deep gulf of the Aegean Sea on the northern coast of eastern Crete, the nomós (department) of Lasíthi, Greece. It separates Dhíkti massif on the west from a range of hills on the east that include Mt. Thriptís and Mt. Ornón. The gulf, named after the village of Mirabello, located north of the port of Áyios Nikólaos, is separated on the east from the Órmos (bay) Sitías by an indented and blunted promontory. Around the gulf are Olonte (Olus) and Lato, two ruined classical settlements; on the islets of Psíra and Mókhlos (Konídha) as well as at Gourniá at the head of the gulf are the remains of Late Minoan I (1600–1450 BC) settlements. Gourniá, excavated 1901–04 by the U.S. archaeologist Mrs. Boyd Hayes, is the only well-preserved Minoan town in Crete.