Coordinates: 59°30′N, 23°00′E // Look up Baltic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...

Phytoplankton bloom in the Baltic Proper, July 3, 2001.

The Baltic Sea is located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and the Little Belt. The Kattegat continues through the Skagerrak into the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The Baltic Sea is artificially linked to the White Sea by the White Sea Canal and to the North Sea by the Kiel Canal. The Baltic is bordered on its northern edge by the Gulf of Bothnia, on its northeastern edge by the Gulf of Finland, and on its eastern edge by the Gulf of Riga. PD image; from NASAs Earth Observatory; http://earthobservatory. ... PD image; from NASAs Earth Observatory; http://earthobservatory. ... Diagrams of some typical phytoplankton Phytoplankton are the autotrophic component of plankton. ... is the 184th day of the year (185th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... Northern Europe Northern Europe is the northern part of the European continent. ... This article is about the geographical term. ... Longitude is the east-west geographic coordinate measurement most commonly utilized in cartography and global navigation. ... The Scandinavian Peninsula is in northeastern Europe, consisting principally of the mainland territories of Norway and Sweden. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... The Baltic Sea The Kattegat (Danish), or Kattegatt (Swedish), is a bay of the North Sea and a continuation of the Skagerrak, bounded by Denmark and Sweden. ... Northern Öresund Oresund (Öresund in Swedish or Øresund in Danish) or The Sound, is the strait that separates Zealand from Scania, and thereby Denmark from Sweden. ... The straits of Denmark. ... A picture of the Lillebælt in Denmark The Little Belt or Small Belt (Danish:Lillebælt) is a strait between the Danish island of Funen and the Jutland Peninsula. ... The Skagerrak strait runs between Norway and the southwest coast of Sweden and the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat strait, which leads to the Baltic Sea. ... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ... Map of the White Sea Two satellite photos of the White Sea The White Sea (Russian: ) is an inlet of the Barents Sea on the North Western coast of Russia. ... White Sea-Baltic Sea Canal (Russian: Belomorsko-Baltiyskiy Kanal (BBK)), opened on August 2, 1933 is a ship canal that joins the White Sea and the Baltic Sea near St. ... The Kiel Canal (in German Nord-Ostsee-Kanal, formerly Kaiser-Wilhelm-Kanal) is a 98 kilometre long waterway linking the North Sea at Brunsbüttel, Germany to the Baltic Sea at Kiel-Holtenau, Germany. ... The Baltic Sea The Gulf of Bothnia (Fin. ... The Baltic Sea The Gulf of Finland is an arm of the Baltic Sea that extends between Finland (to the north) and Estonia (to the south) all the way to the city of Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. ... The Gulf of Riga The Gulf of Riga (or Bay of Riga, Latvian RÄ«gas jÅ«ras lÄ«cis, Estonian Liivi Laht) is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. ...

Etymology

Map of the Baltic Sea

The first to name it the Baltic Sea ("Mare Balticum") was eleventh century German chronicler Adam of Bremen. The origin of the name is speculative. He may have based it on the mythical North European island Baltia, mentioned by Xenophon. Another possibility is that Adam of Bremen connected to the Germanic word belt, a name used for some of the Danish straits: Fehmarn Belt, Little Belt, Great Belt, thus the part of the sea near the straits was named as Belt Sea. While others claim it to be derived from Latin balteus (belt).^[1] Still another proposed derivation from the Indo-European root *bhel meaning white, shining (note that 'baltas' means 'white' in today Lithuanian, while 'balts' means the same in modern Latvian language). The latter name could have influenced the Baltica myth because Baltic tribes lived on the shores of the Baltic Sea in ancient times and had contacts with the Mediterranean civilizations, being a well-known source of amber for ancient Greece and later for the Roman Empire . However, it is indisputable that the source of the name for the Baltic countries is the name of the Baltic Sea, not the other way around. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1500x1606, 803 KB) Map of the Baltic Sea. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1500x1606, 803 KB) Map of the Baltic Sea. ... Adam of Bremen (also: Adam Bremensis) was one of the most important German medieval chroniclers. ... Baltia was a legendary island in Roman mythology, said to be in northern Europe. ... Xenophon, Greek historian Xenophon (In Greek , ca. ... Puttgarden ferry port Flügge lighthouse Fehmarn Sound Bridge from the sound Fehmarn (Danish, Femern) is an island and - since 2003 - a town on this island in the Baltic Sea, off the eastern coast of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and ca. ... A picture of the Lillebælt in Denmark The Little Belt or Small Belt (Danish:Lillebælt) is a strait between the Danish island of Funen and the Jutland Peninsula. ... The straits of Denmark. ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... The Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) is the hypothetical common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans. ... Latvian (latviešu valoda), sometimes referred to as Lettish, is the official state language of the Republic of Latvia. ... Baltica (green) Baltica is a Late Proterozoic-Early Palaeozoic continent that now includes the East European craton of northwestern Eurasia. ... The Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around and surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea. ... For other uses, see Amber (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... The three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania The terms Baltic countries, Baltic Sea countries, Baltic states, and Balticum refer to slightly different combinations of countries in the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea. ...

Name in other languages

Look up Baltic Sea in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

The Baltic Sea is known by the equivalents of "East Sea", "West Sea", or "Baltic Sea" in different languages: Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ...

