HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

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: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...
. 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 metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
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 Imat ...
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 regio ...
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 ...
peninsula on the east, with Cape Kassandra at the southeasternmost corner. It is named after the ancient town of Therma, modern
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 metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
. 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, making it about long; while the smaller Gulf of Salonica is bounded by a line running from the mouth of the Gallikos to Mikro Emvolo.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> To the Romans, 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, 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, Agia Triada, Neoi Epivates, Peraia, 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, Alexandrini, Koutsoupia and Stomio (Larissa). The rivers emptying into the gulf are the Pineios, Aliakmon, Loudias, Gallikos 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
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 metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
's western suburb of Kalochori. The Port of Thessaloniki 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