Citizendia
Your Ad Here

For other uses, see Baltic (disambiguation).

Phytoplankton bloom in the Baltic Proper, July 3, 2001.
Phytoplankton bloom in the Baltic Proper, July 3, 2001. Phytoplankton are the Autotrophic component of the Plankton community Events 324 - Battle of Adrianople Constantine I defeats Licinius, who flees to Byzantium. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar.

The Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. Northern Europe is a term for the northern part of Europe. The United Nations defines Northern Europe as (Finland Latitude, usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter phi ( Φ) gives the location of a place on Earth (or other planetary body north or south of the Longitude (ˈlɒndʒɪˌtjuːd or ˈlɒŋgɪˌtjuːd symbolized by the Greek character Lambda (λ is the east-west Geographic coordinate measurement It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. The Scandinavian Peninsula is a geographic region in northern Europe, consisting principally of the Mainland territories of Norway and Sweden The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and the Little Belt. The Kattegat ( Danish) or Kattegatt ( Swedish) is a sea area bounded by Jutland ( Denmark and extreme north Germany) Øresund or The Sound (Øresund Öresund is the Strait that separates the Danish island Zealand (Danish Sjælland) from the The Great Belt (Storebælt is a Strait between the main Danish islands of Zealand ( Sjælland) and Fyn. The Little Belt (Lillebælt is a Strait between the Danish island of Funen and the Jutland Peninsula. The Kattegat continues through the Skagerrak into the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The Skagerrak Strait runs between Norway and the southwest coast of Sweden and the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, connecting the The North Sea is a marginal, Epeiric sea of the Atlantic Ocean on the European Continental shelf. 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 White Sea (Бе́лое мо́ре Vienanmeri is an Inlet of the Barents Sea on the northwest coast of Russia. The White Sea-Baltic Sea Canal (Belomorsko-Baltiyskiy Kanal BBK) is a Ship canal that joins the White Sea and the Baltic Sea near The Kiel Canal (Nord-Ostsee-Kanal until 1948 known as the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Kanal, is a 61 miles (98 kilometres long Canal in the German Bundesland 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. The Gulf of Bothnia (Pohjanlahti Bottniska viken ie Bottenviken + Bottenhavet is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea. The Gulf of Finland ( Finnish: Suomenlahti, Russian: Финский залив, Finskiy zaliv, Swedish: Finska viken The Gulf of Riga, or Bay of Riga, is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia.

Contents

Etymology

Map of the Baltic Sea
Map of the Baltic Sea

The first to name the Baltic Sea (Mare Balticum) was eleventh century German chronicler Adam of Bremen. Adam of Bremen (also Adam Bremensis) was one of the most important German Medieval Chroniclers He lived and worked in the second half of the The origin of the name is speculative. It might be connected to the Germanic word belt, a name used for two of the Danish straits, the Belts, while others claim it to be derived from Latin balteus (belt). The Belts are two straits in the Danish archipelago, Little Belt and Great Belt. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. [1] However it should be noted that the name of the Belts might be connected to Danish bælte, which also means belt. Furthermore Adam of Bremen himself compared the Sea with a belt stating that the Sea is named so because it stretches through the land as a belt (Balticus, eo quod in modum baltei longo tractu per Scithicas regiones tendatur usque in Greciam). Adam of Bremen (also Adam Bremensis) was one of the most important German Medieval Chroniclers He lived and worked in the second half of the He might also have been influenced by name of legendary island mentioned in The Natural History by Pliny the Elder. Naturalis Historia ( Latin for "Natural History" is an Encyclopedia written Circa AD 77 by Pliny the Elder. Gaius or Caius Plinius Secundus, ( AD 23 – August 25, AD 79 better known as Pliny the Elder, was an ancient Author Pliny mentions an island named Baltia (or Balcia) with reference to accounts of Pytheas and Xenophon. Baltia is a legendary island in Roman mythology, said to be in northern Europe Dates Pliny says that Timaeus (born about 350 BC believed Pytheas' story of the discovery of Amber. Xenophon (Ancient Greek, Modern Greek "Ξενοφών" "Ξενοφώντας" ca It is possible that Pliny refers to island named Basilia ("kingdom" or "royal") in On the Ocean by Pytheas. Baltia also might be derived from "belt" and means "near belt of sea (strait)". Meanwhile others have concluded that the name of the island originates from the Indo-European root *bhel meaning white, fair (note that 'baltas' means 'white' in today Lithuanian, while 'balts' means the same in modern Latvian language). Lithuanian ( lietuvių kalba) is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognised as one of the official languages of the European Union. Latvian language (latviešu valoda is the official state language of Latvia. 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. Baltica redirects here For the Russian beer, see Baltika Breweries Baltica is a name applied by geologists to a late- Proterozoic, The Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around and surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea. Amber is Fossil tree Resin, which is appreciated for its color and beauty The History of Greece traditionally encompasses the study of the Greek people, the areas they ruled historically and the territory now composing the modern state of The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Yet another explanation is that, while derived from the afore mentioned root, the name of the sea is related to naming for various forms of water and related substances in several European languages, that might have been originally associated with colors found in swamps. Another explanation is that the name was related to swamp and originally meant "enclosed sea, bay" as opposed to open sea. [2]

In the Middle Ages the sea was known by variety of names, the name Baltic Sea started to dominate only after 16th century. Usage of Baltic and similar terms to denote the region east from the sea started only in 19th century.

