| Sukhyi Estuary | |
|---|---|
| View to marine part of the estuary | |
| Location | Ukraine |
| Lake type | Estuary |
| Primary inflows | Dalnyk River, Akkarzhanka River |
| Basin countries | Ukraine |
| Max. length | 7.2 km |
| Max. width | 1.5 km |
| Surface area | 5.7 km² |
| Settlements | Odessa, Illichivsk |
Sukhyi Estuary, or Sukhyi Liman (Ukrainian: Сухий лиман - dried estuary), is on open estuary in the north-western Black Sea, near the cities of Odessa and Illichivsk, Ukraine. In 1957 the estuary was connected to the sea via 14-m depth navigation canal, therefore the water body de facto transformed to the marine bay. Upper site of the estuary is more shallow, up to 1.5 m depth. Northern and western parts are separated by artificial dam and transformed to fresh water ponds. The Dalnyk River inflows to the estuary.
The modern name, "Dry Estuary", the water body have got in the time when it was isolated from the Black Sea. That time the estuary dried regularly, sometime up to 1 km² area. The earlier name is Kleinliebenthal Estuary, origine from the German: Kleinliebenthal, "Small valley of love". The name of the water body is given by German colonists. The upper part of the estuary is located in two valleys:
The estuary is a place of spawning and feeding of fish, such as flounder, gobies (the grass goby is most numerous), sand-smelts, mullets.