The island separates the Gulf of Tendra from the Black Sea and is located at the southern and western part of the bay.

In the west the island has a spit called Bili Kuchuhury which, stretching east through the Gulf of Tendra as a shoal, reaches the Yahorlyk Kut peninsula.

The mutiny of men on board the Russian battleship Potemkin took place off Tendra Spit in June 1905.

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on the night of 28 February 2024, Ukrainian Special Operations Forces troops from 73rd Maritime Special Operations Center attempted to make a landing on the sandbar.

According to the Russian MOD, 4 boats out of 5 were destroyed or sunk and up to 25 Ukrainian soldiers were killed.