• In Germanic languages, except English, East Sea is used: Danish (Østersøen), Dutch (Oostzee), German (Ostsee), Norwegian (Østersjøen), and Swedish (Östersjön). In Old English it was known as Ostsæ.
• In addition, Finnish, a Baltic-Finnic language has calqued the Swedish term as Itämeri "East Sea", disregarding the geography (the sea is west of Finland). In another Baltic-Finnic language, Estonian, it is called the West Sea (Läänemeri), with the correct geography (the sea is west of Estonia).
• Baltic Sea is used in English; in Latin (Mare Balticum) and the Romance languages French (Mer Baltique), Italian (Mar Baltico), Portuguese (Mar Báltico) and Spanish (Mar Báltico); in the Slavic languages Polish (Morze Bałtyckie or Bałtyk), Bulgarian (Baltijsko More (Балтийско море)), Kashubian (Bôłt), and Russian (Baltiyskoye Morye (Балтийское море)); and in the Baltic languages Latvian (Baltijas jūra) and Lithuanian (Baltijos jūra).

The Germanic languages are a group of related languages constituting a branch of the Indo-European (IE) language family. ... Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon[1], Old English: ) is an early form of the English language that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland between the mid-fifth century and the mid-twelfth century. ... Baltic-Finnic languages, also known as Finnic languages, are a subgroup of the Finno-Ugric languages, and are spoken around the Baltic Sea by about 7 million people. ... // In linguistics, a calque (pronounced ) or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal, word-for-word (Latin: verbum pro verbo) or root-for-root translation. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... The Romance languages (sometimes referred to as Romanic languages) are a branch of the Indo-European language family, comprising all the languages that descend from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire. ...  Countries where a West Slavic language is the national language  Countries where an East Slavic language is the national language  Countries where a South Slavic language is the national language The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages), a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup... Kashubian or Cassubian (Kashubian: kaszëbsczi jãzëk, pòmòrsczi jãzëk, kaszëbskò-sÅ‚owiÅ„skô mòwa) is one of the Lechitic languages, which are a group of Slavic languages. ... The Baltic languages are a group of related languages belonging to the Indo-European language family and spoken mainly in areas extending east and southeast of the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. ...

Geophysical data

Baltic Sea in winter

The Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea, alleged to be the largest body of brackish water in the world (other possibilities include the Black Sea). It occupies a basin formed by glacial erosion. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Brackish redirects here. ... For other uses, see Black Sea (disambiguation). ...

Dimensions

The Baltic sea is about 1600 km (1000 mi) long, an average of 193 km (120 mi) wide, and an average of 55 m (180 ft, 30 fathoms) deep. The maximum depth is 459 m (1506 ft), on the Swedish side of the center. The surface area is about 377,000 km² (145,522 sq mi) and the volume is about 21,000 km³ (5040 cubic miles). The periphery amounts to about 8000 km (4968 mi) of coastline. [1] These figures are somewhat variable because a number of different estimates have been made. “km” redirects here. ... “Miles” redirects here. ... This article is about the unit of length. ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... A fathom is the name of a unit of length in the Imperial system (and the derived U.S. customary units). ... Square kilometre (U.S. spelling: square kilometer), symbol km², is a decimal multiple of SI unit of surface area square metre, one of the SI derived units. ... A square mile is an English unit of area equal to that of a square with sides each 1 statute mile (≈1,609 m) in length. ... A cubic kilometre (symbol km³) is an SI derived unit of volume. ... A cubic mile is an Imperial unit/U.S. customary unit (non-SI non-metric) of volume, used in the United States. ...

Sea ice

As a long-term average the Baltic Sea is ice covered for about 45% of its surface area at maximum annually. The ice-covered area during such a normal winter includes the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland, Gulf of Riga and Väinameri in the Estonian archipelago. The Baltic Proper does not freeze during a normal winter, with the exception of sheltered bays and shallow lagoons such as the Curonian Lagoon. The ice reaches its maximum extent in February or March; typical ice thickness in the northernmost areas in the Bothnian Bay is about 70 cm for landfast sea ice. The thickness decreases when moving south. The Baltic Sea The Gulf of Bothnia (Fin. ... The Baltic Sea The Gulf of Finland is an arm of the Baltic Sea that extends between Finland (to the north) and Estonia (to the south) all the way to the city of Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. ... The Gulf of Riga The Gulf of Riga (or Bay of Riga, Latvian RÄ«gas jÅ«ras lÄ«cis, Estonian Liivi Laht) is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. ... The Curonian Lagoon (or Bay, Gulf) is sundered from the Baltic Sea by the Curonian Spit and belongs to Lithuania and Russia. ... The Baltic Sea The Bothnian Bay or Bay of Bothnia (Fin. ... A centimetre (American spelling centimeter, symbol cm) is a unit of length that is equal to one hundredth of a metre, the current SI base unit of length. ...

Freezing begins in the northern coast of Gulf of Bothnia typically in early November, reaching the open waters of Bay of Bothnia, the northern basin of the Gulf of Bothnia, in early January. The Bothnian Sea, the basin south of it, freezes on average in late February. The Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Riga freeze typically in late January. The Baltic Sea The Bothnian Bay or Bay of Bothnia (Fin. ... The Bothnian Sea links the Bothnian Bay (called also Bay of Bothnia) with the Baltic proper. ...

The ice extent depends on whether the winter is mild, moderate or severe. Severe winters can ice the regions around Denmark and southern Sweden, and on rare cases the whole sea is frozen, such as in 1942. In 1987, some 96% of the Baltic Sea was iced, leaving only a small patch of open water to the west of Bornholm in the Baltic proper. Contrary to this, in milder winters the Bay of Bothnia and Gulf of Finland are the only larger areas that are ice covered, in addition to coastal fringes in more southerly locations such as the Gulf of Riga. Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea. ...

