Bay of Greifswald
Encyclopedia
The Bay of Greifswald is a basin in the southwestern Baltic Sea
, off the shores of Germany
in the state
of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. With an area of 514 km², it is the largest Bodden
of the German Baltic coast.
To the west is the island of Rügen
; to the southeast, the island of Usedom
; to the east, the Bay of Pomerania
, and to the south, the German
mainland. The bay is also joined to the Baltic Sea through the Strelasund
, a narrow sound
separating Rügen from the mainland. The bay's northern end is sometimes called the Rügischer Bodden.
The bay itself has a heavily indented coastline, making it a bay of bays. The headland
s of Mönchgut (in east Rügen) and Zudar (in south Rügen) – the former actually being made up of several peninsula
e – subdivide the bay into many smaller ones. The bay's main port is Greifswald
.
The Bay of Greifswald is quite shallow, with an average depth of 5.6 m, and a maximum depth of 13.5 m. Its water is brackish
rather than briny owing to inflow from rivers, and the Baltic Sea's complex hydrography
(saltier water is generally found only at greater depths there). The average salinity is at 7 to 8 psu, ranging from 5.3 and 12.2 psu.
Before German reunification
in 1990, the Bay of Greifswald was a public watersports venue, unlike most of East Germany's Baltic coast. The local geography made it easy to keep watch over the bay, thereby thwarting those who thought to use it to flee the country. The place outside the Warsaw Pact
nearest the bay was the Danish
island of Bornholm
, more than 100 km away.
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
, off the shores of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in the state
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. With an area of 514 km², it is the largest Bodden
Bodden
Bodden are brackish bodies of water along the southwestern shores of the Baltic Sea, primarily in Germany's state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern around the island of Rügen. They have a distinctive geological origin and are enclosed by peninsulae, spits and islands, leaving only narrow connections to...
of the German Baltic coast.
To the west is the island of Rügen
Rügen
Rügen is Germany's largest island. Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of the Vorpommern-Rügen district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.- Geography :Rügen is located off the north-eastern coast of Germany in the Baltic Sea...
; to the southeast, the island of Usedom
Usedom
Usedom is a Baltic Sea island on the border between Germany and Poland. It is situated north of the Szczecin Lagoon estuary of the River Oder in Pomerania...
; to the east, the Bay of Pomerania
Bay of Pomerania
The Bay of Pomerania or Pomeranian Bay is a basin in the southwestern Baltic Sea, off the shores of Poland and Germany....
, and to the south, the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
mainland. The bay is also joined to the Baltic Sea through the Strelasund
Strelasund
The Strelasund is a sound of the Baltic Sea which separates Rügen from the German mainland. It is crossed by a road and rail bridge called the Rügendamm in Stralsund. It runs in a roughly northwest-to-southeast direction from a small shallow bay just north of Stralsund called the Kubitzer Bodden...
, a narrow sound
Sound (geography)
In geography a sound or seaway is a large sea or ocean inlet larger than a bay, deeper than a bight and wider than a fjord; or it may be defined as a narrow sea or ocean channel between two bodies of land ....
separating Rügen from the mainland. The bay's northern end is sometimes called the Rügischer Bodden.
The bay itself has a heavily indented coastline, making it a bay of bays. The headland
Headlands and bays
Headlands and bays are two related features of the coastal environment.- Geology and geography :Headlands and bays are often found on the same coastline. A bay is surrounded by land on three sides, whereas a headland is surrounded by water on three sides. Headlands are characterized by high,...
s of Mönchgut (in east Rügen) and Zudar (in south Rügen) – the former actually being made up of several peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
e – subdivide the bay into many smaller ones. The bay's main port is Greifswald
Greifswald
Greifswald , officially, the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald is a town in northeastern Germany. It is situated in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, at an equal distance of about from Germany's two largest cities, Berlin and Hamburg. The town borders the Baltic Sea, and is crossed...
.
The Bay of Greifswald is quite shallow, with an average depth of 5.6 m, and a maximum depth of 13.5 m. Its water is brackish
Brackish water
Brackish water is water that has more salinity than fresh water, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing of seawater with fresh water, as in estuaries, or it may occur in brackish fossil aquifers. The word comes from the Middle Dutch root "brak," meaning "salty"...
rather than briny owing to inflow from rivers, and the Baltic Sea's complex hydrography
Hydrography
Hydrography is the measurement of the depths, the tides and currents of a body of water and establishment of the sea, river or lake bed topography and morphology. Normally and historically for the purpose of charting a body of water for the safe navigation of shipping...
(saltier water is generally found only at greater depths there). The average salinity is at 7 to 8 psu, ranging from 5.3 and 12.2 psu.
Before German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
in 1990, the Bay of Greifswald was a public watersports venue, unlike most of East Germany's Baltic coast. The local geography made it easy to keep watch over the bay, thereby thwarting those who thought to use it to flee the country. The place outside the Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
nearest the bay was the Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
island of Bornholm
Bornholm
Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea located to the east of the rest of Denmark, the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland. The main industries on the island include fishing, arts and crafts like glass making and pottery using locally worked clay, and dairy farming. Tourism is...
, more than 100 km away.