Curonian Lagoon is a freshwater body beside the Baltic Sea at western Lithuania, separated from the sea by the narrow Curonian Spit. Europe's largest coastal lagoon, it's formed c. 7000 BCE as glaciers of the last ice age recede, the land warms and plants grow.
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The Baltic Sea forms as the melting Scandinavian ice sheet retreats toward the Arctic at the end of the Pleistocene Epoch glaciations (c. 2.58 million to 11,700 ya). Due to warming climate, reaching a global average of 4% temperature rise, the ice melts.
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The Baltic Sea basin becomes an immense meltwater lake, c. 11,000 - 9800 BCE. The ice keeps melting and water rises in the Baltic basin to overflow in a great flood c. 9500 BCE. As the waters recede a freshwater lagoon appears, divided by a sandy spit from the sea
At 1,619 sq km (625 sq mi), the lagoon is fed largely by the Neman river, the longest river in Lithuania. The river in arises in central Belarus, flows through Lithuania then forms the northern border of Lithuania / Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia's western exclave.
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Neman (Niemen, Nyoman, Nemunas or Memel) is a major Eastern European river 937 km (582 mi) long. Every 12 - 15 years the river undergoes massive flooding. Otherwise it's up to 5 m (16 ft) deep. At its widest the river measures c. 500 m (1,600 ft).
At its delta Nemunas diversifies into river branches and canals, mixing with polders and wetlands. The four main distributaries are Atmata, Pakalnė, Skirvytė (the southern mouth, marking the international border) and Gilija.
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As the primary inflow, the river is essential to the ecosystem of the lagoon. It determines the freshwater quality of the lagoon. Fresh and brackish waters co-exist. The lagoon is saltier at the spit, due to storm waters.
The Curonian Spit extends 98 km (61 mi) to separate the freshwater lagoon from the Baltic sea. The narrow land line is 0.4 - 4 km (0.25 - 2.5 mi) wide. Habitation goes back to prehistory. Fishing villages and resort towns occupy the spit today.
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The highest moving (drifting) sand dunes in Europe occur on the Curonian Spit. Average height is 35 m (115 ft), growing up to 60 m (200 ft). The spit has a diverse ecology from beaches to dune ridges, inland wetlands, meadows and forests.
Plants include edible glasswort (Salicornia, sea asparagus), reeds and other rhizome plants: baby's breath (Gypsophila paniculata); Baltic goat's beard (Tragopogon heterospermus).
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Soils at the lagoon are primarily loam leaning to clay or sand. Trees of the Lithuanian forested regions include linden, oak, elm, birch and pine species. Linden and oak are both important trees in Baltic mythology, with the linden sacred to Fate Goddess Laima.
262 bird species are recorded in the park. They include great cormorants, hooded crows, ducks, swans and rare sightings of the rosy starling. Also in the area are white-tailed eagles, red-throated divers, sheldrakes and herons.
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Over 100 bird species nest and breed there. Peak bird-watching time on the Curonian Spit is autumn migration, August to November.
The park records 46 species of mammals, including European elk, roe deer, wild boar, fox, marten, raccoon dog - the only canid who hibernates - badger, hare, red squirrel and European beaver. The European grass snake (Natrix natrix) is entwined in Baltic lore.
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Fish of the lagoon include perch (Perca fluviatilis), pike perch (Zander; Sander lucioperca), roach, bream (Abramis brama), and European smelt (Osmerus eperlanus). The smelt is a highly adaptable fish. Some live entirely in fresh water; others migrate from salt to breed.
Migrants also include Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), sea trout (Salmo trutta trutta), and eel (Anguilla anguilla). In the Baltic Sea on the other side of the Curonian spit, ninety percent of the catch is herring, sprat, flounder and cod.
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To the north, the lagoon connects to the Baltic Sea by a narrow strait at the Lithuanian port Klaipėda, the most significant seaport in the country. In Lithuania, the lagoon is commonly called Kuršių nerija or Nemunas Delta.
In the 13th century, the lands are ancestral homes of Curonians and Old Prussians. The Vistula lagoon is to the west and territory borders the region of Lithuania Minor. In 1252 the Teutonic Knights establish Klaipėda and build Memelburg Castle.
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In 1454, at the request of the anti-Teutonic Prussian Confederation King Casimir IV Jagiellon incorporates the region to the Kingdom of Poland. Following the peace treaty of 1466, the lagoon becomes part of Poland as a fief held by the Teutonic Knights.
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Located within the Polish-Lithuanian Union (later the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth), the lagoon is part of the Kingdom of Prussia from the 18th century on. From 1871 until 1918 it's in the German Empire. Today the lagoon region is shared by Russia and Lithuania.