In spring, the Gulf of Finland and the Bothnian Sea normally thaw during late April, with some ice ridges persisting until May in the eastern Gulf of Finland. In the Bay of Bothnia ice usually stays until late May; by early June it is practically always gone.

During winter, fast ice which is attached to the shoreline, develops first, rendering the ports unusable without the services of icebreakers. Level ice, ice sludge, pancake ice or rafter ice form in the more open regions. The gleaming expanse of ice is similar to the Arctic, with wind-driven pack ice and ridges up to 15 m, and was noted by the ancients. Offshore of the landfast ice the ice remains very dynamic all year, because of its thickness it is relatively easily moved around by winds and therefore makes up large ridges and pile up against the landfast ice and shores. An icebreaker navigates through young (1 year) sea ice Sea ice is formed from ocean water that freezes. ... Shore A shore or shoreline is the land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. ... For other uses, see Icebreaker (disambiguation). ... Pancake ice is a form of ice that is formed on water covered to some degree in slush. ... The red line indicates the 10°C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region border Satellite image of the Arctic surface The Arctic is the region around the Earths North Pole, opposite the Antarctic region around the South Pole. ...

The ice cover is the main habitat only for a few larger species. The largest of them are the seals that both feed and breed on the ice, although the sea ice also harbors several species of algae that live in the bottom and inside brine pockets in the ice.

Hydrography

The Curonian Spit

The Baltic Sea flows out through the Danish straits; however, the flow is complex. A surface layer of brackish water discharges 940 km³ per year into the North Sea. Due to the difference in salinity, a sub-surface layer of more saline water moving in the opposite direction brings in 475 km³ per year. It mixes very slowly with the upper waters, resulting in a salinity gradient from top to bottom, with most of the salt water remaining below 40 to 70 m deep. The general circulation is counter-clockwise: northwards along its eastern boundary, and south along the western one (Alhonen 88). Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (489x773, 112 KB) Uploaded to de: by Jcornelius on April 8, 2004 (de:Bild:Nerija. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (489x773, 112 KB) Uploaded to de: by Jcornelius on April 8, 2004 (de:Bild:Nerija. ... Curonian Spit and Lagoon The Curonian Spit (Lithuanian: KurÅ¡ių Nerija, Russian: Куршская коса, German: Kurische Nehrung) is a 98 km long, thin, curved sand dune peninsula that separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea. ... The Danish straits are the three channels connecting the Baltic sea to the North Sea through the Kattegat and Skagerrak. ... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ... Annual mean sea surface salinity for the World Ocean. ...

The difference between the outflow and the inflow comes entirely from fresh water. More than 250 streams drain a basin of about 1.6 million km², contributing a volume of 660 km³ per year to the Baltic. They include the major rivers of north Europe, such as the Oder, the Vistula, the Neman, the Daugava and the Neva. Some of this water is polluted. Additional fresh water comes from the difference of precipitation less evaporation, which is positive. The Oder (or Odra) River (German: Oder, Polish/Czech: Odra, Ancient Latin: Viadua, Viadrus, Medieval Latin: Odera, Oddera) is a river in Central Europe (mostly in Poland). ... For other uses, see Vistula (disambiguation). ... The Neman (Belarusian: ; Lithuanian: ; Russian: ; Polish: ; German: ) is a major Eastern European river rising in Belarus and flowing through Lithuania before draining into the Baltic Sea near KlaipÄ—da. ... Daugava sunset in Riga. ... The River Neva (Russian: Нева́) is a 74 km-long Russian river flowing from Lake Ladoga (Ладожское Озеро, Ladožskoe Ozero) through the Karelian Isthmus (Карельский Перешеек, Karelskij PereÅ¡eek) and the city of Saint Petersburg (Санкт-Петербург, Sankt-Peterburg) to the Gulf of Finland (Финский Залив, Finskij Zaliv). ...

An important source of salty water are infrequent inflows of North Sea water into the Baltic. Such inflows, important to the Baltic ecosystem because of the oxygen they transport into the Baltic deeps, used to happen on average every four to five years until the 1980s. In recent decades they have become less frequent. The latest three occurred in 1983, 1993 and 2003 suggesting a new inter-inflow period of about ten years. The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ...

The water level is generally far more dependent on the regional wind situation than on tidal effects. However, tidal currents occur in narrow passages in the western parts of the Baltic Sea.

The significant wave height is generally much lower than that of the North Sea. Violent and sudden storms often sweep the surface, due to large transient temperature differences and a long reach of wind. Seasonal winds also cause small changes in sea level, of the order of 0.5 m (Alhonen 88). Signifacant Wave Height, also known as SWH, is the average height (trough to crest) of the largest one third of waves. ... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ...

Salinity

The Baltic Sea's salinity is much lower than that of ocean water (which averages 3.5%, or 35 parts per thousand), as a result of abundant freshwater runoff from the surrounding land; indeed, runoff contributes roughly one-fortieth its total volume per year, as the volume of the basin is about 21,000 km³ and yearly runoff is about 500 km³. The open surface waters of the central basin have salinity of 6 to 8 ‰. At the semienclosed bays with major freshwater inflows, such as head of Finnish Gulf with Neva mouth and head of Bothnian gulf with close mouths of Lule, Tornio and Kemi, the salinity is considerably lower. Below 40 to 70 m, the salinity is between 10 and 15 ‰ in the open Baltic Sea, and more than this near Danish Straits. Annual mean sea surface salinity for the World Ocean. ... This page refers to concentration in the chemical sense. ...

