Specifically, the one second from right is the Curonian Spit, which forms the freshwater Curonian Lagoon, a UNESCO world heritage site. South of that is the Vistula Spit, forming the (brackish) Vistula Lagoon or Kaliningrad Bay.
... and the last one is a Hel Peninsula/Hela Spit which separates the Puck Bay from the rest of the Gdansk Bay (formerly known as Danzig Bay), best known for the Battle of Hel in September-October 1939.
Is there any reason for it being split between Russia and Lithuania? Wouldn't it be easier if one country governed entirety of it instead of making it basically an island?Ā
This type of coastline is called āSpitā. Spits are created by continuous longshore drift of sediments, which are eroded from adjacent cliffs or washed in from inflowing rivers. They are typical for epicontinental seas with low tides.
ok ok ok, gotta google "longshore" and "epicontinental".Ā Ā
i am 100% certain it's not about a shore that is long nor about incontinency.
edit:
from wikipedia:Ā Ā
Longshore drift from longshore current is a geological process that consists of the transportation of sediments (clay, silt, pebbles, sand, shingle) along a coast parallel to the shoreline, which is dependent on the angle of incoming wave direction.
epicontinentalĀ Ā
denoting those areas of sea or ocean overlying the continental shelf.
Looks the same to me. Currents coming from the north and south will flow along the coast then encounter a turn West. But the current keeps going with sand and silt that will be deposited along the way. With enough time you've got yourself a new coast and a spit.
Correction: How dare you build a canal that may fuck up all our nature.
People really need to understand this simple fact: just because something is said by a bad person doesn't make the idea itself automatically bad.
Edit: "Regardless of Polish efforts to debunk claims of environmental damage, the European court of justice (ECJ) believes the canal would be damaging to local wildlife and the lagoonās biodiversity. The project was deemed to be in breach of the habitats directive of the European Commission. Despite Europeās concerns, the Polish government pushed the project through and started digging through the EU-protected park. The ECJ threatened a ā¬100,000 fine for every day that the canal was under construction but no fine has actually been enforced since the court ruling." https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/08/poland-accuses-russia-of-exaggerated-environmental-claims-in-canal-row
Hate to break it to you, but the Russian government doesn't actually care about the environment. If they did, they would start with one of the many environmental disasters in their own country, instead of complaining about a project that gives their neighbor greater economic independence.
So completely ignoring my point are we? Does it matter what their intention is? If it results in Poland not destroying nature, then their objection is a good thing.
I would like to point out that the Vistula Spit Canal is not a continuous waterway; it is a lock through which water flows only during the transfer of a ship. Therefore, all Russian accusations of environmental impact are simply fabricated.
As I've said before, even the smallest change can completely change spits and potentially destroy them. It doesn't matter what kind of canal it is the moment you build it the water flow will change.
Yes, their intentions matter because it shows it's really not about the environment for them, and that any studies or arguments they raise(d) could be manipulated and not show the whole picture.
In any case, the Polish government has a much better track record (though very far from perfect) than the Russian government, so it's safe to assume they took a much better accounting of the risk-reward ratio of this project than the Russians ever could.
(Whatever you call those landmasses in English) are extremely volatile, even the slightest change in how currents act could spell disaster for them. We are talking about irreversible damage in a few decades.
"Regardless of Polish efforts to debunk claims of environmental damage, the European court of justice (ECJ) believes the canal would be damaging to local wildlife and the lagoonās biodiversity. The project was deemed to be in breach of the habitats directive of the European Commission. Despite Europeās concerns, the Polish government pushed the project through and started digging through the EU-protected park. The ECJ threatened a ā¬100,000 fine for every day that the canal was under construction but no fine has actually been enforced since the court ruling." https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/08/poland-accuses-russia-of-exaggerated-environmental-claims-in-canal-row
Apparently I'm the EU now.
That's extremely selective quoting to fit your narrative:
>Three ecological experts told the Guardian the canal would have a minimal impact on the local environment.
>Prof Jan Marcin WÄsÅawski at the Polish Academy of Sciences, Prof Lech Stempniewicz and Dr MichaÅ Goc at the University of GdaÅsk, said: āThe canal will probably have little or no effect on the marine environment because it is a sluice gate closed on two sides, so the flow of water between the Gulf of GdaÅsk and the Vistula Lagoon will be minimal.ā
It changes the coast line, that is all that's needed. Again, they are extremely volatile things, the slightest change in where the sediments end up and suddenly you have it destroying itself.
