NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Central Baltic Sea

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 Northern Europe, Eastern Europe and Central Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Öresund, 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. Northern Europe is marked in dark blue Northern Europe is a name of the northern part of the European continent. ... Latitude, usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter phi, , gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the equator. ... Longitude, sometimes denoted by the Greek letter Î» (lambda),[1][2] describes the location of a place on Earth east or west of a north-south line called the Prime Meridian. ... The Scandinavian Peninsula is in northeastern Europe, consisting principally of the mainland territories of Norway and Sweden. ... Northern Europe is marked in dark blue Northern Europe is a name of the northern part of the European continent. ... Regions of Europe as delineated by the United Nations (UN definition of Eastern Europe marked salmon): Northern Europe Western Europe Eastern Europe Southern Europe Pre-1989 division between the West (grey) and Eastern Bloc (orange) superimposed on current national boundaries: Russia (dark orange), other countries of the former USSR (medium... Central Europe The Alpine Countries and the VisegrÃ¡d Group (Political map, 2004) Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. ... 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 Ã–resund Oresund (Ã–resund in Swedish or Ã˜resund 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 LillebÃ¦lt in Denmark The Little Belt or Small Belt (Danish:LillebÃ¦lt) 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 BrunsbÃ¼ttel, Germany to the Baltic Sea at Kiel-Holtenau, Germany. ...

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. ...

Etymology

The first to name it the Baltic Sea ("Mare Balticum") was 11th 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, 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's Lithuanian language, for example). 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. 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 , c. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... The Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) is the hypothetical common ancestor of the Indo-European languages. ... Lithuanian is the official language of Lithuania, spoken by about 4 million native speakers (Lithuanians). ... 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). ... The Roman Empire is the name given to both the domain obtained by the city-state of Rome and also the corresponding phase of that civilization, characterized by an autocratic form of government. ... 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. ...

The name in other languages

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 is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ...

The Germanic languages are a group of related languages constituting a branch of the Indo-European (IE) language family. ... Baltic-Finnic languages are a subgroup of Finno-Ugric languages, spoken around the Baltic Sea by about 6 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. ... Baltic-Finnic languages are a subgroup of Finno-Ugric languages, spoken around the Baltic Sea by about 6 million people. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... The Romance languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family, comprise all languages that descended 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: kaszÃ«bsczi jÃ£zÃ«k, pÃ²mÃ²rsczi jÃ£zÃ«k, kaszÃ«bskÃ²-sÅ‚owiÅ„skÃ´ mÃ²wa) 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

The Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea, the largest body of brackish water in the world. The fact that it does not come from the collision of plates, but is a glacially scoured river valley, accounts for its relative shallowness. 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 the plankton that drift in the water column. ... July 3 is the 184th day of the year (185th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 181 days remaining. ... 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Brackish water is water that is saltier than fresh water, but not as salty as sea water. ...

Dimensions

The Baltic sea is about 1610 km (1000 miles) 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 cubic km (3129 cubic miles). The periphery amounts to about 8000 km (4968 miles) of coastline. [1] These figures are somewhat variable because a number of different estimates have been made. km redirects here. ... A mile is a unit of length, usually used to measure distance, in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, United States customary units and Swedish/Norwegian mil. ... A fathom is a unit of length equivalent to 6 feet or 2 yards. ...

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 Vainameri 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 Courland 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. ...

