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KURISCHES HAFF, a lagoon of Germany, on the Baltic coast of East Prussia, stretching from Labiau to Memel, a distance of 6o m., has an area of nearly 68o sq. m. It is mostly shallow and only close to Memel attains a depth of 23 ft. It is thus unnavigable except for small coasting and fishing boats, and sea-going vessels proceed through the Memeler Tief (Memel Deep), which connects the Baltic with Memel and has a depth of 19 ft. and a breadth of 800 to 'goo ft. The Kurisches Haff is separated from the Baltic by a long spit, or tongue of land, the so-called Kurische Nehrung, 72 M. in length and with a breadth oft to 2miles. The latter is fringed throughout its whole length by a chain of dunes, which rise in places to a height of nearly 200 ft. and threaten, unless checked, to be pressed farther inland and silt up the' whole Haff.
See Berendt, Geologie des Kurischen Haifa (Konigsberg, 1869) ; Sommer, Das Kurische Haff (Danzig, 1889) ; A. Bezzenberger, Die Kurische Nehrung and shre Bewohner (Stuttgart, 1889) ; and Lindner, Die Preussische Wiiste einst and jetzt, Bilder von der Kurischen Nehrung (Osterwieck, 1898).