Name in other languages

The Baltic Sea is known by the equivalents of "East Sea", "West Sea", or "Baltic Sea" in different languages:

Geophysical data

Baltic Sea in winter
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). The Black Sea is an inland Sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolian peninsula ( Turkey It occupies a basin formed by glacial erosion.

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. A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States A fathom is a unit of Length in the Imperial system (and the derived U 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 square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. CM3 redirects here If you were looking for the 3rd game in the Cooking Mama series abbreviated as CM3 see here. A cubic mile is an Imperial / US customary (non- SI non- metric) unit of Volume, used in the United States. 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.

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 typical winter includes the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland, Gulf of Riga and Väinameri in the Estonian archipelago. The Gulf of Bothnia (Pohjanlahti Bottniska viken ie Bottenviken + Bottenhavet is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea. The Gulf of Finland ( Finnish: Suomenlahti, Russian: Финский залив, Finskiy zaliv, Swedish: Finska viken The Gulf of Riga, or Bay of Riga, is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. The remainder of the Baltic itself does not freeze during a normal winter, with the exception of sheltered bays and shallow lagoons such as the Curonian Lagoon. The Curonian Lagoon (or Bay, Gulf; Kuršių MariosKuršu Joma Zalew Kuroński Kurisches Haff Kуршский залив is separated from the Baltic The ice reaches its maximum extent in February or March; typical ice thickness in the northernmost areas in the Bothnian Bay, the northern basin of the Gulf of Bothnia, is about 70 cm for landfast sea ice. The Bothnian Bay or Bay of Bothnia (Perämeri Bottenviken is the most northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia, the northern part of the Baltic Sea. The thickness decreases further south.

Freezing begins in the northern coast of Gulf of Bothnia typically in middle of November, reaching the open waters of Bothnian Bay in early January. The Bothnian Bay or Bay of Bothnia (Perämeri Bottenviken is the most northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia, the northern part of the Baltic Sea. The Bothnian Sea, the basin south of it, freezes on average in late February. The Bothnian Sea ( Finnish: Selkämeri Swedish: Bottenhavet) links the Bothnian Bay (called also Bay of Bothnia with the Baltic proper The Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Riga freeze typically in late January.

The ice extent depends on whether the winter is mild, moderate or severe. Severe winters can lead to ice formation around Denmark and southern Sweden, and on rare occasions the whole sea is frozen, such as in 1942 and 1966. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. In 1987, some 96% of the Baltic Sea was ice-covered, leaving only a small patch of open water in the south-west around Bornholm. Bornholm (b̥ʌnˈhʌlˀm or [bɔʀnˈhɔlˀm]) ( Old Norse: Burgundarholm ' is a Danish Island in the Baltic Sea located However, in milder winters only restricted parts of the Bay of Bothnia and Gulf of Finland are ice covered, in addition to coastal fringes in more southerly locations such as the Gulf of Riga. In recent years a typical winter produces only ice in the northern and eastern extremities of the Sea. In 2007 there was almost no ice formation except for a short period in March. [3]

In spring, the Gulf of Finland and of Bothnia normally thaw during late April, with some ice ridges persisting until May in the eastern Gulf of Finland. In the northernmost reaches of the Bothnian Bay 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. Fast ice ( land-fast ice, landfast ice) is Sea ice that has frozen along Coasts ("fastened" to them along the Shoals or A shore or shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water such as an Ocean, Sea, or Lake. An icebreaker is a special purpose Ship or Boat designed to move and navigate through Ice -covered waters Level ice, ice sludge, pancake ice or rafter ice form in the more open regions. Pancake ice is a form of Ice that consists of round pieces of ice with diameters ranging from a few inches to many feet in diameter depending on the local conditions that affect 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. The Arctic is the Region around the Earth 's North Pole, opposite the Antarctic region around the South Pole. 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.

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 Curonian Spit

The Baltic Sea flows out through the Danish straits; however, the flow is complex. The Curonian Spit (Kuršių Nerija Куршская коса Mierzeja Kurońska Kurische Nehrung Kuršu kāpas is a 98 km long thin curved sand- Dune spit The Danish straits are the three channels connecting the Baltic sea to the North Sea through the Kattegat and Skagerrak. A surface layer of brackish water discharges 940 km³ per year into the North Sea. The North Sea is a marginal, Epeiric sea of the Atlantic Ocean on the European Continental shelf. 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. Salinity is the Saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of Water. 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 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. The Oder (known in Czech and Polish as Odra) is a River in Central Europe. "Nieman" and "Niemen" redirects here For other uses see Neman and Nieman (disambiguation. The Daugava or Western Dvina (Daugava Западная Двина́ (Zapadnaya Dvina Заходняя Дзвiна za'xodnʲaja dzʲvʲi'na Dźwina Düna Väina Some of this water is polluted. Additional fresh water comes from the difference of precipitation less evaporation, which is positive. In Meteorology, precipitation (also known as one class of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric

An important source of salty water are infrequent inflows of North Sea water into the Baltic. The North Sea is a marginal, Epeiric sea of the Atlantic Ocean on the European Continental shelf. 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 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. In Physical oceanography, significant wave height, also known as SWH, or H s, is the average Wave height ( trough The North Sea is a marginal, Epeiric sea of the Atlantic Ocean on the European Continental shelf. 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).