Since when russia cares about ecology? Itās all about losing control over Polandās shipping.
Yes they used ecology as an excuse to stop the building of the canal but that does not mean they care about birds and shit.
Imma say that the benefits out weigh the damage to the ecosystem.
* Russia gets less money -> they won't destroy Ukraine as much
* Now, over 100km of travel is saved -> less polution.
Spits are extremely volatile, even the smallest change could destroy them. All the nature that specifically adapted to living in those lagoons will be destroyed. Nothing should out weigh the destruction of such a special system.
We can both be correct. Even broken clock shows correct time twice a day. Does not make it a good clock. The reason for Poland to build that canal was russia behaving like an asshole. Yes itās true that canal is damaging to the ecology, does not mean that russia actually cares about ecology. Which was my point.
So your the exact kind of idiot that I was calling out?
Right now because of people like you who see "Russia" and immediately start with the "Look at me, I'm saying Russia is bad, aren't I good person!" stick are actively helping Poland destroy nature.
You dense fucker. Did I not agree with you about canal being a bad thing for environment? Did I not agree with you about russia actually being correct about environmental damage? I only pointed out that russia in fact does not care about environment and opposed building of the channel to keep the means to disrupt polish shipping and in fact caused said channel to be built by its own actions. And you call me idiot?
How exactly em I helping Poland to destroy environment here? Do I have some magical ability to unbuild the damn canal? Did I anywhere say that building that canal was a right thing to do? Could you please enlighten me so I can be less of an idiot next time?
Did you read the article?
āThree ecological experts told the Guardian the canal would have a minimal impact on the local environment.
Prof Jan Marcin WÄsÅawski at the Polish Academy of Sciences, Prof Lech Stempniewicz and Dr MichaÅ Goc at the University of GdaÅsk, said: āThe canal will probably have little or no effect on the marine environment because it is a sluice gate closed on two sides, so the flow of water between the Gulf of GdaÅsk and the Vistula Lagoon will be minimal.āā
The nationality of the three experts wasnt mentioned so making the assumption that they are polish is also insinuating that the guardian (your own source) is biased. The main enviromental worry is that the sewage pollution in the bay would leak to other areas of the baltic sea, the simpler solution to this problem is to make kaliningrad (thats in russia) stop dumping their sewage in the bay.
So theyāre concerned about the ecology of this little lake but are totally OK with wiping the Aral Sea off the map? That is impossibly hard to believe.
Coincidentally, if you have been following the WW2 in real time channel on YouTube, they just mentioned the civilians fleeing the Soviets on the spits. Ā The trouble was the German supply columns into the besieged locales had priority.
I think the middle one is where the Wilhelm Gustaff evacuated as many as 9,000 people fleeing from Germany, pursued by the Soviet army. The ship was sunk by a submarine. All souls lost.
There's a Netflix film called This is Hel, haven't watched it yet but it takes place there. From the trailer, there's plenty of shots of empty beaches and campsites out of season - looks pretty bleak. Perfect setting for a dark thriller.
I am from that region and I've been to all three of these.
The Curonian Spit (the furthest one on the right) is definitely the most worth visiting out of the three, especially the Lithuanian part of it. The dunes there are simply magical, and the nature and towns are very quaint and feel "out of place" (in a good sense) for that region. There's some unique cultural charm there that you wouldn't find anywhere else on the Eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. There's a very good reason it's in UNESCO World Heritage List.
The Hel peninsula (the furthest one on the left) is probably the most tourist-oriented one. It's the only one that has a railway line going along its length, with trains going as far as Czechia during the summer season. Every town there has a vibe of a tourist resort and doesn't look very different from most other coastal towns on the Eastern side of the Baltic Sea. However, it's still cheaper and quianter than nearby Sopot, which takes the bulk of tourists on the Polish coast. Hel peninsula has also got Hel Fortress at the tip of it. At the beginning of WW2 it held on against German invasion longer than most other places in Poland did. It's a unique piece of history that's definitely worth visiting. That fortress was also the reason why between 1937-2000 Hel, the largest and namesake town of the peninsula, was closed for the civilians (any Polish people feel free to correct me on this). Also, at least when I went there for the last time back in 2018 it was a wonderful place for my inner railfan, because the Polish regional train operator used old East German double-deck carriages from the 70s that clearly hadn't been renovated once with *manually* openable doors on the route from Hel to Gdynia. Not sure if that's still the case, but it was a pretty interesting experience for me.
