Kinburn Kosa

Kinburn Kosa

 

a sand spit between the Dnieper-Bug and Iagorlyk estuaries of the Black Sea. The spit is approximately 40 km long and 8–10 km wide. It is covered by feather-grass steppe, and in low-lying areas by oak, birch, and pussy willow. There are numerous fresh- and salt-water lakes, which are nesting grounds of white heron and cranes. The eastern part of the Kinburn Kosa is swampy, and there is fishing along the shores. The spit is part of the Black Sea Preserve. In the 15th century the Turks built a fortress on the western part of the Kinburn Kosa; a large Turkish landing party was defeated near the fortress by A. V. Suvorov in 1787.