Salinity

The Baltic Sea's salinity is much lower than that of ocean water (which averages 3. Salinity is the Saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of Water. 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 ‰. In Chemistry, concentration is the measure of how much of a given substance there is mixed with another substance 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.

The flow of fresh water into the sea from rivers and the flow of salt 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 Danish straits are the three channels connecting the Baltic sea to the North Sea through the Kattegat and Skagerrak. . 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 Gulf of Bothnia (Pohjanlahti Bottniska viken ie Bottenviken + Bottenhavet is the northernmost arm of the Baltic 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 most saline water remains on the bottom, creating a barrier to the exchange of oxygen and nutrients, fostering totally different maritime environments. Oxygen (from the Greek roots ὀξύς (oxys (acid literally "sharp" from the taste of acids and -γενής (-genēs (producer literally begetteris the

Regional emergence

The land is still emerging isostatically from its subsident state, which was caused by the weight of the last glaciation. Isostasy (Greek isos = "equal" stásis = "standstill" is a term used in Geology to refer to the state of gravitational equilibrium between the The phenomenon is known as post-glacial rebound. Post-glacial rebound (sometimes called continental rebound, isostatic rebound, isostatic adjustment or post-ice-age isostatic recovery) 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).

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 Gulf of Bothnia (Pohjanlahti Bottniska viken ie Bottenviken + Bottenhavet is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea. The Bothnian Bay or Bay of Bothnia (Perämeri Bottenviken is the most northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia, the northern part of the Baltic Sea. 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 Bothnian Sea ( Finnish: Selkämeri Swedish: Bottenhavet) links the Bothnian Bay (called also Bay of Bothnia with the Baltic proper The Sea of Åland is the waters located in the southern Gulf of Bothnia, between the Åland islands and the Swedish mainland The Gulf of Finland connects the Baltic Sea with Saint Petersburg. The Gulf of Finland ( Finnish: Suomenlahti, Russian: Финский залив, Finskiy zaliv, Swedish: Finska viken Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River The Gulf of Riga lies between the Latvian capital city of Riga and the Estonian island of Saaremaa. The Gulf of Riga, or Bay of Riga, is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. Riga (Rīga riːga) the Capital of Latvia, is situated on the Baltic Sea coast on the mouth of the river Daugava. Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Saaremaa is the largest Island belonging to Estonia, measuring 2673 km².

The Northern Baltic Sea lies between the Stockholm area, southwestern Finland and Estonia. ('stɔkhɔlm is Sweden 's Capital and its largest City. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the parliament, and the The Western and Eastern Gotland Basins form the major parts of the Central Baltic Sea or Baltic proper. The Gotland Basin is the large central basin in the Baltic Sea between Sweden and the Baltic countries. 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. Bornholm (b̥ʌnˈhʌlˀm or [bɔʀnˈhɔlˀm]) ( Old Norse: Burgundarholm ' is a Danish Island in the Baltic Sea located Falster is a Danish island The area of the island is 514 km² (198 sq Zealand (also Sealand Danish: Sjælland;) is the largest Island (7031 km² of Denmark (excluding Greenland