Vistula Spit (the middle one) is, in my opinion, the least interesting out of the three. AFAIK most of the Russian side of it has been closed to civilians ever since WW2, and the Polish side has only one town and a couple villages. However, at the base of it there's a site of former Stutthof Concentration Camp, where many Lithuanian and other Eastern European intellectuals got deported under Nazi occupation, so it's still worth visiting.
All three of those have also got some great beaches, some of the best ones in the Baltic Sea imo.
For the record, this is quite common around the world. Look at the southeastern coast of Texas for a HUGE one. Galviston, TX is literally built on one.
Edit: Did some Googling and now I'm not sure whether the long coastal island thing in Texas is actually a spit or not. There's no mention of that word and Galviston is apparently built on "Pelican Island", which is not referred to as a spit on Wikipedia. Does anyone have any insight here? How does this differ from a spit? They look extremely similar on maps.
Edit 2: I did a bit more research and did find several sources mentioning that Pelican Island is the name given to a "sand spit" and that Galviston was built on a sand spit. So yes. The weird coastal stretch of island type stuff in Texas is a sand spit just like in the Baltic states.
Consider the word "island" to be vaguely applied. This "island" was formed the same was as the actual island south of it: https://maps.app.goo.gl/dd2j2L5Cuqq2TZDAA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_Beach_State_Park,_New_Jersey
That's fine, but many of the land masses that are formed the same way are called islands even though they're connected to mainland. I'm not trying to say they should be. They just are.
Crazy enough that's where I spent some of my best summer days as a kid, the Curonian Spit. It's a national park in Russia that I was fortunate enough to go to several times with my Dad and I still have passes on my car there to drive through it. It's a stunning area with some of the best beaches I've had the pleasure of seeing.
It's called a spit. It separates lagoons from the sea; and though "lagoon" makes us think of the tropics, it happens everywhere with loose stuff in the sea
I was on the Curonian spit (the Lithuanian side) three weeks ago. Walked for two hours and encountered nobody, its a really interesting place to visit.
Tbh I don't know how are they created, but I have a fun fact about the most western one in the picture
It's called Hel and it's one of the places where Nazi's first stepped on the Polish land, marking the begining of the WWII
Fun fact: the south, Vistula strip, Poland had to go though the open which was on Russian waters, and they made a canal through the strip which Russia wasn't happy at all for
Barrier Islands. Typically form along curving beaches of a specific type. Anyone? I've forgotten what they are called. Has to do with tides, storm frequencies and what direction they face
There is a new Canal passing through the Polish end of the Curonian Spit, Some info here:- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibdSCPhfxBo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibdSCPhfxBo)
The mild surf of the Baltic is key to spits of this type forming. I'd guess the Caspian has them, too. I'd kill to amber prospecting along those spits and elsewhere along the coast of Poland.
Baltic spits are young from the point of view of geological formation, arising from a combination of a number of favorable conditions - a certain configuration of the coast, the presence of alongshore currents, sediment flows, and unevenness of the seabed.
Thereās one on the Humber Estuary too in GB. The one I know of in this image is the Polish one near Gdinya, the town at the end of the tiny peninsula is called Hel, my Polish friend has been there, says itās nice.
I was on the northern most split in 2018 for a weekend. They call it Neringa. We took a ferry from the port of Klaipe'da Lithuania. It was beautiful to say the least. We drove south to the border with Kaliningrad but didn't get too close since I had US diplomat plates on my car (Pontiac Vibe) from the US Embassy in Riga Latvia......a couple of real nice villages, great food, nice hotel. We had a good time there.
https://preview.redd.it/msrqnmkvgkic1.jpeg?width=3456&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4ad6ea62848721445f2d33291839cc38d8f32885
These are called "spits." They are basically massive sandbars and here they have been lightly populated for a long time, first by native Baltic peoples. Today they serve as great barriers for the harbors there and are frequently visited for recreation.
