27 September 2026
(Yagorlytska Bay. PHOTO: gstatic.com)
The Yagorlytsia Bay is one of the distinctive natural complexes of the northern Black Sea, where marine, estuarine, coastal-steppe, and wetland ecosystems are uniquely intertwined. With this story about this unique body of water, Intent continues its ongoing series “The Amazing South.”
The geographical position of this marine body of water is defined by its location between two peninsulas— the Kinburn Peninsula to the north and the Yagorlytsia Cape to the south.
Yagorlytska Bay is shallow. It is about 26 km long and approximately 15 km wide. A significant portion of the shoreline consists of shoals up to 1 meter deep. In the central part, the depth reaches 5 meters, while near the entrance to the bay, it decreases to 3 meters due to the accumulation of underwater sediment.
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Yagorlytska Bay. PHOTO: storage.googleapis.com
The salinity of the water is usually 14–15%, although in certain layers it can rise to 16–22%. In general, the water here is less salty than in the open Black Sea, which is due to the periodic inflow of freshwater from the neighboring Dnipro-Bug Estuary.
During the summer, the shallow waters warm up significantly (reaching a maximum of 26–30°C in August). Due to its shallow depth, the bay freezes over completely during harsh winters.
An important feature of the Yagorlytska Bay is its connection to the open sea. It is not an isolated body of water; however, water exchange with the Black Sea is complicated by straits, islands, shallow waters, and the characteristics of the coastal topography.
Yagorlytskyi Kut is a peninsula in the northern part of the Black Sea within the Kherson Oblast. It is located between two bays—to the north and west, it is bordered by the Yagorlytska Bay, and to the south, by the Tendrivska Bay.
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Yagorlytskyi Kut. PHOTO: storage.googleapis.com
The peninsula covers an area of over 12,000 hectares. It stretches 17 km from west to east, with a maximum width of up to 12 km. The land here is almost completely flat—a low, flat stretch of coastline formed near the sea. The surface elevation is predominantly between 0 and 1 meter above sea level, and only at isolated points does the terrain rise to 6 meters. Some coastal areas lie even below sea level.
The surface of Yagorlytskyi Kut is covered with numerous shallow, flat-bottomed depressions. Due to the proximity of saline groundwater, shallow saline lakes and salt marshes form there, and the soils are heavily salinated. There is almost no fresh water in this area.
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Salt marshes of Yagorlytskyi Kut. PHOTO: upload.wikimedia.org
The western part of the peninsula is part of the Black Sea Biosphere Reserve, which we have discussed previously.
The Yegipetska Strilka spit originates from the western edge of the Yagorlytskyi Kut Peninsula and is located directly on the border between two shallow Black Sea bays—the Yagorlytska and Tendrivska bays. The Spit juts out into the water as a narrow sandy strip extending northwestward.
Yagorlytskyi Kut is one of the reserve’s most valuable natural complexes, where a vast expanse of unplowed Black Sea steppe has been preserved, serving as a habitat for rare steppe bird species.
The names of Yagorlytska Bay and the Yagorlytskyi Kut Peninsula derive from Turkic languages. Their exact meanings are explained in various ways. The two most common versions are as follows.
The version most widely accepted by linguists suggests that the name derives from the Turkic words “ägri” (crooked) or “ägrilik” (curvature, bend). This is directly related to the area’s natural features—the coastline of the Yagorlytska Bay and the peninsula of the same name has very complex, winding, and curved contours.
According to one folk etymology, the name is linked to the Turkic form “gyaurlik” (Turkish: Gâvurluk), which is interpreted as “land of the infidels” or “road of the infidels.” According to legend, this is how Ottoman troops came to refer to these places due to frequent Cossack raids into the bay and along its coast in search of salt. In Muslim tradition, the Cossacks might have been called “gyaurs”—“infidels.”
The second part of the peninsula’s name—the word “Kut”—is a purely Ukrainian topographical term that aptly describes the shape of the landmass, which juts out “at an angle” into the sea between two large bays.