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. ... US Coast Guard icebreakers near McMurdo Station, February 2002 Icebreaker Polarstern An icebreaker is a special purpose ship designed to move and navigate through ice-covered marine environments. ... Pancake ice is a form of ice that is formed on water covered to some degree in slush. ... The red line indicates the 10Â°C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region border Satellite image of the Arctic surface The Arctic is the area around the Earths North Pole, opposite the Antarctican area 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 Baltic Sea flows out through the Danish straits; however, the flow is complex. A surface layer of brackish water discharges 940 cubic km 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 cubic km 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) The Danish straits are the three channels connecting the North Sea through the Kattegat and Skagerrak 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. ... 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 square km, contributing a volume of 660 cubic km 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). ... The Vistula (Polish: ) is the longest river in Poland. ... 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. ... River Daugava flowing through Riga city into the Baltic Sea The Daugava or Western Dvina (Latvian: Daugava, German DÃ¼na, Belarusan: Ð—Ð°Ñ…Ð¾Ð´Ð½ÑÑ Ð”Ð·ÑŒÐ²Ñ–Ð½Ð°, Russian: Ð—Ð°ÌÐ¿Ð°Ð´Ð½Ð°Ñ Ð”Ð²Ð¸Ð½Ð°Ì, Finnish VÃ¤inÃ¤) is a river rising in the Valdai Hills, flowing through Russia and Belarus, and then Latvia, draining into the Gulf of Riga, an arm of... The River Neva (Russian: ÐÐµÐ²Ð°Ì) is a 74 km-long Russian river flowing from Lake Ladoga (Ð›Ð°Ð´Ð¾Ð¶ÑÐºÐ¾Ðµ ÐžÐ·ÐµÑ€Ð¾, LadoÅ¾skoe Ozero) through the Karelian Isthmus (ÐšÐ°Ñ€ÐµÐ»ÑŒÑÐºÐ¸Ð¹ ÐŸÐµÑ€ÐµÑˆÐµÐµÐº, Karelskij PereÅ¡eek) and the city of Saint Petersburg (Ð¡Ð°Ð½ÐºÑ‚-ÐŸÐµÑ‚ÐµÑ€Ð±ÑƒÑ€Ð³, Sankt-Peterburg) to the Gulf of Finland (Ð¤Ð¸Ð½ÑÐºÐ¸Ð¹ Ð—Ð°Ð»Ð¸Ð², 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 becuse of the oxygen they transport into the Baltic deeps, used to happen on average every 4-5 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 10 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 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) 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 1/40th its total volume.(Alhonen 88) It varies from 0.1% in the north to 0.6-0.8% in the center. Below 40-70 m, it can be as much as 1.5-2.0%. Annual mean sea surface salinity for the World Ocean. ...

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 North Sea. The salinity steadily decreases towards North and East. At the bottom 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 North Sea through the Kattegat and Skagerrak 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 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) very pale blue (liquid) Atomic mass 15. ...

Regional emergence

The land is still emerging from its subsident state, which was caused by the weight of the last glaciation. 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 .

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 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 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. ... Map of Latvia Coordinates: Founded 1201 Mayor Aivars Aksenoks Area - City 307. ... This article is about the island. ...

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. (IPA: ; UN/LOCODE: SE STO) is the capital of Sweden, and consequently the site of its Government and Parliament as well as the residence of the Swedish head of state, King Carl XVI Gustaf. ... 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 HÃ©lskÃ´ SztremlÃ«zna, 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. ... Location of the Kaliningrad Oblast Map of the Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast Flag Kaliningrad Oblast (Russian: ; German: or Nordostpreussen, Northeast Prussia), informally called Yantarny kray (, meaning Amber region) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) on the Baltic coast, with no land connection to the rest of Russia; it... 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 RÃ¼gen RÃ¼gen (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 MÃ¸n to the north. ... The Bay of LÃ¼beck (German: LÃ¼becker Bucht; Polish: Zatoka Lubecka) is a basin in the southwestern Baltic Sea, off the shores of German lands of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania 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 North Sea through the Kattegat and Skagerrak to the Baltic sea. ... The straits of Denmark. ... A picture of the LillebÃ¦lt in Denmark The Little Belt or Small Belt (Danish:LillebÃ¦lt) is a strait between the Danish island of Funen and the Jutland Peninsula. ... Northern Ã–resund Oresund (Ã–resund in Swedish or Ã˜resund 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

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.

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. River Gambia flowing through Niokolokoba National Park A river is a large natural waterway. ... 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. ... World geologic provinces Oceanic crust 0-20 Ma 20-65 Ma >65 Ma Geologic provinces Shield Platform Orogen Basin Large igneous province Extended crust Geology (from Greek Î³Î·- (ge-, the earth) and Î»Î¿Î³Î¿Ï‚ (logos, word, reason))[1] is the science and study of the solid matter of the earth, its composition, structure... The Pleistocene epoch (IPA: ) is part of the geologic timescale. ... 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: ) is part of the geologic timescale. ... 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-WÃ¼rm 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 â€ 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. ...

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. 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. ... Look up Atlantic Ocean in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 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. ...

