The Thermaic Gulf (), also called the Gulf of Salonika and the Macedonian Gulf, is a

gulf A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...

constituting the northwest corner of the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...

. The city of

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

is at its northeastern tip, and it is bounded by Pieria

Imathia Imathia ( el, Ημαθία ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Macedonia, within the geographic region of Macedonia. The capital of Imathia is the city of Veroia. Administration The regional unit Ima ...

and

Larissa Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...

on the west and the

Chalkidiki Chalkidiki (; el, Χαλκιδική , also spelled Halkidiki, is a peninsula and regional unit of Greece, part of the region of Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia in Northern Greece. The autonomous Mount Athos region co ...

peninsula on the east, with Cape Kassandra at the southeasternmost corner. It is named after the ancient town of

Therma Therma or Thermē ( grc, Θέρμα, ) was a Greek city founded by Eretrians or Corinthians in late 7th century BC in ancient Mygdonia (Europe), Mygdonia (which was later incorporated into Macedon), situated at the northeastern extremity of a great ...

, modern

. It is about long. By narrower definitions, the Thermaic Gulf is bounded on the west by the line from the mouth of the Vardar or Axios to Cape

Megalo Embolo Cape Megalo Embolo ( el, Μεγάλο έμβολο, 'Great Point') or Karaburnu (Turkish 'Black Cape'), probably the ancient Aeneium or Aineion ( grc, Αἰνειῶν), is a cape southwest of Thessaloniki, Greece, located next to the village of Ang ...

, making it about long; while the smaller Gulf of Salonica is bounded by a line running from the mouth of the

Gallikos Gallikos ( el, Γαλλικός) is a village and a former municipality in the Kilkis regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kilkis, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has a ...

Mikro Emvolo Mikro Emvolo (), also called Karabournaki (Καραμπουρνάκι), is the cape of Kalamaria in northeastern Thessaloniki and a district of the local municipality. Its name comes from ''kara burun'' in Turkish, meaning 'black peninsula'.''c ...

.Malamut Elisabeth, Grélois Jean-Pierre, "Le port de Thessalonique (IVe-XVIe siècles)", ''Actes des congrès de la Société des historiens médiévistes de l'enseignement supérieur public'' 35:131-147, La Rochelle, 2004. "Ports maritimes et ports fluviaux au Moyen Age."
full text
/ref> Gulf of Thessaloniki and the Vardar River mouth

Gulf of Thessaloniki and the Vardar River mouth

To the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, the gulf was also known as ''Thermaicus'' or ''Thermaeus sinus'' ("Gulf of Therma") and as ''Macedonicus sinus'' ("The Gulf of

Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by ...

", or "The Macedonian Gulf"). One of its modern names is the "Gulf of Salonica", named after the city of Thessaloniki which sprawls around and along the northeastern coast of the gulf. Places that lie on the gulf include Sani,

Kassandreia Kassandreia (, ''Kassándreia''; before 1955: Valta (Βάλτα, ''Válta'', meaning "town in the swamps")) is a town and a community in Chalkidiki, northern Greece. It is the seat of the municipality of Kassandra, in the center of the peninsula ...

, ancient

Potidaea __NOTOC__ Potidaea (; grc, Ποτίδαια, ''Potidaia'', also Ποτείδαια, ''Poteidaia'') was a colony founded by the Corinthians around 600 BC in the narrowest point of the peninsula of Pallene, the westernmost of three peninsulas at ...

Nea Moudania Nea Moudania ( el, Νέα Μουδανιά, ''Néa Moudaniá''; often referred to as Moudania (Μουδανιά, ''Moudaniá''), the name of the municipal unit to which the town belongs, is the seat of the municipality of Nea Propontida, Chalkidi ...

, Agia Triada, Neoi Epivates,

Peraia Peraia, and Peraea or Peræa (from grc, ἡ περαία, ''hē peraia'', "land across") in Classical Antiquity referred to "a community's territory lying 'opposite', predominantly (but not exclusively) a mainland possession of an island state" a ...

, Kalochori, Methoni,

Pydna Pydna (in Greek: Πύδνα, older transliteration: Pýdna) was a Greek city in ancient Macedon, the most important in Pieria. Modern Pydna is a small town and a former municipality in the northeastern part of Pieria regional unit, Greece. Sinc ...

, Paralia Katerinis,

Olympiaki Akti Olympiaki Akti ( el, Ολυμπιακή Ακτή, ''Olympiakí Aktí'', canonical name) has translation into English as Olympic Beach, Olympic Coast, also still domestically known with its initial name Katerinoskala (Greek: Κατερινόσκα� ...

, Alexandrini, Koutsoupia and Stomio (Larissa). The rivers emptying into the gulf are the Pineios, Aliakmon,

Loudias The Loudias ( el, Λουδίας) or Lydias (Λυδίας), popularly called Mavroneri (Μαυρονέρι, "Blackwater", from its Ottoman Turkish name ''Kara Asmak'' قره آصماق) is a river in Central Macedonia that flows through the r ...

and Axios/Vardar; several streams including one near Pydna also empty into the gulf. The Thermaic Gulf was significantly larger in classical times, with many ancient seaside cities (e.g.

Pella Pella ( el, Πέλλα) is an ancient city located in Central Macedonia, Greece. It is best-known for serving as the capital city of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon, and was the birthplace of Alexander the Great. On site of the ancient cit ...

) are now found several kilometers inland. The extensive silting mainly affects the northern and western parts of the gulf, which receive the bulk of alluvial outflow. The gulf is home to many famous, pristine beaches, which include Sani Beach. However, there are no beaches on the northwest coast, where wetlands stretch from Methone (northwest coast) to

's western suburb of Kalochori. The

Port of Thessaloniki The Customs House, now passenger terminal, in the early 1900s. The Port of Thessaloniki ( el, Λιμάνι της Θεσσαλονίκης) is one of the largest seaports in the Eastern Mediterranean. It is considered the gateway Port to the Balk ...

is the gulf's largest and busiest port, while another twelve small ports provide sea transport in, out and around the Thermaic gulf. Major road networks of northern

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

such as the A1/ E75 motorway (Athens - Thessaloniki) encircles the western portion of the gulf, while the A25 (Thessaloniki - Nea Moudania motorway) almost encircles the eastern part of it.

References

Gulfs of the Aegean Sea Gulfs of Greece Geography of ancient Chalcidice Geography of ancient Mygdonia Bottiaea Geography of ancient Pieria Thessaloniki Landforms of Thessaloniki (regional unit) Landforms of Central Macedonia Landforms of Pieria (regional unit) Landforms of Imathia Landforms of Chalkidiki {{Marine-geo-stub