The Kuialnyk Estuary
The Kuialnyk Estuary is one of the most breathtaking locations on the Black Sea.Situated only 13 kilometers from Odesa, it also is home to a roadside attraction which I probably will skip – a famed mud bath resort. What can I say, a mud bath is not really my cup of tea…
But what is my cup of tea is the true splendor of the natural world on display at Kuialnyk Estuary.
Feathergrass drifting peacefully on the estuary.
Kuialnyk Estuary, which is about 60 square kilometers in size, gets its water from a river called Velykyi (Big) Kuialnyk and they both derive their names from Crimean Tatar language – it is related to kuyanlık, the word for “Thick” – as for a long time this area was part of the Crimean Tatar state.
A sky to match the water! Stairs the lead up a cliff and the gate overlooking the estuary.
It is separated from the Black Sea by a sandy spit of the Kuialnyk-Khadzhibei and near the estuary lies the lowest point in Ukraine, 5 meters below sea level! The estuary's banks are lined with beaches and the water in it reaches a toasty 30°C (86°F). Despite being only 3m deep in most places, the estuary does not freeze in the winter as the water is very very salty (as high as 269 ‰ !); this makes it a perfect hangout place for our many feathery friends.
But it's not just birds!
The waters are full of little crustaceans, and during their mating period the water turns a stunning pink. Sometimes it even turns a blood red color:
Birds and crustaceans are not the only ones who like living in this beautiful area – there are ancient settlements, Scythian burial mounds (500 BCE) and the remains of a Greek settlement from the 3rd and 4th centuries BCE.
It is also believed that there was an ancient settlement of Kyivan Rus here, one of the ports of their bustling trade route between the north and south of Europe, which allowed heavily laden boats to reach the Black Sea, bypassing the treacherous Dnipro Rapids.
It is believed that this is a pretty young estuary and was separated from the sea only around the 14th century. At that time, the salinity of the water began to increase and Chumaks started regularly visiting its shores loading their nifty carts with salt – of course pulled by strong oxen.
Kuialnyk sadly is threatened by climate change, as drafts decrease the level of water in the river that feeds it. Efforts have been made to feed it with sea water to try and preserve this unique biome and in January of 2022, just weeks before full-scale invasion, the government of Ukraine established the National Nature Park "Kuialnyk" to organize the preservation and restoration of the Kuialnyk Estuary.
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The 902nd day of a ten-year invasion that has been going on for centuries.
One day closer to victory.
🇺🇦 HEROIAM SLAVA! 🇺🇦
by duellingislands