In the south, the Bay of Gdańsk lies east of the Hel peninsula on the Polish coast and west of Sambia in Kaliningrad Oblast. Gdańsk Bay or the Bay of Gdańsk (Zatoka Gdańska Gduńskô Hôwinga Гданьская бухта also known as Danzig Bay (Danziger Bucht is a southeastern Hel Peninsula ( Mierzeja Helska Półwysep Helski Hélskô Sztremlëzna Halbinsel Hela or Putziger Nehrung) is a 35-km-long Sand bar Peninsula Sambia (Земландский полуостров Zemlandsky poluostrov) or Samland ( is a Peninsula in the Kaliningrad Oblast of Kaliningrad Oblast (Калинингра́дская о́бласть Kaliningradskaya oblast; informally called Yantarny kray (ru Янта́рный край meaning The Bay of Pomerania lies north of the islands of Usedom and Wolin, east of Rügen. The Bay of Pomerania or Pomeranian Bay (Polish Zatoka Pomorska; German Pommersche Bucht) is a basin in the southwestern Baltic Sea, off the Usedom (Usedom, Uznam) is a Baltic Sea island on the border between Germany and Poland. Rügen (ˈʁyːgən or Rugia is Germany 's largest Island. It is located in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Between Falster and the German coast lie the Bay of Mecklenburg and Bay of Lübeck. The Bay of Mecklenburg (Mecklenburger Bucht or Mecklenburgische Bucht; Mecklenburg Bugt also known as the Mecklenburg The Bay of Lübeck (Lübecker Bucht is a basin in the southwestern Baltic Sea, off the shores of German lands of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein The westernmost part of the Baltic Sea is the Bay of Kiel. |-|The Bay of Kiel (Kieler Bucht Kiel Bugt is a Bay in the southwestern Baltic Sea, off the shores of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany and the 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 Danish straits are the three channels connecting the Baltic sea to the North Sea through the Kattegat and Skagerrak. The Great Belt (Storebælt is a Strait between the main Danish islands of Zealand ( Sjælland) and Fyn. The Little Belt (Lillebælt is a Strait between the Danish island of Funen and the Jutland Peninsula. Øresund or The Sound (Øresund Öresund is the Strait that separates the Danish island Zealand (Danish Sjælland) from the The Kattegat ( Danish) or Kattegatt ( Swedish) is a sea area bounded by Jutland ( Denmark and extreme north Germany) The Skagerrak Strait runs between Norway and the southwest coast of Sweden and the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, connecting the The North Sea is a marginal, Epeiric sea of the Atlantic Ocean on the European Continental shelf. The confluence of these two seas at Skagen on the northern tip of Denmark is a visual spectacle visited by many tourists each year. Skagen ( The Skaw) is a projection of land and a town in Region Nordjylland on the northernmost tip of Vendsyssel-Thy, a part of the Jutland The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe

Land use

Polish coast dunes.
Polish coast dunes. In physical Geography, a dune is a Hill of Sand built by Aeolian processes.

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.

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. "Riverine" redirects here For the use of that term in Maritime geography, see there The Gulf of Finland ( Finnish: Suomenlahti, Russian: Финский залив, Finskiy zaliv, Swedish: Finska viken The Gulf of Bothnia (Pohjanlahti Bottniska viken ie Bottenviken + Bottenhavet is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea. Geological surveys show that before the Pleistocene instead of the Baltic Sea, there was a wide plain around a big river called the Eridanos. Geology (from Greek γη gê, "earth" and λόγος Logos, "speech" lit The Pleistocene ('plaɪstəsin is the epoch from 18 million to 10000 years BP covering the world's recent period The name Eridanos, derived from the ancient Greek Eridanos, was given by geologists to a river which flowed where the Baltic Sea is now (Overeem et al Several glaciation episodes during the Pleistocene scooped out the river bed into the sea basin. "Glacial" and "Glaciation" redirect here For the geological periods see Glacial period. The Pleistocene ('plaɪstəsin is the epoch from 18 million to 10000 years BP covering the world's recent period By the time of the last, or Eemian interglacial (MIS 5e), the Eemian sea was in place. The Eemian interglacial era, now known as the Eemian Stage is temporally equivalent to the Sangamon Stage in North America, the Ipswichian Stage in Marine isotopic stage s (MIS are alternating warm and cool periods in the Earth's paleoclimate, deduced from oxygen isotope data reflecting temperature curves derived

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. Littorina is a Genus of small sea Snails marine Gastropod molluscs in the family Littorinidae Molluscs are animals belonging to the phylum Mollusca. There are around 250000 extant Species within the phylum with an estimated 70000

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 marginal, Epeiric sea of the Atlantic Ocean on the European Continental shelf. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. The White Sea (Бе́лое мо́ре Vienanmeri is an Inlet of the Barents Sea on the northwest coast of Russia. The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major

History

At the time of the Roman Empire, the Baltic Sea was known as the Mare Suebicum or Mare Sarmaticum. 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 130000 to The Baltic ice lake is a name given by geologists to a freshwater lake that gradually formed in the Baltic Sea basin as glaciation retreated from that region at the Yoldia Sea is a name given by geologists to a variable Brackish -water stage in the Baltic Sea basin that prevailed after the Baltic ice lake was drained 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 The Mastogloia Sea is one of the prehistoric stages of the Baltic Sea in its development after the last ice age. Littorina Sea (also Litorina Sea) is a geological Brackish -water stage of the Baltic Sea, which existed around 7500–4000 BP and followed the The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial 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. Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (ca 56 &ndash ca 117 was a senator and a Historian of the Roman Empire. The Suebi or Suevi (from Proto-Germanic * swēbaz based on the Proto-Germanic root * swē- meaning "one's own" This article is about the body of water For other uses see SEA and Seas. 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. Swabia, Suabia, or Svebia ( German: Schwaben, Schwabenland or Ländle) is both a historic and linguistic The Sarmatian tribes inhabited Eastern Europe and southern Russia. The Sarmatians, Sarmatae or Sauromatae ( Old Iranian Sarumatah 'archer' Σαρμάτες Jordanes called it the Germanic Sea in his work the Getica. Jordanes (also Jordanis or even Iornandes) was a 6th century Roman Bureaucrat, who turned his hand to History later in life De origine actibusque Getarum (lit The Origin and Deeds of the Getae but referring to the Goths whom Jordanes considered Getae or the Getica