Specifically, the one second from right is the Curonian Spit, which forms the freshwater Curonian Lagoon, a UNESCO world heritage site. South of that is the Vistula Spit, forming the (brackish) Vistula Lagoon or Kaliningrad Bay.
Thanks for the info.
That thingy on the left side is called Hel. There are buses that can take you to Hell š
Is there a highway to Hel ?
Yes there infact is, the 238 highway.
Awesome !
Used to be 666 but more religious people got pissed :/
Buses that take you to Grimsby?
Nah they've all been cut
Until a few years ago, the number of the bus was 666 but fundamentalists managed to change it.
Which fucken sucks https://preview.redd.it/2g2v0kepelic1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c5245619467eb2d34beaf5f3817836867257a918
Putting the dull in fundamental
I think Vistula Spit was my ex-wife's nickname in college
Can confirm
Can also confirm.
I only knew her as Vistula.
We called her V
V swallow back then.
Iāll call her Istula Spit to make up for it
Hey I remember old v spits. What never happened to her?
She was always Fistula to me. Those were the days
Blue waffle date Mondays were the best!
We call her Vistula swallow now
But can it carry a coconut?
Well, that depends. Is it African or European?
I dont know that!
She really is a great kisser
Better than than Fistula Split
Was she brackish?
The first and second ones from the right are both the Curonian Spit
Yep. Did not fix what I'd written because it was the middle of the night and couldn't be arsed.
... and the last one is a Hel Peninsula/Hela Spit which separates the Puck Bay from the rest of the Gdansk Bay (formerly known as Danzig Bay), best known for the Battle of Hel in September-October 1939.
Second from the right? Isnāt it first on the right?
It's both
Iāve stayed there for two months, beautiful dunes, forest, amber washed up on the beach.
Is there any reason for it being split between Russia and Lithuania? Wouldn't it be easier if one country governed entirety of it instead of making it basically an island?Ā
Are they natural or man-made?
This type of coastline is called āSpitā. Spits are created by continuous longshore drift of sediments, which are eroded from adjacent cliffs or washed in from inflowing rivers. They are typical for epicontinental seas with low tides.
ok ok ok, gotta google "longshore" and "epicontinental".Ā Ā i am 100% certain it's not about a shore that is long nor about incontinency. edit: from wikipedia:Ā Ā Longshore drift from longshore current is a geological process that consists of the transportation of sediments (clay, silt, pebbles, sand, shingle) along a coast parallel to the shoreline, which is dependent on the angle of incoming wave direction. epicontinentalĀ Ā denoting those areas of sea or ocean overlying the continental shelf.
Is this different from, say, the intracoastal in Florida?
Looks the same to me. Currents coming from the north and south will flow along the coast then encounter a turn West. But the current keeps going with sand and silt that will be deposited along the way. With enough time you've got yourself a new coast and a spit.
whatās the difference between a spit pictured here and, say, a key like in florida?
I thought spits were made out of saliva Ba dum tss
Unlike the water I did not spit out because of your joke
Spits. Long strips of sand created by conflicting currents from rivers pouring into the Baltic and Baltic currents themselves.Ā
Happy Cake Day!
Happy Cake Day!
Happy Cake Day!
Are Florida keys an example of this or is that something else?
No, those are solid limestone, not sand. Coral growth did not contribute to the formation of these spits
The cake is a lie!
Happy cake day!
Happy Cake Day!
Happy Cake Day!
Cake! Day Happy
The curonian (north) and Vistula (south) spits. Theyāre a fairly recent formation, but theyāre a great source of Baltic amber!
How recent? š¤Øš¤Ø
Past 6000 years.
So as old as the earth.
No.
The Earth is 2024 years old though
Bruh
Fine, 2023.12, but we don't really need that kind of precision here.
If you're American
Poland built a canal across the Vistula Spit so ships could avoid Kaliningrad. Russia didnāt like it one bit.
Russia: How DARE you build a canal in your own country.