The flow of fresh water into the sea from rivers and the flow of salty from the South builds up a gradient of salinity in the Baltic Sea. Near the Danish straits the salinity is close to that of the Kattegat, but still not fully oceanic, because the saltiest water that passes the straits is still already mixed with considerable amounts of outflow water.. The salinity steadily decreases towards North and East. At the northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia the water no longer tastes salty and many fresh water species live in the sea. The salinity gradient is paralleled by a temperature gradient. These two factors limit many species of animals and plants to a relatively narrow region of Baltic Sea. The Danish straits are the three channels connecting the Baltic sea to the North Sea through the Kattegat and Skagerrak. ... The Baltic Sea The Gulf of Bothnia (Fin. ...

The most saline water remains on the bottom, creating a barrier to the exchange of oxygen and nutrients, fostering totally different maritime environments. General Name, symbol, number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series nonmetals, chalcogens Group, period, block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless (gas) pale blue (liquid) Standard atomic weight 15. ...

Regional emergence

The land is still emerging isostatically from its subsident state, which was caused by the weight of the last glaciation. The phenomenon is known as post-glacial rebound. Consequently, the surface area and the depth of the sea are diminishing. The uplift is about eight millimetres per year on the Finnish coast of the northernmost Gulf of Bothnia. In the area, the former seabed is only gently sloped, leading to large areas of land being reclaimed in, geologically speaking, relatively short periods (decades and centuries). Isostasy is a term used in Geology to refer to the state of ice above stasy and is angravitational equilibrium between the Earths lithosphere and asthenosphere such that the tectonic plates float at an elevation which depends on their thickness and density. ... Changes in the elevation of Lake Superior due to glaciation and post-glacial rebound Post-glacial rebound (sometimes called continental rebound, isostatic rebound or isostatic adjustment) is the rise of land masses that were depressed by the huge weight of ice sheets during the last ice age, through a process...

Geographic data

Subdivisions

The northern part of the Baltic Sea is known as the Gulf of Bothnia, of which the northernmost part is the Bay of Bothnia or Bothnian Bay. The more rounded southern basin of the gulf is called Bothnian Sea and immediately to the south of it lies the Sea of Åland. The Gulf of Finland connects the Baltic Sea with St Petersburg. The Gulf of Riga lies between the Latvian capital city of Riga and the Estonian island of Saaremaa. The Baltic Sea The Gulf of Bothnia (Fin. ... The Baltic Sea The Bothnian Bay or Bay of Bothnia (Fin. ... The Bothnian Sea links the Bothnian Bay (called also Bay of Bothnia) with the Baltic proper. ... The Sea of Ã…land is the waters located in the southern Gulf of Bothnia, between the Ã…land islands and the Swedish mainland. ... The Baltic Sea The Gulf of Finland is an arm of the Baltic Sea that extends between Finland (to the north) and Estonia (to the south) all the way to the city of Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and... The Gulf of Riga The Gulf of Riga (or Bay of Riga, Latvian RÄ«gas jÅ«ras lÄ«cis, Estonian Liivi Laht) is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. ... For other uses, see Riga (disambiguation). ... Map of the Estonian archipelago (Saaremaa and Hiiumaa) Landsat satellite photo of Saaremaa Saaremaa is the largest island (2,673 km²) belonging to Estonia. ...

The Northern Baltic Sea lies between the Stockholm area, southwestern Finland and Estonia. The Western and Eastern Gotland Basins form the major parts of the Central Baltic Sea or Baltic proper. The Bornholm Basin is the area east of Bornholm, and the shallower Arkona Basin extends from Bornholm to the Danish isles of Falster and Zealand. For other uses, see Stockholm (disambiguation). ... The Gotland Basin is the large central basin in the Baltic Sea between Sweden and the Baltic countries. ... Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea. ... Falster is a Danish island. ... Map showing location of Zealand within Denmark. ...

In the south, the Bay of Gdańsk lies east of the Hel peninsula on the Polish coast and west of Sambia in Kaliningrad Oblast. The Bay of Pomerania lies north of the islands of Usedom and Wolin, east of Rügen. Between Falster and the German coast lie the Bay of Mecklenburg and Bay of Lübeck. The westernmost part of the Baltic Sea is the Bay of Kiel. The three Danish straits, the Great Belt, the Little Belt and The Sound (Øresund), connect the Baltic Sea with the Kattegat bay and Skagerrak strait in the North Sea. The confluence of these two seas at Skagen on the northern tip of Denmark is a visual spectacle visited by many tourists each year. The Bay of GdaÅ„sk (also known as the GdaÅ„sk Bay or Gulf of GdaÅ„sk; in Polish Zatoka GdaÅ„ska; in German Danziger Bucht) is a southeastern bay of the Baltic sea enclosed by a large curve of the shores of GdaÅ„sk Pomerania in Poland (Cape Rozewie... Hel Peninsula as seen from Landsat satellite in 2000 Kitesurfing, Hel Peninsula Hel Peninsula (Polish Mierzeja Helska, Kashubian Hélskô Sztremlëzna, German Halbinsel Hela) is a 35-km-long sand bar peninsula in northern Poland separating the Bay of Puck from the open Baltic Sea. ... Sambia (German: ; Polish: ; Russian: ) is a peninsula in the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, on the south-eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. ... Kaliningrad Oblast (Russian: , Kaliningradskaya Oblast; informally called Yantarny kray (, meaning amber region) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) on the Baltic coast. ... Bay of Pomerania or Pomeranian Bay (Polish: Zatoka Pomorska; German: Pommersche Bucht) is a basin in the south-western Baltic Sea, off the shores of Poland and Germany. ... Landsat satellite photo of Szczecin Lagoon - Usedom is the western of the two large islands separating the waters of the Lagoon from the Baltic Sea, the eastern island is Wolin. ... Wolin is the name shared by an island located in the Baltic Sea located just off the Polish coast, and a town located on the island. ... Map of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania highlighting the district Rügen Rügen (Polish: Rugia) is an island located off the coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the Baltic Sea. ... Bay of Mecklenburg (in German: Mecklenburgische Bucht, Danish: Mecklenburg Bugt, and Polish: Zatoka Meklemburska) is a basin in the south-western Baltic Sea, between the shores of Germany to the south and the Danish islands of Lolland, Falster, and Møn to the north. ... The Bay of Lübeck (German: Lübecker Bucht) is a basin in the southwestern Baltic Sea, off the shores of German lands of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein. ... Bay of Kiel (German: Kieler Bucht; Polish: Zatoka KiloÅ„ska) is a basin in the south-western Baltic Sea, off the shores of German land Schleswig-Holstein and the islands of Denmark. ... The Danish straits are the three channels connecting the Baltic sea to the North Sea through the Kattegat and Skagerrak. ... The straits of Denmark. ... A picture of the Lillebælt in Denmark The Little Belt or Small Belt (Danish:Lillebælt) is a strait between the Danish island of Funen and the Jutland Peninsula. ... Northern Öresund Oresund (Öresund in Swedish or Øresund in Danish) or The Sound, is the strait that separates Zealand from Scania, and thereby Denmark from Sweden. ... The Baltic Sea The Kattegat (Danish), or Kattegatt (Swedish), is a bay of the North Sea and a continuation of the Skagerrak, bounded by Denmark and Sweden. ... The Skagerrak strait runs between Norway and the southwest coast of Sweden and the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat strait, which leads to the Baltic Sea. ... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ... The sand-engulfed Buried Church (tilsandede kirke) at Skagen. ...

