Gulf of Corinth

{{Short description|A deep inlet of the Ionian Sea separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece}}

{{Infobox body of water

| name = Gulf of Corinth

| native_name ={{native name|el|Κορινθιακός Κόλπος}}

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| image = Golful_Corintului.JPG

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| caption = Gulf of Corinth

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| coordinates = {{coord|38|12|N|22|30|E|type:waterbody_scale:1000000_source:GNS|display=inline,title}}

| type = gulf

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| part_of = Ionian Sea (Mediterranean)

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| basin_countries = Greece

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| length = {{convert|130|km|abbr=on}}Thalassographica, Institute of Oceanographic and Fisheries Research, vol. 11–15, p. 35, (1988){{title missing|date=November 2024}}{{author missing|date=November 2024}}{{fcn|date=November 2024}}

| min_width = {{convert|8.4|km|abbr=on}}

| width = {{convert|32|km|abbr=on}}

| area = {{convert|2400|sqkm|abbr=on}}

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| max-depth = {{convert|935|m|abbr=on}}

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| pushpin_map = Greece#Mediterranean#Europe

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The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf ({{langx|el|Κορινθιακός Κόλπος|Korinthiakós Kólpos}}, {{IPA|el|koɾinθiaˈkos ˈkolpos}}) is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea, separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. It is bounded in the east by the Isthmus of Corinth which includes the shipping-designed Corinth Canal and in the west by the Rion Strait which widens into the shorter Gulf of Patras (part of the Ionian Sea) and of which the narrowest point is crossed since 2004 by the Rio–Antirrio bridge. The gulf is bordered by the large administrative divisions (regional units): Aetolia-Acarnania and Phocis in the north, Boeotia in the northeast, Attica in the east, Corinthia in the southeast and south and Achaea in the southwest. The tectonic movement across the gulf is comparable to parts of Iceland and Turkey, growing by {{convert|10|mm|abbr=on}} per year.

In the Middle Ages, the gulf was known as the Gulf of Lepanto (the Italian form of Naupactus).

Shipping routes between the Greek commercial port Piraeus (further away from ultimate destinations but larger and better connected to the south than the north-western Greek port of Igoumenitsa) to western Mediterranean and hemisphere ports pass along this gulf. A ferry crosses the gulf to link Aigio and Agios Nikolaos, towards the western part of the gulf.{{cite web |title=Greece's first electric ferry announced |url=https://plugboats.com/greeces-first-electric-ferry-announced/ |website=Plugboats |date=19 December 2019}}

Geology

File:Gulf of Corinth as seen from the mountains near upper Ziria.jpg]]

The gulf was created by the expansion of a tectonic rift due to the westward movement of the Anatolian Plate, and expands by {{convert|10|mm|abbr=on}} per year.{{multiref2|1={{cite journal|last1=Ambraseys |first1=N. N. |last2=Jackson |first2=J. A. |date=1997 |title= Seismicity and strain in the Gulf of Corinth (Greece) since 1694 |doi= 10.1080/13632469708962374 |journal=Journal of Earthquake Engineering |issue=3 |volume= 1 |pages=433–474 |bibcode=1997JEaEn...1..433A |ref=none}} |2={{cite journal |last1=Ambraseys |first1=N. N. |title=Comparison of frequency of occurrence of earthquakes with slip rates from long-term seismicity data: the cases of Gulf of Corinth, Sea of Marmara and Dead Sea Fault Zone |journal= Geophysical Journal International |date=May 2006 |volume=165 |issue=2 |pages=516–526 |ref=none |doi=10.1111/j.1365-246X.2006.02858.x |doi-access=free|bibcode=2006GeoJI.165..516A }} }} The surrounding faults can produce earthquakes up to magnitude around 6.5, though they are relatively uncommon. On June 15, 1995, an earthquake of magnitude 6.2 occurred near the city of Aigion. A large part of the northern margin of the gulf is characterized by gentle gradients (between 10 and 20 degrees). The southern margin of the gulf is largely characterized by steep gradients (between 30 and 40 degrees).{{cite book |last1=Frostick |first1=L. E. |last2=Steel |first2=R. J. |editor1-last=L. E. Frostick |editor2-last=R. J. Steel |chapter=Tectonic Signatures in Sedimentary Basin Fills: An Overview |title=Tectonic Controls and Signatures in Sedimentary Successions |date=1994 |pages=1–9 |url-access= subscription |doi= 10.1002/9781444304053.ch1 |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781444304053 |publisher=The International Association of Sedimentologists; Wiley |isbn=9780632037452}}

Nature

File:Delfine im Golf von Korinth, Griechenland.jpgs jumping in the gulf]]

Cetaceans such as fin whales{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAx1JhuX_-0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/qAx1JhuX_-0 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Fin Whale in the Gulf of Korinth|id= Posted by nefarius03|date=19 May 2013|access-date=13 April 2018|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}} or dolphins are known to enter the Corinthian gulf occasionally. [http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2011/08/10/trapped-whale-in-greece-video/ "Trapped Whale in Greece" (video)] Keep Talking Greece. 2011. {{Webarchive |date=2017-11-22 |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171122181229/http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2011/08/10/trapped-whale-in-greece-video/ }}. Retrieved November 6. 2014