the Southern Front in the Russian Civil War from 7 to 17 November 1920. The White movement's stronghold on the Crimean Peninsula was protected by the � ...

Flora

The Syvash may appear red in color due to the salt-tolerant micro-alga ''

Dunaliella salina ''Dunaliella salina'' is a type of halophile green unicellular micro-algae especially found in hypersaline environments, such as salt lakes and salt evaporation ponds. Known for its antioxidant activity because of its ability to create large ...

''. The eastern parts of the Syvash contain less salt and are home to reeds and other wetland vegetation. The large islands in the Central Syvash are mainly covered with

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands ...

s consisting of feather grass,

tulip Tulips (''Tulipa'') are a genus of spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes (having bulbs as storage organs). The flowers are usually large, showy and brightly coloured, generally red, pink, yellow, or white (usually in warm ...

s, tauric wormwood (''Artemisia taurica''), sage, crested wheat grass,

fescue ''Festuca'' (fescue) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the grass family Poaceae (subfamily Pooideae). They are evergreen or herbaceous perennial tufted grasses with a height range of and a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on every ...

. The shores of the Syvash contains a large number of salt-tolerant vegetation, including

glasswort The glassworts are various succulent, annual halophytic plants, that is, plants that thrive in saline environments, such as seacoasts and salt marshes. The original English glasswort plants belong to the genus ''Salicornia'', but today the glass ...

, '' Tripolium'', plantains, sea lavender (''Limonium caspium''), saltbush (''Atriplex aucheri'').

Gallery

File:Karte der Krim.png, Crimea. File:CASTELNAU(1827) p3.162 VUE DES LACS SALES.jpg, The Salinas (c. 1820) File:Sivash.jpg, Soviet soldiers crossing the Syvash during World War II. File:Сиваш.jpg, Illustration of the very shallow waters in the Syvash File:Rosa Sole des Siwaschsees im westlichen Teil.jpg, The Syvash in reddish colors due to micro-algae of species ''Dunaliella salina'' File:Flying above the Pink planet.jpg, View of Lake Lemuria, one of the bodies of water tinted by algae.

References

External links

CC4 satellite photo
{{Authority control Bodies of water of Crimea Bodies of water of the Sea of Azov Lagoons of Ukraine Ramsar sites in Ukraine Wetlands of Ukraine