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 WÃ¼rm glaciation (in the Alps) is the most recent period of the Ice Age, and ended some 10,000 BC. The Wisconsin/Weichsel/Devensian/Midlandian/WÃ¼rm glaciation began about 70,000... Sea as seen from jetty in Frankston, Australia Look up maritime in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

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. The Roman Empire is the name given to both the domain obtained by the city-state of Rome and also the corresponding phase of that civilization, characterized by an autocratic form of government. ... Map of the Baltic Sea. ... Gaius Cornelius Tacitus Publius or Gaius Cornelius Tacitus (c. ... Events Roman emperor Nerva succeeded by Trajan Tacitus finished his Germania (approximate date) Births Deaths January 27: Nerva, Roman emperor Apollonius of Tyana, Greek/Roman philosopher and mathematician (b. ... Suebi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Brackish redirects here. ... Sea as seen from jetty in Frankston, Australia Look up maritime in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Germany. ... 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.) The Viking Age is the name of the period between 793 and 1066 AD in Scandinavia and Britain, following the Germanic Iron Age (and the Vendel Age in Sweden). ... 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). ... SÃ¶rla Ã¾Ã¡ttr 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 â€“ 1945) Saxo Grammaticus (estimated. ... Bishop Asgar, etching by the Danish-Norwegian illustrator Louis Moe (1857â€”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. A giant grouper at the Georgia Aquarium Fish are aquatic vertebrates that are typically cold-blooded; covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins. ... For other uses, see Amber (disambiguation). ... Lumber is the name used, generally in North America, for wood that has been cut into boards or other shapes for the purpose of woodworking or construction. ... Tar is a viscous black liquid derived from the destructive distillation of organic matter. ... Binomial name Linum usitatissimum Linnaeus. ... U.S. Marijuana production permit, from the film Hemp for Victory. ... A dogs fur usually consists of longer, stiffer, guard hairsâ€”which can be straight, wiry, or wavy, and of various lengths, hiding a soft, short-haired undercoat. ... This article is about mineral extraction. ... General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Atomic mass 55. ... General Name, Symbol, Number silver, Ag, 47 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 5, d Appearance lustrous white metal Atomic mass 107. ... A magnified crystal of a salt (halite/sodium chloride) Salt covering the floor of Bad Water in Death Valley, CA, the lowest point in the US. A salt, in chemistry, is any ionic compound composed of cations (positively charged ions) and anions (negative ions) so that the product is neutral...

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. 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. ... 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. ... Map of the Black Sea. ...

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 12th century by the Swedes, and what are now Estonia and Latvia in the early 13th 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 (latest of all Europeans to convert to Christianity). Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... The Teutonic knights in Pskov in 1240. ... Livonian Brothers The Livonian Brothers of the Sword (Latin Fratres militiae Christi, literally the brothers of the army of Christ), also known as the Christ Knights, Sword Brethren or The Militia of Christ of Livonia, was a military order organized in 1202 by Albert of Buxhoeveden, bishop of Riga (or... Hermann von Salza (c. ... Medieval walls of Novgorod City The Novgorod Feudal Republic (ÐÐ¾Ð²Ð³Ð¾Ñ€Ð¾Ð´ÑÐºÐ°Ñ Ñ„ÐµÐ¾Ð´Ð°Ð»ÑŒÐ½Ð°Ñ Ñ€ÐµÑÐ¿ÑƒÐ±Ð»Ð¸ÐºÐ° 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. ...

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 16th and early 17th centuries, Poland, 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). ... Sweden between the years 1611 and 1718 is known as the Swedish Empire. ...

In the 18th 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. Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 Prussia (German: ; Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Lithuanian: ; Polish: ; Old Prussian: PrÅ«sa) was, most recently, a historic state originating in East Prussia, an area which for centuries had substantial influence on German and European history. ... Peter was a tall figure, with an extremely striking build of 2. ... 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: ÐÐµÐ²Ð°Ì) is a 74 km-long Russian river flowing from Lake Ladoga (Ð›Ð°Ð´Ð¾Ð¶ÑÐºÐ¾Ðµ ÐžÐ·ÐµÑ€Ð¾, LadoÅ¾skoe Ozero) through the Karelian Isthmus (ÐšÐ°Ñ€ÐµÐ»ÑŒÑÐºÐ¸Ð¹ ÐŸÐµÑ€ÐµÑˆÐµÐµÐº, Karelskij PereÅ¡eek) and the city of Saint Petersburg (Ð¡Ð°Ð½ÐºÑ‚-ÐŸÐµÑ‚ÐµÑ€Ð±ÑƒÑ€Ð³, Sankt-Peterburg) to the Gulf of Finland (Ð¤Ð¸Ð½ÑÐºÐ¸Ð¹ Ð—Ð°Ð»Ð¸Ð², 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. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification - by Athelstan AD 927 Area - Total 130,395 kmÂ² (1st in UK) 50,346 sq mi Population - 2006 est. ...

