Liman (landform)

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Landsat satellite photo of limans along the Black Sea coast

Liman forming the Dnieper and Southern Bug river estuaries

Dniester Liman forming the Dniester river estuary

Liman is a name for a lake formed at the mouth of a river, blocked by a bar of sediments. Liman can be maritime (the bar is created by the stream of a sea) or fluvial (the bar is created by the flow of a bigger river at the confluence).

The name is used for such features found along the western and northern coast of the Black Sea, as well as along the lowest part of the Danube. Examples of limans include Lake Varna in Bulgaria, complex lagoons - liman Razelm Lake in Romania and the Dniester Liman in Ukraine.

[edit] Etymology

The word was borrowed in English from Russian лиман (liman). However, the word came from the Medieval Greek λιμένας meaning bay or port. The word was spread by Turks when they occupied the western and northern shore of the Black Sea, with the meaning of harbour and port. In Bulgarian, Romanian, Ukrainian and Russian the word defined the particular lake. [1].