As far back as the Bronze Age (3rd to late 2nd millennium BCE), the Yagorlytsia Peninsula and the area around the bay were teeming with life, and archaeologists have irrefutable evidence of this. On the coast of the Yagorlytsia Bay, scientists have discovered numerous artifacts: Bronze Age pottery, flint and stone tools, and traces of burial mounds. This indicates that the Northern Black Sea region was densely populated by tribes of herders and farmers during this period.
One of the most fascinating chapters in the ancient history of this region is linked to the Greek colonization of the Northern Black Sea region. In the first half of the 6th century B.C., a settlement existed on the coast of what is now the Yagorlytsia Gulf, which archaeologists now refer to as Yagorlytsia. It was an important center of craftsmanship: non-ferrous metals and iron were processed here, and glass制品, particularly beads, were manufactured. The finds indicate that its inhabitants had ties both to the Greek world and to the populations of the steppe Black Sea region.
Throughout the Middle Ages and the early modern period, these territories were under the influence of the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman Empire, and later—the Zaporizhian Sich. The Cossacks used Yagorlytskyi Kut as a base for their raids on Turkish fortresses (Ochakiv, Kinburn). Although these territories were controlled by the Crimean Tatars, the local salt lakes and the shallow waters of the gulf had long been used by Cossacks and Chumaks to harvest high-quality sea salt. In exchange for this right, they paid a toll to the Crimean Khan or the Ochakiv Pasha, which generated income for both parties.
In the 19th century, the peninsula became a vast pastureland. Sheep farming thrived on the saline coastal steppes, aided by the local vegetation.
During the Soviet era, until 1959, the peninsula was home to the fishing village of Vilny Port, as well as the “Karakul Export” state farm, which specialized in breeding elite sheep breeds and exporting fur. In 1959, civilian life on the Yagorlytskyi Kut Peninsula effectively came to a halt. The land was designated as a military aviation training range. The state farm was liquidated, and the area was classified and closed to outsiders. Aviation bomb tests, live-fire exercises, and bomber training were conducted here.
The range remained in operation until the 1990s. Military activity left its mark in the form of remnants of targets, craters, and scrap metal. Only after the range was decommissioned were these areas returned to nature and incorporated into the nature reserve.
The Yagorlytskyi Ornithological Reserve, a protected area of national significance, is a nature reserve covering 30,300 hectares, established to protect bird life.
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Yagorlytskyi Ornithological Reserve. PHOTO: thumb.wikimedia.org
The reserve’s history began in 1974, when the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR adopted an official resolution establishing this protected area. The unique natural environment was threatened by intensive military and economic activities. Thanks to its special ecological role, in 1975 the reserve was one of the first in Ukraine to receive the status of a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
In 1983, the Yagorlytskyi Ornithological Reserve was integrated into the Black Sea Biosphere Reserve. The 18,620 hectares of the bay’s waters serve as its buffer zone, while over 8,000 hectares (a former air force training range) are designated as the strictly protected core zone.
Yagorlyk is a vast “transit station” for birds. Because the bay is shallow and densely covered with underwater meadows of seagrass, it provides an ideal feeding ground for waterfowl.
A major migration corridor runs through the nature reserve. Throughout the year, numerous bird species from virtually all natural zones of Eurasia—from the tundra to the deserts—are recorded here.
The Yagorlytsky Nature Reserve is an important wintering ground for waterfowl. Large flocks of whooper swans gather here; Bewick’s swans are occasionally spotted; and thousands of ducks and geese can be seen on the water at the same time. Among the rare species is the red-breasted goose, a small goose with distinctive black-and-red plumage. In the past, during migrations, the slender-billed curlew—one of the rarest bird species in the world—was also observed here.
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The avian world of the Yagorlytskyi Ornithological Reserve. PHOTO: ua.igotoworld.com
The core protected area within the reserve includes a number of uninhabited islands. It is these small patches of land that serve as the main isolated “nurseries,” where gulls, terns, ducks, pelicans, waders, and other waterfowl and shorebirds nest in large numbers. Since the islands are completely cut off from the mainland, there are no terrestrial predators—such as foxes, wolves, or feral dogs—allowing the birds to build their nests directly on the sand and pebbles.