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. Viking Age is the term denoting the years from about 700 to 1066 in European history. Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse Kings' sagas. Sörla þáttr is a short narrative from a later and extended version of the Saga of Olaf Tryggvason found in the Flateyjarbók "Saxo" redirects here For the car see Citroën Saxo and for the bank see Saxo Bank Saxo Grammaticus (c Gesta Danorum ("Deeds of the Danes" is a work of Danish history by the 12th century author Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Literate" In Norse mythology, Gandvik is a dangerous Sea, known as 'Bay of Serpents' because of its tortuous shape Old Norse is the North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age (Another form of the name, "Grandvik", attested in at least one English translation of Gesta Danorum, is likely to be a misspelling. )

In addition to fish the sea also provides amber, especially from its southern shores. Fish are aquatic Vertebrate animals that are typically ectothermic (previously Cold-blooded) covered with scales, and equipped with two Amber is Fossil tree Resin, which is appreciated for its color and beauty The bordering countries have traditionally provided lumber, wood tar, flax, hemp, and furs. Lumber or timber is Wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural Material for Construction, or Tar is a viscous black Liquid derived from the Destructive distillation of organic matter Flax (also known as common flax or linseed) (binomial name Linum usitatissimum) is a member of the genus Linum This article is about the cultivation and uses of industrial hemp not its psychoactive cousin Cannabis (drug. Fur is a body hair of any non-human Mammal, also known as the Pelage. Sweden had from early medieval times also a flourishing mining industry, especially on iron ore and silver. Mining is the extraction of valuable Minerals or other geological materials from the earth usually (but not always from an Ore body Iron (ˈаɪɚn is a Chemical element with the symbol Fe (ferrum and Atomic number 26 Silver (ˈsɪlvɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol " Ag " (argentum from the Ancient Greek: ἀργήντος - argēntos gen Poland had and still has extensive salt mines. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Salt is a Dietary mineral composed primarily of Sodium chloride that is essential for Animal life but toxic to most land plants All this has provided for rich trading since the Roman times.

In the early Middle Ages, Vikings of Scandinavia fought for control over the sea with Slavic Pomeranians. A Viking is one of the Norse ( Scandinavian Explorers Warriors Merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas The Pomeranians (Pomeranen Pòmòrzónie Pomorzanie were a group of West Slavic Tribes who lived along the shore of the Baltic Sea between Oder The Vikings used the rivers of Russia for trade routes, finding their way eventually to the Black Sea and southern Russia. The Black Sea is an inland Sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolian peninsula ( Turkey 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). Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings The Northern Crusades or Baltic Crusades were Crusades undertaken by the Catholic kings of Denmark and Sweden, the German Livonian Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. Bishop Albert of Riga founded the Military order of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword (Fratres militiæ Christi Livoniae Schwertbrüderorden in 1202 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 Teutonic Order is a German Roman Catholic religious order. The Polish people, or Poles, (Polacy) are a Western Slavic Ethnic group of Central Europe, living predominantly in Poland. The term Dane may refer to People with a Danish ancestral or ethnic identity whether living in Denmark, emigrants or the descendants of emigrants "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. The Russian people (Русские— Russkie) are an East Slavic Ethnic group, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries The Novgorod Republic (Новгородская республика / Novgorodskaya respublika Новгородская земьля / Novgorodskaya zemlja) was a Lithuanians are the Baltic Ethnic group native to Lithuania, where they number a little over 3 million The Christianization of Lithuania (Lietuvos krikštas was the event that took place in 1387 initiated by the Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland

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. The Hanseatic League (also known as the Hansa) was an alliance of trading cities and their Guilds that established and maintained trade In the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Denmark and Sweden fought wars for Dominium Maris Baltici ("Ruling over the Baltic Sea"). The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, officially the Commonwealth of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania also known as the Most Serene Republic The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Eventually, it was the Swedish Empire that virtually encompassed the Baltic Sea. Sweden was between 1611 and 1718 one of the Great powers of Europe In Sweden the sea was then referred to as Mare Nostrum Balticum ("Our Baltic Sea").

In the eighteenth century, Russia and Prussia became the leading powers over the sea. The Russian Empire ( Pre-reform Russian: Pоссійская Имперія Modern Russian: Российская Империя translit: Rossiyskaya Prussia ( Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Prūsija Prūsija Prusy Old Prussian: Prūsa) was most recently a historic state Russia's Peter the Great saw the strategic importance of the Baltic and decided to found his new capital, Saint Petersburg at the mouth of the Neva river at the east end of the Gulf of Finland. Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River The Gulf of Finland ( Finnish: Suomenlahti, Russian: Финский залив, Finskiy zaliv, Swedish: Finska viken 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. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands

During the Crimean War, a joint British and French fleet attacked the Russian fortresses by bombarding Sveaborg, which guards Helsinki; Kronstadt, which guards Saint Petersburg; and by destroying Bomarsund in the Åland Islands. The Crimean War, also known in Russia as the Eastern War (Восточная война Vostochnaya Vojna) (March 1854–February 1856 was fought The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Suomenlinna, until 1918 Viapori, ( Finnish) or Sveaborg ( Swedish) is an inhabited sea fortress built on six islands today within Helsinki (in Finnish;) or Helsingfors (in Swedish;) is the Capital and largest city of Finland. Kronstadt (Кроншта́дт also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt (Krone for Crown and Stadt for City) is a Russian After the unification of Germany in 1871, the whole southern coast became German. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The First World War was partly fought in the Baltic Sea. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All After 1920, Poland returned to the Baltic Sea, and the Polish ports of Gdynia and Gdańsk became leading ports of the Baltic. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Gdynia (Gdingen (until 1939 Gotenhafen (1939-1945 Gdiniô is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important Seaport Gdańsk ( Polish pronunciation; 'Danzig', Gduńsk Gedania Dantiscum is the City at the centre of the fourth-largest Metropolitan area in Poland

During the Second World War, Germany reclaimed all of the southern shore and much of the eastern by occupying Poland and the Baltic states. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Baltic states (Balti riigid Baltijas valstis Baltijos valstybės or Baltic countries are three countries in Northern Europe, all members of the 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. Ship history The Wilhelm Gustloff was the first purpose-built cruise liner for the Nazi Kraft durch Freude (KdF (" Strength Through Joy " 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. Materials are physical Substances used as inputs to production or Manufacturing. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

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 Baltic states (Balti riigid Baltijas valstis Baltijos valstybės or Baltic countries are three countries in Northern Europe, all members of the Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in The only remaining non-EU areas are the Russian metropolis of Saint Petersburg and the Kaliningrad Oblast exclave. A metropolitan area is a large population center consisting of a large Metropolis and its adjacent zone of influence or of more than one closely adjoining neighboring central Kaliningrad Oblast (Калинингра́дская о́бласть Kaliningradskaya oblast; informally called Yantarny kray (ru Янта́рный край meaning

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. Construction The ship was originally ordered from Meyer Werft by a Norwegian shipping company led by Parley Augustsen with intended traffic between Tallinn (historically known by the German, Swedish and Danish name Reval or the Polish name Rewal, among other names ('stɔkhɔlm is Sweden 's Capital and its largest City. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the parliament, and the 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. History During the 17th century Sweden went from being a small poor and peripheral northern European kingdom of little influence to one of the major players in continental politics Shipworms are not worms at all but rather a group of unusual saltwater clams with very reduced shells notorious for boring into (and eventually destroying wooden structures which

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. Herring are small Oily fish of the genus Clupea found in the shallow temperate waters of the North Atlantic, the Baltic Sea, the North The benthic fauna consists mainly of Monoporeia affinis, which is originally a freshwater species. Benthos are the organisms which live on in or near the Seabed, also known as the Benthic zone. Monoporeia affinis, formerly referred to as Pontoporeia affinis ( Greek: pontos = sea poreia = to travel is a small yellowish The lack of tides has affected the marine species as compared with the Atlantic. Characteristics A tide is a repeated cycle of sea level changes in the following stages Over several hours the water rises or advances up a beach in the flood

Economy

See also: Baltic Sea ferries
Bridge into the sea in Palanga, the most popular sea resort in Lithuania
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. The Baltic Sea is crossed by several Cruiseferry lines Some important shipping companies are Viking Line, Silja Line, Tallink and Palanga ( is a seaside Resort town in western Lithuania, on the shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the The Great Belt Fixed Link (Storebæltsforbindelsen is the Fixed link between the Danish islands of Zealand and Funen across the Great Belt The Oresund Bridge ( Danish Øresundsbroen, Swedish Öresundsbron, joint hybrid name Øresundsbron) is a combined two-track rail International waterways Several international treaties have established freedom of navigation on semi-enclosed seas The Danish straits are the three channels connecting the Baltic sea to the North Sea through the Kattegat and Skagerrak. 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.

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. Gdańsk ( Polish pronunciation; 'Danzig', Gduńsk Gedania Dantiscum is the City at the centre of the fourth-largest Metropolitan area in Poland Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (often abbreviated HDW) is a German Shipbuilding company headquartered in Kiel. For the city in the United States, see Kiel Wisconsin. For the name see Kiel (name. Karlskrona is a city in the province of Blekinge in south-eastern Sweden. Kockums AB is a Shipyard in Malmö, Sweden owned by the German shipyard HDW in Kiel. Rauma ('rɑumɑ or Raumo in Swedish) is a town of ca 36500 inhabitants on the west coast of Finland, 92 kilometres north of Turku, and 50 Turku, in Swedish Åbo ( pronounced,) is a city and the original capital of Finland on the southwest coast of Finland at the Helsinki (in Finnish;) or Helsingfors (in Swedish;) is the Capital and largest city of Finland. Riga (Rīga riːga) the Capital of Latvia, is situated on the Baltic Sea coast on the mouth of the river Daugava. Liepāja (liepaja) is a city in western Latvia on the Baltic sea and the administrative center of Liepāja district. Klaipėda ( ˈklaɪpɛdə Memel is a City in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Curonian Lagoon where it flows into the Baltic Sea