Land use

Polish coast dunes.

The Baltic sea drainage basin is roughly four times the surface area of the sea itself. About 48% of the region is forested, with Sweden and Finland containing the majority of the forest, especially around the Gulfs of Bothnia and Finland. Image File history File links 2_SPN_01. ... Image File history File links 2_SPN_01. ... This article is about the sand formations, for other meanings see Dune (disambiguation) Mesquite Flat Dunes in Death Valley National Park In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by eolian (wind-related) processes. ...

About 20% of the land is used for agriculture and pasture, mainly in Poland and around the edge of the Baltic Proper, in Germany, Denmark and Sweden. About 17% of the basin is unused open land with another 8% of wetlands. Most of the latter are in the Gulfs of Bothnia and Finland.

The rest of the land is heavily populated.

Demographics

About 85 million people live in the Baltic drainage basin, 15 million within 10 km of the coast and 29 million within 50 km of the coast. Around 22 million live in population centers of over 250,000. 90% of these are concentrated in the 10 km band around the coast. Of the nations containing all or part of the basin, Poland includes 45% of the 85 million, Russia 12%, Sweden 10% and the others (see below) less than 6% each.

Geologic history

The Baltic Sea somewhat resembles a riverbed, with two tributaries, the Gulf of Finland and Gulf of Bothnia. Geological surveys show that before the Pleistocene instead of the Baltic Sea was a wide plain around a big river called the Eridanos. Several glaciation episodes during the Pleistocene scooped out the river bed into the sea basin. By the time of the last, or Eemian interglacial (MIS 5e), the Eemian sea was in place. For other uses, see River (disambiguation). ... The Baltic Sea The Gulf of Finland is an arm of the Baltic Sea that extends between Finland (to the north) and Estonia (to the south) all the way to the city of Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. ... The Baltic Sea The Gulf of Bothnia (Fin. ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... The Pleistocene epoch (IPA: ) on the geologic timescale is the period from 1,808,000 to 11,550 years BP. The Pleistocene epoch had been intended to cover the worlds recent period of repeated glaciations. ... The name Eridanus or Eridanos, derived from the ancient Greek Eridanos was given by geologists to a river which flowed in what is now the bed of the Baltic Sea. ... A glaciation (a created composite term meaning Glacial Period, referring to the Period or Era of, as well as the process of High Glacial Activity), often called an ice age, is a geological phenomenon in which massive ice sheets form in the Arctic and Antarctic and advance toward the equator. ... The Pleistocene epoch (IPA: ) on the geologic timescale is the period from 1,808,000 to 11,550 years BP. The Pleistocene epoch had been intended to cover the worlds recent period of repeated glaciations. ... Two ice core temperature records; the Eemian is at a depth of about 1500-1800 meters in the lower graph The Eemian interglacial era (known as the Sangamon era in North America, the Ipswichian interglacial in the UK, and the Riss-Würm interglacial in the Alps) is the second... Marine isotopic stages (MIS) are alternating warm and cool periods in the Earths palaeoclimate, deduced from oxygen isotope data reflecting temperature curves derived from data from deep sea core samples. ...

From that time the waters underwent a geologic history summarized under the names listed below. Many of the stages are named after marine animals (e.g. the Littorina mollusk) that are clear markers of changing water temperatures and salinity. Species , common periwinkle , flat periwinkle , rough periwinkle , checkered periwinkle Periwinkles are mollusks of the genus Littorina. ... Classes Caudofoveata Aplacophora Polyplacophora Monoplacophora Bivalvia Scaphopoda Gastropoda Cephalopoda † Rostroconchia The mollusks or molluscs are the large and diverse phylum Mollusca, which includes a variety of familiar creatures well-known for their decorative shells or as seafood. ...

