Curonian Spit

The Curonian Spit is a long, narrow sand-dune peninsula shared by Lithuania and Russia. It separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea.

Longshore drift: The transport of sediment along a coast by waves approaching at an angle. It helps move sand that forms and replenishes the peninsula’s shore.
Baltic Ice Lake: A large freshwater lake that occupied the Baltic basin as the last Scandinavian ice sheet retreated. Its retreat preceded the development of the modern Baltic shoreline.
Curonian people: A Baltic people historically associated with the eastern Baltic coast and the Curonian region. Their name and maritime history are closely tied to the spit and lagoon.
Curonian Spit National Park: A protected area covering the Lithuanian portion of the Curonian Spit. It safeguards dunes, forests, settlements, and coastal habitats on the Lithuanian side.
Hel Peninsula: A sandy peninsula in northern Poland that separates the Bay of Puck from the Baltic Sea. It is another Baltic sand peninsula, but lies farther southwest and has a different lagoon setting.
Aeolian processes: The erosion, transport, and deposition of sediment by wind. Wind-driven sand movement gives the spit its distinctive dune landscape.
Ancylus Lake: A freshwater stage in the Baltic basin that followed the Baltic Ice Lake. Its changing water levels formed part of the spit’s postglacial coastal setting.
Thomas Mann: A German novelist and Nobel laureate who spent summers at a house in Nida. His summer home made Nida a lasting point of cultural interest on the spit.
Kurshskaya Kosa National Park: A protected area covering the Russian portion of the Curonian Spit in Kaliningrad Oblast. It protects the peninsula’s southern landscapes across the international border.
Vistula Spit: A sandy peninsula on the southeastern Baltic coast, shared by Poland and Russia. It is the closest regional counterpart, separating the Baltic Sea from the Vistula Lagoon.

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KlaipėdaRelated: Ferries from Klaipėda connect the city with this protected coastal landscape.