Gulf of İzmit (

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

: ''İzmit Körfezi''), also referred to as Izmit Bay, 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 ...

at the easternmost edge of the Sea of Marmara, in Kocaeli Province, Turkey. The gulf takes its name from the city of İzmit. Other cities and towns around the bay are Gebze, Körfez, Gölcük, and

Altınova Altınova is a town and district of Yalova Province in the east of Marmara region of Turkey. The mayor is Metin Oral (AK Party). Shipyards area The increasing demand for new construction, maintenance and repair in the maritime sector resulted in ...

. In the east–west direction, it extends for a length of about , while in the north–south direction its width varies from at the narrowest spots to about at its widest. The

İzmit Bay Bridge The Osmangazi Bridge ( tr, Osman Gazi Köprüsü) is a suspension bridge spanning the Gulf of İzmit at its narrowest point, . The bridge links the Turkish city of Gebze to the Yalova Province and carries the O-5 motorway across the gulf. The ...

is a

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

that bridges the gulf. The

North Anatolian Fault Zone The North Anatolian Fault (NAF) ( tr, Kuzey Anadolu Fay Hattı) is an active right-lateral strike-slip fault in northern Anatolia, and is the transform boundary between the Eurasian Plate and the Anatolian Plate. The fault extends westward fr ...

, the most prominent active fault in Turkey and the source of numerous large earthquakes throughout history, passes through the Gulf of İzmit.

Etymology

Iznik’s ancient names were Gulf of

Astacus ''Astacus'' (from the Greek , ', meaning "lobster" or "crayfish") is a genus of crayfish found in Europe and western Asia, comprising three extant (living) species and three extinct fossil species. Due to the crayfish plague, crayfish of thi ...

, Sinus Astacenus ( grc, Ἀστακηνὸς κόλπος), Olbianus Sinus ( grc, Ὀλβιανὸς κόλπος, Olbianos kolpos) and Gulf of Nicomedia. It took the names Gulf of Astacus and Sinus Astacenus from the city

.Pliny the Elder, Natural History, §5.43.1
/ref>

References

External links

Motorway over the Gulf
Izmit Sea of Marmara {{Turkey-stub

Etymology

See also

References

External links