There are several cargo and passenger ferry operators on the Baltic Sea, such as Silja Line, Polferries, Viking Line, Tallink and Superfast Ferries. See also Merchant ship A ferry is a form of transport usually a Boat or Ship, used to carry (or ferry) passengers and Silja Line ( Tallink Silja Oy) is a Finnish ferry company owned by the Estonian Ferry operator Tallink. Polferries is the largest Polish ferry operatorThe Polish Baltic Shipping Company was established on 31 January 1976 as a state-owned Shipping company Viking Line is a Finnish shipping company that operates a fleet of ferries and cruiseferries between Finland, the Åland Islands Tallink is an Estonian Shipping company currently operating cruiseferries and Ropax ships from Estonia to Finland, Estonia to Superfast Ferries is a Greece -based Ferry company founded in 1993 by Pericles Panagopulos and Alexander Panagopulos

The Helsinki Convention

1974 Convention

For the first time ever, all the sources of pollution around an entire sea were made subject to a single convention, signed in 1974 by the then seven Baltic coastal states. The 1974 Convention entered into force on 3 May 1980.

1992 Convention

In the light of political changes and developments in international environmental and maritime law, a new convention was signed in 1992 by all the states bordering on the Baltic Sea, and the European Community. After ratification the Convention entered into force on 17 January 2000. The Convention covers the whole of the Baltic Sea area, including inland waters and the water of the sea itself, as well as the sea-bed. Measures are also taken in the whole catchment area of the Baltic Sea to reduce land-based pollution. The Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area, 1992, entered into force on 17 January 2000.

The governing body of the Convention is the Helsinki Commission[2], also known as HELCOM, or Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission. The present contracting parties are Denmark, Estonia, the European Community, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Sweden.

The ratification instruments where deposited by the European Community, Germany, Latvia and Sweden in 1994, by Estonia and Finland in 1995, by Denmark in 1996, by Lithuania in 1997 and by Poland and Russia in November 1999.

Countries

Main article: Baltic Sea countries

Countries that border on the sea:

Countries that are in the drainage basin but do not border on the sea:

Islands and archipelagoes

Main article: List of islands in the Baltic Sea

Cities

The biggest coastal cities (by population):

Important ports (though not big cities):