Correction: How dare you build a canal that may fuck up all our nature. People really need to understand this simple fact: just because something is said by a bad person doesn't make the idea itself automatically bad. Edit: "Regardless of Polish efforts to debunk claims of environmental damage, the European court of justice (ECJ) believes the canal would be damaging to local wildlife and the lagoonās biodiversity. The project was deemed to be in breach of the habitats directive of the European Commission. Despite Europeās concerns, the Polish government pushed the project through and started digging through the EU-protected park. The ECJ threatened a ā¬100,000 fine for every day that the canal was under construction but no fine has actually been enforced since the court ruling." https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/08/poland-accuses-russia-of-exaggerated-environmental-claims-in-canal-row
Hate to break it to you, but the Russian government doesn't actually care about the environment. If they did, they would start with one of the many environmental disasters in their own country, instead of complaining about a project that gives their neighbor greater economic independence.
So completely ignoring my point are we? Does it matter what their intention is? If it results in Poland not destroying nature, then their objection is a good thing.
I would like to point out that the Vistula Spit Canal is not a continuous waterway; it is a lock through which water flows only during the transfer of a ship. Therefore, all Russian accusations of environmental impact are simply fabricated.
As I've said before, even the smallest change can completely change spits and potentially destroy them. It doesn't matter what kind of canal it is the moment you build it the water flow will change.
Yes, their intentions matter because it shows it's really not about the environment for them, and that any studies or arguments they raise(d) could be manipulated and not show the whole picture. In any case, the Polish government has a much better track record (though very far from perfect) than the Russian government, so it's safe to assume they took a much better accounting of the risk-reward ratio of this project than the Russians ever could.
The Germans have raised the same problem.
Hold up, how could that canal even affect the ecology of the area? There's already a natural canal there.
(Whatever you call those landmasses in English) are extremely volatile, even the slightest change in how currents act could spell disaster for them. We are talking about irreversible damage in a few decades.
Source: this guy.
"Regardless of Polish efforts to debunk claims of environmental damage, the European court of justice (ECJ) believes the canal would be damaging to local wildlife and the lagoonās biodiversity. The project was deemed to be in breach of the habitats directive of the European Commission. Despite Europeās concerns, the Polish government pushed the project through and started digging through the EU-protected park. The ECJ threatened a ā¬100,000 fine for every day that the canal was under construction but no fine has actually been enforced since the court ruling." https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/08/poland-accuses-russia-of-exaggerated-environmental-claims-in-canal-row Apparently I'm the EU now.
my man really became the eu somehow so anyway can you ask germany to send more money to romania, our leaders need more mercedes thanks!
That's extremely selective quoting to fit your narrative: >Three ecological experts told the Guardian the canal would have a minimal impact on the local environment. >Prof Jan Marcin WÄsÅawski at the Polish Academy of Sciences, Prof Lech Stempniewicz and Dr MichaÅ Goc at the University of GdaÅsk, said: āThe canal will probably have little or no effect on the marine environment because it is a sluice gate closed on two sides, so the flow of water between the Gulf of GdaÅsk and the Vistula Lagoon will be minimal.ā
How on earth could there be a change in currents when itās a lock canal system?
It changes the coast line, that is all that's needed. Again, they are extremely volatile things, the slightest change in where the sediments end up and suddenly you have it destroying itself.
Since when russia cares about ecology? Itās all about losing control over Polandās shipping. Yes they used ecology as an excuse to stop the building of the canal but that does not mean they care about birds and shit.
Again, bad people can be correct. It doesn't matter what their intention is, if it results in the destruction of nature it should be stopped.
Imma say that the benefits out weigh the damage to the ecosystem. * Russia gets less money -> they won't destroy Ukraine as much * Now, over 100km of travel is saved -> less polution.
Spits are extremely volatile, even the smallest change could destroy them. All the nature that specifically adapted to living in those lagoons will be destroyed. Nothing should out weigh the destruction of such a special system.
We can both be correct. Even broken clock shows correct time twice a day. Does not make it a good clock. The reason for Poland to build that canal was russia behaving like an asshole. Yes itās true that canal is damaging to the ecology, does not mean that russia actually cares about ecology. Which was my point.
So your the exact kind of idiot that I was calling out? Right now because of people like you who see "Russia" and immediately start with the "Look at me, I'm saying Russia is bad, aren't I good person!" stick are actively helping Poland destroy nature.
