liman

hydrology

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Last updated

June 30, 2026

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A liman is a bay or estuary found at the mouth of a river, essentially a lagoon. The term originates from Russian, derived from Turkish words for harbor, ultimately tracing back to Greek terms for a small harbor. This geological feature serves as a transition zone where freshwater from a river meets saltwater from the sea.1

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Ukraine
Drainage
Known as limans, these bodies of water form at the mouths of rivers or ephemeral streams and are blocked off by sandbars from the sea. Some artificial lakes have been formed, the largest of which are reservoirs at hydroelectric dams—e.g., the reservoir on the Dnieper upstream from…
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Known as limans, these bodies of water form at the mouths of rivers or ephemeral streams and are blocked off by sandbars from the sea. Some artificial lakes have been formed, the largest of which are reservoirs at hydroelectric dams—e.g., the reservoir on the Dnieper upstream from…
Read More