See also

References

  1. ^ (Swedish) Project Runeberg. Baltic Seven Islandsgif|right|thumb|330px|A contemporary transnational Euroregion encompasses the islands of the Baltic countries The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Latvia ( Latvija officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region. Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. A drainage basin is an extent of Land where Water from Rain or Snow melt drains downhill into a body of water such as a River, Belarus ( Belarusian Беларусь / Biełaruś is a Landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional Slovakia (long form Slovak Republic; Slovak:, long form, is a Landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of over five million Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. This is a list of Islands in the Baltic Sea. Listed by Size Gotland (2994 km² belonging to Sweden) Saaremaa Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. An autonomous area is an area of a Country that has a degree of Autonomy, or freedom from an external authority Archipelago Sea ( Finnish Saaristomeri, Swedish Skärgårdshavet) is a part of the Baltic Sea between the Gulf of Bothnia Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. Pargas (ˈpɑrgɑs in Swedish and Parainen ( in Finnish) is a city in south-western Finland See also Själö ( Seili) an island in North-East Vrouw Maria - a shipwreck located in the municipality Kustavi (ˈkustɑʋi or Gustavs in Swedish, is a municipality of Finland. Bornholm (b̥ʌnˈhʌlˀm or [bɔʀnˈhɔlˀm]) ( Old Norse: Burgundarholm ' is a Danish Island in the Baltic Sea located The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe is a county, province and municipality of Sweden and the largest Island in the Baltic Sea. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Hailuoto ( Karlö in Swedish) is an Island and a municipality in the province of Oulu, Finland. Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. Hiiumaa is the second largest Island (989 km² belonging to Estonia. Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Kotlin (or Kettle Finnish Retusaari) is a Russian Island, located near the head of the Gulf of Finland, 20 miles west of Saint Petersburg Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Muhu (in German Moon or Mohn; in Estonian also called Muhumaa) is an Island in the Baltic Sea. Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region is the second largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional Provinces of Sweden. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Rügen (ˈʁyːgən or Rugia is Germany 's largest Island. It is located in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Saaremaa is the largest Island belonging to Estonia, measuring 2673 km². Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region The Stockholm Archipelago ( Swedish: Stockholms skärgård) is the biggest Archipelago of Sweden, and one of the biggest archipelagos of "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Värmdön is an island in the innermost region of the Stockholm archipelago and covers an area of 180 km², making it the largest island in the Archipelago "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Usedom (Usedom, Uznam) is a Baltic Sea island on the border between Germany and Poland. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Kvarken (alternative spelling Quarken, Swedish Kvarken, Finnish Merenkurkku, or North Kvarken as opposed to South Valsörarna ( Finnish Valassaaret) is a small Archipelago located in the Kvarken region of the Gulf of Bothnia. Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River ('stɔkhɔlm is Sweden 's Capital and its largest City. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the parliament, and the Copenhagen (ˌkəʊpənˈheɪgən ˌkəʊpənˈhɑːgən ˈkəʊpənˌheɪgən ˈkəʊpənˌhɑːgən kʰøb̥ənˈhɑʊ̯ˀn kʰøb̥m̩ˈhɑʊ̯ˀn is the capital and largest city Øresund or The Sound (Øresund Öresund is the Strait that separates the Danish island Zealand (Danish Sjælland) from the Helsinki (in Finnish;) or Helsingfors (in Swedish;) is the Capital and largest city of Finland. Gdańsk ( Polish pronunciation; 'Danzig', Gduńsk Gedania Dantiscum is the City at the centre of the fourth-largest Metropolitan area in Poland Tricity (or Tri-City, also called Treble City, in Polish Trójmiasto) is an Urban area Riga (Rīga riːga) the Capital of Latvia, is situated on the Baltic Sea coast on the mouth of the river Daugava. Tallinn (historically known by the German, Swedish and Danish name Reval or the Polish name Rewal, among other names Kaliningrad (Калининград is a Seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian Exclave between Poland Øresund or The Sound (Øresund Öresund is the Strait that separates the Danish island Zealand (Danish Sjælland) from the Gdynia (Gdingen (until 1939 Gotenhafen (1939-1945 Gdiniô is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important Seaport For the city in the United States, see Kiel Wisconsin. For the name see Kiel (name. Espoo (ˈespoː Esbo ( in Swedish) is the second largest city of Finland, with a population of approximately 240000 Lübeck ( is the second largest City in Schleswig-Holstein, in Northern Germany, and one of the major Rostock (ˈʁɔstɔk from Polabian Roz toc, literally "to flow apart" is the largest City in the north German state Klaipėda ( ˈklaɪpɛdə Memel is a City in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Curonian Lagoon where it flows into the Baltic Sea Turku, in Swedish Åbo ( pronounced,) is a city and the original capital of Finland on the southwest coast of Finland at the Oulu ( (literally "Flood" ( (literally "Ule River Castle" is a city and municipality of about 130000 inhabitants in the province of Liepāja (liepaja) is a city in western Latvia on the Baltic sea and the administrative center of Liepāja district. Pori ( Björneborg in Swedish) is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. Kotkan kaupunki Świnoujście (Swinemünde is a City and seaport on the Baltic Sea and Szczecin Lagoon, located in the extreme north-west of Poland Ventspils (ventspils; Windau is a City in northwestern Latvia on the coast of the Baltic Sea. Police ("poh-LEE-tze" (Pölitz Kashubian / Pomeranian: Pòlice) is a town in Pomerania, northwestern Poland ||-||-|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|} A port is a facility for receiving Ships and transferring cargo The Oder (known in Czech and Polish as Odra) is a River in Central Europe. Baltiysk (Балти́йск prior to 1945 known by its German name Pillau (Piława Piliava is a Russian seaport town in Kaliningrad Oblast Maardu is a town and a municipality in Harju County, Estonia. Władysławowo ( Kashubian / Pomeranian: Wiôlgô Wies, Großendorf is a town on the south coast of the Baltic Sea in the Kashubia Demographics A chart on population growth Sister cities Mariehamn is twinned with Visby, Sweden Kópavogur Hanko (ˈhɑŋko in Finnish Hangö in Swedish, and Гангут in Russian) is a Bilingual port town on the south coast Baltic Seven Islandsgif|right|thumb|330px|A contemporary transnational Euroregion encompasses the islands of the Baltic countries The Baltic states (Balti riigid Baltijas valstis Baltijos valstybės or Baltic countries are three countries in Northern Europe, all members of the The Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS is an overall political forum for regional intergovernmental cooperation This is a list of Rivers that drain into the Baltic Sea (clockwise from Öresund) Sweden See also Rivers of Sweden Nord Stream (Северный поток Nordeuropäische Gasleitung Gazociąg Północny former names North Transgas and North European Gas Pipeline; also Northern Europe is a term for the northern part of Europe. The United Nations defines Northern Europe as (Finland This table lists statistics ( 2002) ( Gdańsk, Świnoujście, Szczecin and Helsinki - 2004)( Klaipėda, Lübeck Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well
  2. ^ Dini, Pierto Umberto [1997] (2000). Baltu valodas, Translated from Italian by Dace Meiere (in Latvian), Riga: Jānis Roze. ISBN 9984-623-96-3.  
  3. ^ Sea Ice survey, Space Science and Engineering Centre, University of Wisconsin, http://www.ssec.wisc.edu

External links


Dictionary

Baltic Sea

-proper noun

  1. A sea in northern Europe, connected to the Atlantic.
© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic