The Gulf of Riga, Bay of Riga, or Gulf of Livonia (Latvian: Rīgas jūras līcis, Estonian: Liivi laht, Russian: Рижский залив) is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia.
The area of the Gulf of Riga is about 18,000 km². The maximum depth is 67 m. The island of Saaremaa (Estonia) partially separates it from the rest of the Baltic Sea. The main exit out of the gulf is the Irbe Strait. Ruhnu island, in the middle of the gulf, also belongs to Estonia.
The Gulf of Riga, as a sub-basin of the Baltic, also includes the Väinameri Sea in the West Estonian archipelago.
Notable cities in this gulf include Riga, Pärnu, Jūrmala and Kuressaare. The main rivers flowing into the gulf are Daugava, Pärnu, Lielupe, Gauja, and Salaca.
Famous quotes containing the words gulf of and/or gulf:
“I candidly confess that I have ever looked on Cuba as the most interesting addition which could ever be made to our system of States. The control which, with Florida, this island would give us over the Gulf of Mexico, and the countries and isthmus bordering on it, as well as all those whose waters flow into it, would fill up the measure of our political well-being.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“And into the gulf between cantankerous reality and the male ideal of shaping your world, sail the innocent children. They are right there in front of us—wild, irresponsible symbols of everything else we can’t control.”
—Hugh O’Neill (20th century)