During the Crimean War a joint fleet of Britain and France attacked the Russian fortresses by bombarding Sveaborg, which guards Helsinki, and Kronstadt, which guards St Petersburg, and 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 United Kingdom France Ottoman Empire Kingdom of Sardinia Russian Empire Casualties 17,500 British 90,000 French 35,000 Turkish 2,050 Sardinian killed, wounded and died of disease 256,000 killed, wounded and died of disease The Crimean War lasted from 1854 until 1 April 1856 and was... 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. ... Founded 1550 Country Finland Province Southern Finland Region Uusimaa Sub-region Helsinki Area[1] - Of which land - Rank 185. ... 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... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and... Bomarsund is a 19th-century fortress in the Åland Islands in the Baltic Sea. ... National motto: ? Official language Swedish Capital Mariehamn Governor Peter LindbÃ¤ck Premier Roger Nordlund Total Area - Land - Water 6,784 kmÂ² 1,527 kmÂ² 5,258 kmÂ² Population - Total (2002) - Density 26,257 17. ... 1871 (MDCCCLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Franz... Year 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... 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. ... GdaÅ„sk (IPA: ; German: , Kashubian: , Late Latin: ; older English Dantzig; also other languages) is Polands sixth-largest city, and also her principal seaport and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. ...

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 5,000 airplane wrecks, sunken warships, etc., mainly from the Second World War, lying at the bottom of the sea. Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom France Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Charles de Gaulle Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian... It has been suggested that Baltic Republics be merged into this article or section. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... 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. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom France Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Charles de Gaulle Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian...

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. Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ...

In May 2004 the Baltic Sea became almost completely a European Union internal sea when the Baltic states and Poland became parts of the European Union, leaving only the Russian metropolis of St Petersburg and the exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast as non-EU areas. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... It has been suggested that Baltic Republics be merged into this article or section. ... Metropolitan area in Western Tokyo as seen from Tokyo Tower A metropolitan area is a large population center consisting of a large city and its adjacent zone of influence, or of several neighboring cities or towns and adjoining areas, with one or more large cities serving as its hub or... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and... D is Bs exclave, but is not an enclave. ... Location of the Kaliningrad Oblast Map of the Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast Flag Kaliningrad Oblast (Russian: ; German: or Nordostpreussen, Northeast Prussia), informally called Yantarny kray (, meaning Amber region) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) on the Baltic coast, with no land connection to the rest of Russia; it...

The Baltic Sea starts to get very rough with the October storms. These winter storms have been the cause of many shipwrecks, for example, the sinking of the ferry M/S Estonia en route from Tallinn, Estonia to Stockholm, Sweden in 1994, which claimed the lives of hundreds. But thanks to the cold brackish water where the shipworm cannot survive, the sea is a time capsule for centuries-old shipwrecks. Perhaps the most famous one is the Vasa. M/S Estonia Model of the M/S Estonia in Tallinns Maritime Museum The M/S Estonia was a car and passenger ferry built in 1979 at the German shipyard Meyer Werft in Papenburg. ... County Harju County Mayor JÃ¼ri Ratas Area 159. ... (IPA: ; UN/LOCODE: SE STO) is the capital of Sweden, and consequently the site of its Government and Parliament as well as the residence of the Swedish head of state, King Carl XVI Gustaf. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... Shipworms are not in fact worms at all, but rather a peculiar variety of marine mollusk (Eulamellibranchiata). ... Vasa from the side Vasa (also Regalskeppet Wasa, or Wasa, of 64 guns) is a famous warship built for King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden of the House of Vasa, between the years 1626 and 1628. ...

Biology

Approximately 100,000 square km of the seafloor (¼ of the 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 temperate, shallow waters of the North Atlantic... Look up Atlantic Ocean in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In oceanography, marine geology and biology, benthos are the organisms and habitats of the sea floor; in freshwater biology they are the organisms and habitats of the bottoms of lakes, rivers, and creeks. ... Binomial name Monoporeia affinis LindstrÃ¶m, 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

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. 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 very concerned. The Great Belt Bridge The Great Belt Bridge (Danish: StorebÃ¦ltsbroen) is a suspension bridge that is part of the fixed link across the Great Belt in Denmark. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Satellite image of the Oresund Bridge. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... The terms international waters or transboundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their drainage basins) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regional seas and estuaries, rivers, lakes, groundwater systems (aquifers), and wetlands [1]. Oceans and seas, waters outside... The Danish straits are the three channels connecting the North Sea through the Kattegat and Skagerrak to the Baltic sea. ...