A cliff Olando kepurė, Lithuania — a shore of the former Littorina Sea

The factors that determined the sea’s characteristics were the submergence or emergence of the region due to the weight of ice and subsequent isostatic readjustment, and the connecting channels it found to the North Sea-Atlantic, either through the straits of Denmark or at what are now the large lakes of Sweden, and the White Sea-Arctic Sea. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,810 × 1,207 pixels, file size: 637 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,810 × 1,207 pixels, file size: 637 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ... The Atlantic Ocean, not including Arctic and Antarctic regions. ... Map of the White Sea Two satellite photos of the White Sea The White Sea (Russian: ) is an inlet of the Barents Sea on the North Western coast of Russia. ... The Arctic Ocean, located entirely in the north polar region, is the smallest of the worlds five oceans (after the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Southern Ocean), and the shallowest. ...

• Eemian Sea, 130,000–115,000 (years ago)
• Baltic ice lake, 12,600–10,300
• Yoldia Sea, 10,300–9500
• Ancylus Lake, 9,500–8,000
• Mastogloia Sea 8,000–7,500
• Littorina Sea, 7,500–4,000
• Post-littorina Sea 4,000–present

The Eemian sea was a body of water located approximately where the Baltic sea is now during the last or Eemian interglacial, MIS 5e, roughly 130,000 to 115,000 BP. Sea level was 5 to 7 meters higher globally than it is today, due to the prior release of... The Baltic ice lake is a name given by geologists to a freshwater lake that gradually formed in the Baltic sea basin as the glacier retreated over that region at the end of the Pleistocene. ... Yoldia sea is a name given by geologists to a variable brackish-water stage in the Baltic sea basin that prevailed after draining of Baltic ice lake had reduced the lake level to then sea level. ... Ancylus lake is a name given by geologists to the body of fresh water that replaced the Yoldia sea after the latter had been severed from its saline intake across central Sweden by the isostatic rise of south Scandinavian landforms. ... // Mastogloia Sea The Mastogloia Sea is one of the prehistoric stages of the Baltic Sea in its development after the last ice age. ... The Wisconsin (in North America), Weichsel (in Scandinavia), Devensian (in the British Isles), Midlandian (in Ireland) or Würm glaciation (in the Alps) is the most recent period of the Ice Age, and ended some 10,000 BC. The Wisconsin/Weichsel/Devensian/Midlandian/Würm glaciation began about 70,000...

History

At the time of the Roman Empire, the Baltic Sea was known as the Mare Suebicum or Mare Sarmaticum. Tacitus in his AD 98 Agricola and Germania described the Mare Suebicum, named for the Suebi tribe, during the spring months, as a brackish sea when the ice on the Baltic Sea broke apart and chunks floated about. The Suebi eventually migrated south west to reside for a while in the Rhineland area of modern Germany, where their name survives in the historic region known as Swabia. The Sarmatian tribes inhabited Eastern Europe and southern Russia. Jordanes called it the Germanic Sea in his work the Getica. For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... Gaius Cornelius Tacitus Publius or Gaius Cornelius Tacitus (c. ... Suebi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Brackish redirects here. ... This article is about the body of water. ... Germany, showing modern borders. ... Sarmatian Cataphract Sarmatians, Sarmatae or Sauromatae (the second form is mostly used by the earlier Greek writers, the other by the later Greeks and the Romans) were a people whom Herodotus (4. ... The Origin and Deeds of the Goths (Latin: De origine actibusque Getarum), commonly referred to as Getica, was written by Jordanes, probably in Constantinople, and was published in AD 551. ...

Since the Viking age, the Scandinavians have called it "the Eastern Lake" (Austmarr, "Eastern Sea", appears in the Heimskringla and Eystra salt appears in Sörla þáttr), but Saxo Grammaticus recorded in Gesta Danorum an older name Gandvik, "-vik" being Old Norse for "bay", which implies that the Vikings correctly regarded it as an inlet of the sea. (Another form of the name, "Grandvik", attested in at least one English translation of Gesta Danorum, is likely to be a misspelling.) Viking Age is the term denoting the years from about 800 to 1066 in Scandinavian History[1][2][3]. // The Vikings have been much maligned in European history, due in large part to their violent attacks on Christians in the first centuries of their excursions out of Scandinavia. ... Heimskringla is the Old Norse name of a collection of sagas recorded in Iceland around 1225 by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (1179-1242). ... Sörla þáttr is a short tale which says that it begins 24 years after the death of Frodi, and takes place in the 9th and the 10th centuries. ... Saxo, etching by the Danish-Norwegian illustrator Louis Moe (1857 – 1945) Saxo Grammaticus (estimated. ... Bishop Asgar, etching by the Danish-Norwegian illustrator Louis Moe (1857—1945) Gesta Danorum (Deeds of the Danes) is a work of Danish history, by 12th century author Saxo Grammaticus (Saxo the Grammarian). It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark. ... 1. ... Old Norse or Danish tongue is the Germanic language once spoken by the inhabitants of the Nordic countries (for instance during the Viking Age). ...

In addition to fish the sea also provides amber, especially from its southern shores. The bordering countries have traditionally provided lumber, wood tar, flax, hemp, and furs. Sweden had from early medieval times also a flourishing mining industry, especially on iron ore and silver. Poland had and still has extensive salt mines. All this has provided for rich trading since the Roman times. For other uses, see Fish (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Amber (disambiguation). ... Timber in storage for later processing at a sawmill Lumber or Timber is a term used to describe wood, either standing or that has been processed for use—from the time trees are felled, to its end product as a material suitable for industrial use—as structural material for construction... Tar can be produced from corn stalks by heating in a microwave. ... For other uses, see Flax (disambiguation). ... U.S. Marihuana production permit. ... For other uses, see Fur (disambiguation). ... This article is about mineral extractions. ... For other uses, see Iron (disambiguation). ... This article is about the chemical element. ... For other uses, see Salt (disambiguation). ...

In the early Middle Ages, Vikings of Scandinavia fought for control over the sea with Slavic Pomeranians. The Vikings used the rivers of Russia for trade routes, finding their way eventually to the Black Sea and southern Russia. Lands next to the sea's eastern shore were among the last in Europe to be converted into Christianity in the Northern Crusades: Finland in the twelfth century by the Swedes, and what are now Estonia and Latvia in the early thirteenth century by the Danes and the Germans (Livonian Brothers of the Sword). The powerful German Teutonic Knights gained control over most of the southern and eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, while fighting the Poles, the Danes, the Swedes, the Russians of ancient Novgorod, and the Lithuanians (the last Europeans to convert to Christianity). The name Viking is a loan from the native Scandinavian term for the Norse seafaring warriors who raided the coasts of Scandinavia, Europe and the British Isles from the late 8th century to the 11th century, the period of European history referred to as the Viking Age. ... Distribution of Slavic people by language The Slavic peoples are a linguistic and ethnic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in Europe, where they constitute roughly a third of the population. ... Pomeranians (Pomorzanie) are a group of Slavic tribes living in historical region of Pomerania along the shore of Baltic Sea between Oder and Vistula rivers. ... For other uses, see Black Sea (disambiguation). ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... The Teutonic knights in Pskov in 1240. ... Map of the Livonian Confederation, showing the territories of the Order in 1260 Capital Fellin (Viljandi) Language(s) Low German Religion Roman Catholicism Government Principality Master of the Livonian Order  - 1204–09 Wenno von Rohrbach  - 1209–36 Volquin  - 1237–38 Hermann Balk¹  - 1559–61 Gotthard Kettler¹ Historical era Middle Ages... For the state, see Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights. ... Medieval walls of Novgorod City The Novgorod Feudal Republic (Новгородская феодальная республика or Novgorodskaya feodalnaya respublika in Russian) was a powerful medieval state which stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains between the 12th and 15th century. ... The fresco in the Vilnius Cathedral, dating to the Christianization of Lithuania The Christianization of Lithuania (Lithuanian: ) was the event that took place in 1387, initiated by the Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland Jogaila with his cousin Vytautas, that signified the official adoption of Christianity by Lithuanians...

Later, the strongest economic force in Northern Europe became the Hanseatic league, which used the Baltic Sea to establish trade routes between its member cities. In the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Denmark and Sweden fought wars for Dominium Maris Baltici ("Ruling over the Baltic Sea"). Eventually, it was the Swedish Empire that virtually encompassed the Baltic Sea. In Sweden the sea was then referred to as Mare Nostrum Balticum ("Our Baltic Sea"). Carta marina of the Baltic Sea region (1539). ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Sweden between the years 1611 and 1718 is known as the Swedish Empire. ...

In the eighteenth century, Russia and Prussia became the leading powers over the sea. Russia's Peter the Great saw the strategic importance of the Baltic and decided to found his new capital, St. Petersburg at the mouth of the Neva river at the east end of the Gulf of Finland. There was much trading not just within the Baltic region but also with the North Sea region, especially eastern England and the Netherlands: their fleets needed the Baltic timber, tar, flax and hemp. For other uses, see Prussia (disambiguation). ... Peter the Great or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov (Russian: Пётр I Алексеевич Pyotr I Alekse`yevich, Пётр Великий Pyotr Veli`kiy) (9 June 1672 – 8 February 1725 [30 May 1672–28 January 1725 O.S.][1]) ruled Russia from 7 May (27 April O.S.) 1682 until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and... The River Neva (Russian: Нева́) is a 74 km-long Russian river flowing from Lake Ladoga (Ладожское Озеро, Ladožskoe Ozero) through the Karelian Isthmus (Карельский Перешеек, Karelskij PereÅ¡eek) and the city of Saint Petersburg (Санкт-Петербург, Sankt-Peterburg) to the Gulf of Finland (Финский Залив, Finskij Zaliv). ... The Baltic Sea The Gulf of Finland is an arm of the Baltic Sea that extends between Finland (to the north) and Estonia (to the south) all the way to the city of Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...

During the Crimean War, a joint British and French fleet attacked the Russian fortresses by bombarding Sveaborg, which guards Helsinki; Kronstadt, which guards St. Petersburg; and by destroying Bomarsund in the Åland Islands. After the unification of Germany in 1871, the whole southern coast became German. The First World War was partly fought in the Baltic Sea. After 1920, Poland returned to the Baltic Sea, and the Polish ports of Gdynia and Gdańsk became leading ports of the Baltic. Combatants Allies: Second French Empire British Empire Ottoman Empire Kingdom of Sardinia Russian Empire Bulgarian volunteers Casualties 90,000 French 35,000 Turkish 17,500 British 2,194 Sardinian killed, wounded and died of disease ~134,000 killed, wounded and died of disease The Crimean War (1853–1856) was fought... Utsikt över Sveaborg (View over Sveaborg), painting by Augustin Ehrensvärd Suomenlinna (Finnish), or Sveaborg (Swedish), is an inhabited sea fortress built on six islands, today within Helsinki, the capital of Finland. ... Location of Helsinki in Northern Europe Coordinates: , Country Province Region Uusimaa Sub-region Helsinki Charter 1550 Capital city 1812 Government  - Mayor Jussi Pajunen Area  - Total 187. ... 1888 map of Kronstadt bay Kronstadt (Russian: Кронштадт; also Kronshtadt, Cronstadt) is a strongly fortified Russian seaport town, located on Kotlin Island, near the head of the Gulf of Finland, at 59°5930 N and 29°4630 E. It lies... Bomarsund is a 19th-century fortress in the Åland Islands in the Baltic Sea. ... National motto: ? Official language Swedish Capital Mariehamn Governor Peter Lindbäck Premier Roger Nordlund Total Area  - Land  - Water 6,784 km² 1,527 km² 5,258 km² Population  - Total (2002)  - Density 26,257 17. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Gdynia (IPA: , German: (until 1939 and after 1945) / Gotenhafen (1939-1945); Kashubian: ) is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport at GdaÅ„sk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea. ... For alternative meanings of GdaÅ„sk and Danzig, see GdaÅ„sk (disambiguation) and Danzig (disambiguation) Motto: Nec temere, nec timide (No rashness, no timidness) Coordinates: , Country Voivodeship Powiat city county Gmina GdaÅ„sk Established 10th century City Rights 1263 Government  - Mayor PaweÅ‚ Adamowicz Area  - City 262 km²  (101. ...