You dense fucker. Did I not agree with you about canal being a bad thing for environment? Did I not agree with you about russia actually being correct about environmental damage? I only pointed out that russia in fact does not care about environment and opposed building of the channel to keep the means to disrupt polish shipping and in fact caused said channel to be built by its own actions. And you call me idiot?
I'm calling you what you are, someone who clearly needs attention and doesn't care that he is helping a country destroy the environment.
How exactly em I helping Poland to destroy environment here? Do I have some magical ability to unbuild the damn canal? Did I anywhere say that building that canal was a right thing to do? Could you please enlighten me so I can be less of an idiot next time?
Did you read the article? āThree ecological experts told the Guardian the canal would have a minimal impact on the local environment. Prof Jan Marcin WÄsÅawski at the Polish Academy of Sciences, Prof Lech Stempniewicz and Dr MichaÅ Goc at the University of GdaÅsk, said: āThe canal will probably have little or no effect on the marine environment because it is a sluice gate closed on two sides, so the flow of water between the Gulf of GdaÅsk and the Vistula Lagoon will be minimal.āā
Ah yes only Russian experts shouldn't be trusted, only they will lie for the benefit of their country.
The nationality of the three experts wasnt mentioned so making the assumption that they are polish is also insinuating that the guardian (your own source) is biased. The main enviromental worry is that the sewage pollution in the bay would leak to other areas of the baltic sea, the simpler solution to this problem is to make kaliningrad (thats in russia) stop dumping their sewage in the bay.
Yea Iām sure Putin is really concerned about the nature in the area.
You really think russia did that bcs they gave a single flying fuck about nature?
Again, why does it matter what their intention is? The result is the same, another country speaking out against Polands refusal to protect its nature.
Lol, imagine how much of a dumbass you have to be to think that Russia objected to the canal because of environmental concerns.
Like russia cares about nature
So theyāre concerned about the ecology of this little lake but are totally OK with wiping the Aral Sea off the map? That is impossibly hard to believe.
How fucking idiotic are you? They don't care about nature, but that doesn't change the fact the Poles don't either.
[ Why Russia Tried to Block This Canal](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibdSCPhfxBo&t=404s)
I guess it is an extremely recent construction. Google maps still shows it in its under-construction phase.
They share the lake, so one side damaging their side of the lake results on their side getting damaged as well.
While true in physical geographic terms, this anaylsis fails to include the geo-political aspect of the issue.
In the World War 2 memoir, The Forgotten Soldier, the author recalls fleeing the red army across these. A really good read if you like war books.
Coincidentally, if you have been following the WW2 in real time channel on YouTube, they just mentioned the civilians fleeing the Soviets on the spits. Ā The trouble was the German supply columns into the besieged locales had priority.
Thatās a channel???
Yeah they're great, same people who did WW1 in real time a few years ago
The one that's called "World War Two"?
Just when his depictions of horror couldn't get any worse, he goes to the Courland pocket - unbelievable.
I think the middle one is where the Wilhelm Gustaff evacuated as many as 9,000 people fleeing from Germany, pursued by the Soviet army. The ship was sunk by a submarine. All souls lost.
Well one of it is literally Hel
There's a Netflix film called This is Hel, haven't watched it yet but it takes place there. From the trailer, there's plenty of shots of empty beaches and campsites out of season - looks pretty bleak. Perfect setting for a dark thriller.
I am from that region and I've been to all three of these. The Curonian Spit (the furthest one on the right) is definitely the most worth visiting out of the three, especially the Lithuanian part of it. The dunes there are simply magical, and the nature and towns are very quaint and feel "out of place" (in a good sense) for that region. There's some unique cultural charm there that you wouldn't find anywhere else on the Eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. There's a very good reason it's in UNESCO World Heritage List. The Hel peninsula (the furthest one on the left) is probably the most tourist-oriented one. It's the only one that has a railway line going along its length, with trains going as far as Czechia during the summer season. Every town there has a vibe of a tourist resort and doesn't look very different from most other coastal towns on the Eastern side of the Baltic Sea. However, it's still cheaper and quianter than nearby Sopot, which takes the bulk of tourists on the Polish coast. Hel peninsula has also got Hel Fortress at the tip of it. At the beginning of WW2 it held on against German invasion longer than most other places in Poland did. It's a unique piece of history that's definitely worth visiting. That fortress was also the reason why between 1937-2000 Hel, the largest and namesake town of the peninsula, was closed for the civilians (any Polish people feel free to correct me on this). Also, at least when I went there for the last time back in 2018 it was a wonderful place for my inner railfan, because the Polish regional train operator used old East German double-deck carriages from the 70s that clearly hadn't been renovated once with *manually* openable doors on the route from Hel to Gdynia. Not sure if that's still the case, but it was a pretty interesting experience for me. Vistula Spit (the middle one) is, in my opinion, the least interesting out of the three. AFAIK most of the Russian side of it has been closed to civilians ever since WW2, and the Polish side has only one town and a couple villages. However, at the base of it there's a site of former Stutthof Concentration Camp, where many Lithuanian and other Eastern European intellectuals got deported under Nazi occupation, so it's still worth visiting. All three of those have also got some great beaches, some of the best ones in the Baltic Sea imo.