Shipbuilding is practiced in many large shipyards around the Baltic: Gdańsk, Szczecin in Poland, HDW in Kiel, Germany, Karlskrona and Kockums in Malmö, Sweden, and Rauma, Turku, Helsinki in Finland, Rīga, Liepāja in Latvia and Klaipėda in Lithuania. GdaÅ„sk (IPA: ; German: , Kashubian: , Late Latin: ; older English Dantzig; also other languages) is Polands sixth-largest city, and also her principal seaport and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. ... Szczecin (pronounce: ; German: ; Kashubian/Pomeranian: SztetÃ«no; Latin: Stetinum or Scecinum, also Sedinum) is the capital city of West Pomeranian Voivodship in Poland. ... view on HDW-shipyard at Kiel Howaldtswerke is a German shipyard founded 1838 in Kiel at the Bay of Kiel of the Baltic Sea. ... Kiel ( ) is a city in northern Germany and the capital of the Bundesland Schleswig-Holstein. ... Karlskrona is a city in south-eastern Sweden. ... Kockums in MalmÃ¶, 1970 Foto: PÃ¥l-Nils Nilsson. ... View over MalmÃ¶ towards the old city, from the Kronprinsen skyscraper. ... Rauma, or Raumo in Swedish, is a town of ca. ... Turku (IPA: , Swedish: ), founded in the 13th century, is the oldest and fifth largest city in Finland, with a population of 174,868 (as of 2005). ... Founded 1550 Country Finland Province Southern Finland Region Uusimaa Sub-region Helsinki Area[1] - Of which land - Rank 185. ... Riga (Latvian:RÄ«ga), the capital of Latvia, is situated on the Baltic Sea coast on the mouth of River Daugava, at 56Â°58â€² N 24Â°8â€² E. Riga is the largest city in the Baltic states and serves as a major cultural, educational, political, financial, commercial and industrial center... LiepÄja LiepÄja (German: Libau, Lithuanian: Liepoja, Polish: Lipawa, Russian: Ð›Ð¸Ð±Ð°Ð²Ð° / Libava or Ð›Ð¸ÐµÐ¿Ð°Ñ / Liyepaya, Yiddish: ×œ×™×‘×Ö·×°×¢ / Libave) is a city in western Latvia on the Baltic sea. ... Location Ethnographic region Lithuania minor County KlaipÄ—da County Municipality KlaipÄ—da city municipality Coordinates Number of elderates 1 General Information Capital of KlaipÄ—da County KlaipÄ—da city municipality Population 187,316 in 2006 (3rd) First mentioned 1252 Granted city rights 1254 or 1258 (LÃ¼beck); 1475 (CheÅ‚mno...

There are several cargo and passenger ferry operators on the Baltic Sea, such as Silja Line, Polferries, Viking Line, Tallink and Superfast Ferries. The Pride of Rotterdam, One of the P&O Ferriess Flagships operating the Hull-Rotterdam Route A ferry is a boat or a ship carrying passengers, and sometimes their vehicles, on scheduled services. ... Silja Line ships in Helsinki in 2004 Silja Line (Silja Oyj Apb) is a Finnish shipping company owned as of 2006 by the Estonian ferry operator Tallink. ... Polferries is the largest Polish ferry operator. ... Viking Line MS Gabriella Viking Line is a Finnish shipping company that operates a fleet of large combined cruiseferry ships between Finland, the Ã…land Islands, Sweden and Estonia. ... Tallinks logo Tallink is an Estonian shipping company currently operating cruiseferries and ropax ships from Estonia to Finland, Estonia to Sweden and Latvia to Sweden, as well as high-speed crafts between Helsinki and Tallinn. ... Superfast Ferries is a ferry company founded in 1995. ...