During the Second World War, Germany reclaimed all of the southern shore and much of the eastern by occupying Poland and the Baltic states. In 1945, the Baltic Sea became a mass grave for drowned people on torpedoed refugee ships. As of 2004, the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff remains the worst maritime disaster, killing (very roughly) 9,000 people. In 2005, a Russian group of scientists found over five thousand airplane wrecks, sunken warships, and other material mainly from the Second World War, lying at the bottom of the sea. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. ... In the Baltic Sea during WW II several ships that were loaded with evacuees have been torpedoed and sunk. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Wilhelm Gustloff slides into the water during launch ceremonies. ... Look up material in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

After 1945, the sea was a border between opposing military blocks: in the case of military conflict in Germany, in parallel with a Soviet offensive towards the Atlantic Ocean, communist Poland's fleet was prepared to invade the Danish isles.

Since May 2004, on the accession of the Baltic states and Poland, the Baltic Sea has been almost entirely surrounded by countries of the European Union (EU). The only remaining non-EU areas are the Russian metropolis of St. Petersburg and the Kaliningrad Oblast exclave. The three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Kaliningrad Oblast (Russian: , Kaliningradskaya Oblast; informally called Yantarny kray (, meaning amber region) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) on the Baltic coast. ... D is Bs exclave, but is not an enclave. ...

Winter storms begin arriving in the region during October. These have caused numerous shipwrecks, such as the sinking of the ferry M/S Estonia en route from Tallinn, Estonia, to Stockholm, Sweden, in 1994, which claimed the lives of hundreds. Older, wood-based shipwrecks such as the Vasa tend to remain well-preserved, as the Baltic's cold and brackish water does not suit the shipworm. Model of the M/S Estonia in Tallinns Maritime Museum M/S Estonia, formerly the Viking Sally (–1990), the Silja Star (-1991), and the Wasa King (-1993), was a cruiseferry built in 1980 at the German shipyard Meyer Werft in Papenburg. ... County Area 159. ... For other uses, see Stockholm (disambiguation). ... Vasa (or Wasa[2]) is a 64-gun warship, built for Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden 1626-1628. ... Genera Kuphus Bactronophorus Neoteredo Dicyathifer Teredothyra Teredora Psiloteredo Uperotus Lyrodus Teredo Nototeredo Spathoteredo Nausitoria Bankia … Shipworms are not in fact worms at all, but rather a group of marine mollusc (Eulamellibranchiata) in the family Teredinidae. ...

Biology

Approximately 100,000 km² of the Baltic's seafloor (a quarter of its total area) is a variable dead zone. The more saline (and therefore denser) water remains on the bottom, isolating it from surface waters and the atmosphere. This leads to decreased oxygen concentrations within the zone. It is mainly bacteria that grow in it, digesting organic material and releasing hydrogen sulfide. Because of this large anaerobic zone, the seafloor ecology differs from that of the neighbouring Atlantic.

The low salinity of the Baltic sea has led to the evolution of many slightly divergent species, such as the Baltic Sea herring, which is a smaller variant of the Atlantic herring. The benthic fauna consists mainly of Monoporeia affinis, which is originally a freshwater species. The lack of tides has affected the marine species as compared with the Atlantic. Species Clupea alba Clupea bentincki Clupea caspiopontica Clupea chrysotaenia Clupea elongata Clupea halec Clupea harengus Clupea inermis Clupea leachii Clupea lineolata Clupea minima Clupea mirabilis Clupea pallasii Clupea sardinacaroli Clupea sulcata Herrings are small oily fish of the genus Clupea found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Atlantic... The Atlantic Ocean, not including Arctic and Antarctic regions. ... Seagrass growing off the coast of the Florida Keys. ... Binomial name Monoporeia affinis Lindström, 1855 Monoporeia affinis, less frequently referred to as Pontoporeia affinis, is a small, yellowish benthic amphipod common in the Baltic Sea, measuring ca. ... This article is about tides in the ocean. ...

Economy

See also: Baltic Sea ferries

Bridge into the sea in Palanga, the most popular sea resort in Lithuania

Construction of the Great Belt Bridge (1997) and Oresund Bridge (1999) over the international waterway of the Danish Straits has limited the Baltic Sea to medium-sized vessels ^{[citation needed]}. The Baltic Sea is the main trade route for export of Russian oil. Many of the neighboring countries are concerned about this, since a major oil leak would be disastrous in the Baltic given the slow exchange of water and the many unique species. The tourism industries, especially in economies dependent on tourism like northeastern Germany, are naturally