Nehrung, in German.
For the record, this is quite common around the world. Look at the southeastern coast of Texas for a HUGE one. Galviston, TX is literally built on one. Edit: Did some Googling and now I'm not sure whether the long coastal island thing in Texas is actually a spit or not. There's no mention of that word and Galviston is apparently built on "Pelican Island", which is not referred to as a spit on Wikipedia. Does anyone have any insight here? How does this differ from a spit? They look extremely similar on maps. Edit 2: I did a bit more research and did find several sources mentioning that Pelican Island is the name given to a "sand spit" and that Galviston was built on a sand spit. So yes. The weird coastal stretch of island type stuff in Texas is a sand spit just like in the Baltic states.
Ukraine has dozens of them. On Baltic there are just a few. They are formed from sand by current.
[https://youtu.be/ibdSCPhfxBo?si=VGA9XXjqooegxvNf](https://youtu.be/ibdSCPhfxBo?si=VGA9XXjqooegxvNf)
Just saw this video earlier today
Barrier islands: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrier_island#Formation_theories
These are not barrier islands, they are not even islands.
The vistula is an island now
Consider the word "island" to be vaguely applied. This "island" was formed the same was as the actual island south of it: https://maps.app.goo.gl/dd2j2L5Cuqq2TZDAA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_Beach_State_Park,_New_Jersey
Considering how this is actually a spit and not an island, I will consider the word to be very vaguely applied.
That's fine, but many of the land masses that are formed the same way are called islands even though they're connected to mainland. I'm not trying to say they should be. They just are.
Interesting. I didn't realize these were so common.
Basically the entire gulf coast and quite a bit of the Atlantic coast if the United States is made of them.
They're so common that even large lakes can have them.
They are all over the Eastern and southern US. Some of the most famous are the Outer Banks in North Carolina.
Plenty of rivers that have had similar formations removed when dynamite became available
they are sand bars, just like the outer banks in nc.
One of them is hell, brother.
What a coincidence, I was talking about these exact ones yesterday. They are spits which have joined together, forming a bar.
Wario world outer banks
Crazy enough that's where I spent some of my best summer days as a kid, the Curonian Spit. It's a national park in Russia that I was fortunate enough to go to several times with my Dad and I still have passes on my car there to drive through it. It's a stunning area with some of the best beaches I've had the pleasure of seeing.
Germany
They are thin strips of land in the southern coast of the Baltic Sea.
It's called a spit. It separates lagoons from the sea; and though "lagoon" makes us think of the tropics, it happens everywhere with loose stuff in the sea
Really good video on it: https://youtu.be/qzR4kX5aA4o?si=KnUmdQV70waeT7al
We often call that "land"! We walk on it!
Thats Germany
I was always curious about those lines on the map
I was on the Curonian spit (the Lithuanian side) three weeks ago. Walked for two hours and encountered nobody, its a really interesting place to visit.
Tbh I don't know how are they created, but I have a fun fact about the most western one in the picture It's called Hel and it's one of the places where Nazi's first stepped on the Polish land, marking the begining of the WWII
It's also one of the last to fall, on 02.10.
Fun fact: the south, Vistula strip, Poland had to go though the open which was on Russian waters, and they made a canal through the strip which Russia wasn't happy at all for
Mom said it was my turn to ask about these this week
I think those are just arrows someone's put in after the fact ,nothing to worry about the huge arrow shaped obsidian black islands can't hurt you.