Countries

Islands and Archipelagoes

This is a list of islands in the Baltic Sea. ... National motto: ? Official language Swedish Capital Mariehamn Governor Peter LindbÃ¤ck Premier Roger Nordlund Total Area - Land - Water 6,784 kmÂ² 1,527 kmÂ² 5,258 kmÂ² Population - Total (2002) - Density 26,257 17. ... An autonomous (subnational) entity is a subnational entity that has a certain amount of autonomy. ... Map showing connections in the area A ferry in winter Hiittinen, 25 km west of Hanko The sea area of the Gulf of Bothnia between the Ã…land Islands and mainland Finland is called Archipelago Sea (Finnish Saaristomeri, Swedish SkÃ¤rgÃ¥rdshavet). ... Province Western Finland Region Finland Proper Sub-region Ã…boland City manager Folke Ã–hman Official languages Swedish, Finnish Area - total - land ranked 295th 272. ... Province Western Finland Region Finland Proper District Ã…boland City manager Bo Lindholm Official languages Swedish, Finnish Area - total - land ranked 309th 247. ... Province Western Finland Region Finland Proper District Ã…boland City manager Patrik NygrÃ©n Official languages Swedish, Finnish Area - total - land ranked 352nd 170. ... Province Western Finland Region Finland Proper District Ã…boland City manager Mikael Grannas Official languages Swedish, Finnish Area - total - land ranked 380th 121. ... Kustavi (Gustavs in Swedish) is a municipality of Finland. ... Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea. ... is a county and province of Sweden and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. ... Location of Hailuoto Hailuoto (KarlÃ¶ in Swedish) is an island and a municipality in the province of Oulu, Finland. ... Tahkuranna the northern most part of Hiiumaa, Estonia Hiiumaa (Swedish, German: DagÃ¶) is the second largest island belonging to Estonia. ... Kotlin (or Kettle; Finnish Retusaari, or Rat Island) is a Russian island, located near the head of the Gulf of Finland, 20 miles west of Saint Petersburg in the Baltic Sea. ... Muhu, also called Muhumaa, is an island in the Baltic Sea. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Map of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania highlighting the district RÃ¼gen RÃ¼gen (Polish: Rugia) is an island located off the coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the Baltic Sea. ... This article is about the island. ... The Stockholm Archipelago (Swedish: Stockholms SkÃ¤rgÃ¥rd) is the biggest archipelago of Sweden, and one of the biggest archipelagos of the baltic sea. ... VÃ¤rmdÃ¶n is an island in the innermost region of the Stockholm archipelago and covers an area of 180 kmÂ², making it the biggest island in the archipelago. ... 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. ... Valassaaret, or ValsÃ¶rarna (Finnish and Swedish for Whale Islands) is a small archipelago in the Gulf of Bothnia between Finland (the owner) and Sweden. ... 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. ...

Cities

Kotka (finnish Eagle) is a town and municipality of Finland. ... ÅšwinoujÅ›cie (pronounce: [,É•vinÉ”ujÉ•tÉ•È‹e], German SwinemÃ¼nde) is a town in Pomerania, north-western Poland, situated on the islands of Uznam and Wolin with about 44,500 inhabitants (2004). ... Ventspils (Russian: , formerly Ð’Ð¸Ð½Ð´Ð°Ð²Ð°; German: Windau, Polish: Windawa, Livonian: VÇŸnta) is a city in northwestern Latvia on the coast of the Baltic Sea. ... Baltiysk (Ð‘Ð°Ð»Ñ‚Ð¸Ð¹ÑÐº) â€“ known prior to 1945 by its German name, Pillau (Polish PiÅ‚awa, Lithuanian Piliava)â€“ is a Russian sea port in the strait between Vistula Bay and Gdansk Bay, called Strait of Baltiysk on the territory of Kaliningrad Oblast with about 20,000 inhabitants. ... See Puck (mythology), a nature spirit Puck (comics), a diminuitive superhero in Marvel Comics Puck (Shakespeare), from A Midsummer Nights Dream Hockey puck, the ball used to play ice hockey Puck (moon), a moon of Uranus Puck, Poland, a town in Poland Puck, a character in the Japanese anime... The word Hanko may refer to Hanko, Finland, town and municipality Hanko Peninsula Hanko, a Japanese signature stamp Hanko is sometimes a misspelling of Hankou (汉口), China This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Contents

Etymology

The name in other languages

Geophysical data

Dimensions

Sea ice

Hydrography

Salinity

Regional emergence

Geographic data

Subdivisions

Land use

Demographics

Geologic history

History

Biology

Economy

Countries

Islands and Archipelagoes

Cities

See also

References

External links

Contents

Etymology

The name in other languages

Geophysical data GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Dimensions

Sea ice

Hydrography

Salinity

Regional emergence

Geographic data

Subdivisions

Land use

Demographics

Geologic history

History

Biology

Economy

Countries

Islands and Archipelagoes

Cities

See also

References

External links

Geophysical data