Dovhyi and Kruhlyi are two adjacent protected islands of alluvial origin, located on the border between the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions. They lie directly at the entrance to the Yagorlytska Bay, separating it from the open Black Sea and the neighboring Tendrivska Bay. Both islands are part of the protected zone of the Black Sea Biosphere Reserve. They are the largest islands in the Yagorlytska Bay. Dovgyi Island is 7.2 km long, while Kruglyi Island is 600 m long.
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Krugly Island. PHOTO: Facebook page of the State Environmental Inspection of the Southwestern District
Velykyi Kinskyi and Malyi Kinskyi Islands are two small protected land areas within the waters of the Yagorlytsia Gulf. They are part of the Skadovsk District in the Kherson Region and are located in the inner, shallow waters of the Yagorlytsia Gulf. Together, the two islands cover an area of just 27 hectares. They are alluvial in origin, composed mainly of sea sand and shell material. Structurally, they are low-lying coastal formations that barely rise above sea level.
The Egyptian and Siberian Islands are groups of small, predominantly alluvial sand-and-shell islands near the Yagorlytskyi Kut Peninsula, at the boundary between the Yagorlytska and Tendrivska bays. The Egyptian Islands lie to the west of the peninsula, near the beginning of the Egyptian Spit, while the Siberian Islands are located slightly further south.
All the islands of Yagorlytska Bay are part of the Black Sea Biosphere Reserve or its buffer zones. They also have the status of ornithological oases. Due to their isolated and shallow-water location, the islands serve as a protected core area for nesting, resting, and feeding for tens of thousands of wetland and migratory birds (including pelicans, terns, and gulls).
Thanks to the clear water, shallow depth, and specific brackish conditions, the bay’s seabed resembles a veritable green carpet.
Eelgrass (Zostera marina) is one of the bay’s most characteristic plants. It forms large underwater meadows. It is not a type of seaweed, but a higher flowering plant with roots and long, ribbon-like leaves. Eelgrass stabilizes the muddy seabed, helps purify the water, and serves as an important food source for swans and ducks.
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Eelgrass growth along the coast of Yagorlytska Bay. PHOTO: storage.googleapis.com
In areas with lower salinity, the bottom is covered with thickets of charophyte algae. In sheltered inner lagoons and backwaters near the Kinburn Peninsula, sea rush and eelgrass grow. In well-warmed shallow waters, cladophora and ulva—also known as “sea lettuce”—are widespread.
The shallow waters and rich food supply of the Yagorlyk Bay make this area a key spawning and feeding ground for many species of Black Sea fish. Seahorses and pipefish are true symbols of Yagorlyk; thanks to their camouflage coloring, they are completely invisible among the strands of zostera. The bay’s seabed is covered with various species of gobies. They form the basis of the diet for many birds of prey and large fish. Huge silvery schools of small fish—aterines and sprats—constantly swim through the waters. It is these fish that flocks of pink pelicans and terns prey upon. Black Sea mullet (singil, loban) and pelengas enter the bay en masse to feed. River flounder and turbot also swim into these waters. The unique hydrological conditions and abundance of food attract Red Book-listed sturgeon and sevruga to the deeper parts of the bay.
The underwater vegetation is home to a multitude of crustaceans and mollusks, which play an important role in the natural purification of the water. Shrimp are particularly abundant in the sea grass beds—an important food source for many fish and birds. Various species of crabs are found in the sandy and silted areas.
The seabed and plant rhizomes are inhabited by bivalves. In addition to mussels, cockles and clams are common here. By feeding on suspended particles in the water, these mollusks naturally filter the water.
Although the bay is shallow, its abundance of fish attracts the Black Sea’s most intelligent inhabitants—dolphins. On fine days, small groups of Azov dolphins (porpoises) often swim in from the Tendrivska Bay to hunt mullet and gobies near the very shores of the Yagorlytskyi Kut Peninsula.
Interesting Facts
Юлія Сичова
Sept. 26, 2026
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