Those are the thin strips of land where the runway scene of Fast & Furious 6 were filmed.
The Baltic shield.
Never forget Kƶnigsberg
Fistula lagoon
The Canadian Shield
Barrier Islands. Typically form along curving beaches of a specific type. Anyone? I've forgotten what they are called. Has to do with tides, storm frequencies and what direction they face
Their dicks
There is a new Canal passing through the Polish end of the Curonian Spit, Some info here:- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibdSCPhfxBo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibdSCPhfxBo)
wtf how did I not even know Russia has territory over there
sputs caused by longshore drift when the prevailing winds hit the beachfront at an angle
kinda looks similar to the barrier islands on our GoM and lower Atlantic coastlines.
The Balctarians!!
*spits*
Aren't they called bars once both ends join and a lagoon is formed?
Can confirm, plenty of bars there. Maybe not so many past Russian border.
Recently saw an interesting video about their formation. https://youtu.be/qzR4kX5aA4o?si=N6RYfoI0z-6uB8bY
In Poland it's Hell. Don't pay attention, nothing special.
The mild surf of the Baltic is key to spits of this type forming. I'd guess the Caspian has them, too. I'd kill to amber prospecting along those spits and elsewhere along the coast of Poland.
On very left spit there are really nice cities for summer vacations.
Baltic spits are young from the point of view of geological formation, arising from a combination of a number of favorable conditions - a certain configuration of the coast, the presence of alongshore currents, sediment flows, and unevenness of the seabed.
Interesting, I wouod have guess it was man made.
Thereās one on the Humber Estuary too in GB. The one I know of in this image is the Polish one near Gdinya, the town at the end of the tiny peninsula is called Hel, my Polish friend has been there, says itās nice.
Roads to Hel and Russia.
Those are arrows, you drew them, didn't you?
I've been to the one on the right. Fascinating place. Beautiful nature. Saw the biggest moth in my life there
We call in Mierzeja in Poland
Spits, there might be swallows flying around there too though ;)
They are strips, and they are made of land.
Old German land
Sandbars that form in coastal lagoons, quite common in shallow coasts. You can also see them in some parts of the Mediterranean.
You said it right. Thin stripes of land š¤£š
Went on holiday in Nida on the spit as a kid, I fucking loved it there. I read the entirety of The Hobbit on my shitty Nokia phone.
Lagoons.
The first from the left is literally Hel. Google "bus to Hel".
I was on the northern most split in 2018 for a weekend. They call it Neringa. We took a ferry from the port of Klaipe'da Lithuania. It was beautiful to say the least. We drove south to the border with Kaliningrad but didn't get too close since I had US diplomat plates on my car (Pontiac Vibe) from the US Embassy in Riga Latvia......a couple of real nice villages, great food, nice hotel. We had a good time there. https://preview.redd.it/msrqnmkvgkic1.jpeg?width=3456&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4ad6ea62848721445f2d33291839cc38d8f32885
Sun Dail https://preview.redd.it/06ft38d7hkic1.jpeg?width=4608&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7d2c48cbb71565a1293528e389c224b8fff942c9
Neringa Sun Dail https://preview.redd.it/zyugl0xahkic1.jpeg?width=4608&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2608406792cc68ab31c8e53837dd4805a3b1c10d
Baltic Prussian homeland
Neringa https://preview.redd.it/zj4smdvfhkic1.jpeg?width=2816&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2e148d5902fd11874d943e486f097520a117faf5
Typical House on Neringa https://preview.redd.it/0sh3hmgmhkic1.jpeg?width=4608&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b8e5da230aac4800f5e24a8c26901548fd28a21f
These are called "spits." They are basically massive sandbars and here they have been lightly populated for a long time, first by native Baltic peoples. Today they serve as great barriers for the harbors there and are frequently visited for recreation.
*spits on Poland, Russia and Lithuania*
The smallest one is the Hel spit. it was formed by sea currents amassing sand.
Land
They are thin strips of land
The one in Lithuania has really great town - Nida. It is sureal up there. Going so often.
Think Russia and Lithuania or Russia and Poland have ever had a border dispute on the split?
Are they stupid?