Baltic Sea Facts: Learn All About The Sea And Its Bordering Countries

With a surface size of 162,162 sq mi (420,000 sq km), the Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea that is the world's most important body of brackish water.

The Baltic Sea's drainage area is roughly four times its surface area and is home to about 85 million inhabitants. The Baltic Sea is shallower than 98 ft (30 m) across more than a third of its length, resulting in a small total volume of water compared to its surface area.

Because of the input of water from the surrounding land and the sea's shallowness, the saltiness of the Baltic Sea is substantially lower than that of ocean water. As a result, the Baltic is classified as a brackish inland sea.

Brackish water is saltier than fresh water but not as salty as ocean water. The Baltic Sea gets seawater from the North Sea every decade or so.

Origin Of The Name

Even though the source of the name 'Baltic' is unknown, it could have come from the German word 'belt', which was once used to describe the two Danish straits. On the other hand, other sources indicate that the name was taken directly from a Germanic word meaning 'belt'.

The Baltic Sea was named after Adam of Bremen, who claimed that the sea spread through the land like a belt.

The Baltic Sea is found in Northern Europe, between 53-66 degrees north latitude and 20-26 degrees east longitude. The Scandinavian Peninsula, Northern Europe, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Danish islands form its borders.

The Oresund, the Little Belt, and the Great Belt drain into the Kattegat. The Kattegat flows into the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea via the Skagerrak. The White Sea Canal is an artificial canal.

The White Sea Canal connects the Baltic Sea with the White Sea, and the Kiel Canal connects the Baltic Sea to the North Sea directly. The North Sea-Baltic Sea Canal is the official name for the Kiel Canal.

Rivers Draining Into The Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea receives water from more than 250 streams and rivers. The seven most significant rivers in the Baltic Sea catchment are the Gota, Tornio, Daugava, Neva, Nemunas, Oder, and Vistula.

The Neva is the biggest river in the Baltic Sea.

The Neva is a 46 mi (74 km) long river that flows via Saint Petersburg, Shlisselburgand and Kivorsk, and is the only river that originates in Lake Ladoga. The War of the Neva (1240), the establishment of Saint Petersburg (1703), and the Battle of Leningrad in World War II are all historical events associated with it.

The Baltic Sea has an average depth of 180 ft (55 m) and a maximum of 1,506 ft (459 m) beneath the sea's surface. When Germany controlled Poland with most of the Baltic states during World War II, it recovered its eastern and southern coasts.

Amber deposits can also be discovered in the Baltic Sea, particularly along the southern shores of Russia, Lithuania, and Poland. Severe northeasterly winds can produce strong waves around the south coasts, causing storm surges.

The first descriptions of amber formations on the Baltic Sea's south coast come from the 12th century.

The eastern shore of the Baltic was one of the last in Europe that converted to Christianity. Beginning in the 11th century, immigrants, primarily from Germany, settled on the Baltic's southern and eastern shores.

The Climate Of The Baltic Sea

Winters in the center and northern areas are longer and more frosty, but winters in the southern and the southwestern regions are damp and pleasant. The Baltic Sea area is also experiencing global climate change.

The temperature of the Baltic Sea and its catchment is affected by the air circulation system of the Northern Hemisphere.

Due to its geographical position, topography, and land-sea contrast, the region's climate is marked by seasonal fluctuations. The North Atlantic Oscillation network impacts the primary air pressure system, which in turn has an impact on atmospheric circulation and precipitation.

During the winter, around 45% of the sea surface freezes. The Gulf of Finland, Gulf of Riga, Gulf of Bothnia, Stockholm archipelago, and the Archipelago Sea are covered by ice.

Several algae thrive in the base and defrosted brine pockets of sea ice. The impacts of the aforementioned high-pressure region did not reach the Baltic Sea's southern sections, and hence, the entire sea did not ice over.

Islands In The Baltic Sea

You can find over 20 archipelagos and islands in the Baltic Sea. Gotland, off the coast of Sweden, is the Baltic Sea's largest island, measuring 1,156 sq mi (2,994 sq km).

The Gulf of Bothnia is the northernmost portion of the Baltic Sea, while Bothnian Bay or the Bay of Bothnia is the northernmost section of the Gulf of Bothnia. The Gulf of Finland connects St Petersburg and the Baltic Sea.

Apart from sheltered bays and small lagoons, the Baltic Sea, or the Central Baltic Sea, does not generally freeze. However, ice begins to form on the northern coast of the Gulf of Bothnia around November.

In early January, it reaches the open seas of Bothnian Bay, the Gulf of Bothnia's northern basin.

The Bothnian Sea and the basin south of it are usually frozen in late February. Late January is when the Gulf of Riga and the Gulf of Finland usually ice over.

The Baltic Sea drainage basin covers nearly four times the sea's surface area. The Baltic Sea mimics a river bed (Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland). The riverbed was carved out into the sea basin by multiple glaciations during the Pleistocene.

The Eemian Sea was formed by the latest or Eemian interglacial processes. During the Roman Empire, the Baltic Sea was named the Mare Sarmaticum or Mare Suebicum. Southern Russia and Eastern Europe were home to the Sarmatian tribes.

The Scandinavians called it 'the Eastern Lake' because the Viking Age (Austmarr, 'Eastern Sea', comes in the Heimskringla, while Eystra salt occurs in Sörla áttr), although Saxo Grammaticus reported an older name, Gandvik, in his Gesta Danorum. After 1945, the sea became a de facto frontier between competing military blocs.

In a military confrontation in Germany, socialist Poland's fleet was ready to invade the Danish Isles with a Soviet assault towards the Atlantic Ocean.

By capturing the Baltic states and Poland during World War II, Germany regained the whole southern shore and a large portion of the eastern side. In addition to fish, the sea supplies amber, particularly along its southern shores.

Marine Life And Protected Areas

The Baltic Sea's fauna includes both marine and freshwater species. Cod, hake, stickleback, herring, plaice, shorthorn sculpin, flounder, and turbot are examples of marine fishes that live there. Marine and freshwater vegetation and wildlife abound in the Baltic Sea. The diversity of organisms varies depending on the depth and location.

Atlantic herring, European flounder, European hake, Atlantic cod, and turbot are among the marine fish species found there. Northern pike, whitefish, and common roach are among the freshwater species. Streams and rivers that run into the sea are abundant with freshwater species. In the Baltic Sea, low oxygen levels limit production and biodiversity on the seafloor.

Because of the diminishing salinity between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Danish belts, species have declined along this route. The Arkona Basin, on the other hand, is one of the most diverse areas, with over 600 mammal species, birds, and fish.

There are about 750 species in the Gulf of England.

Many glacial relict species (Arctic species that remained behind after the previous glacier) live in the Baltic Sea, such as the isopod Saduria entomon, ringed seal, and fourhorn sculpin.

Bottlenose dolphins, harbor porpoises, Atlantic white-sided dolphins, and whales are among the other species found in the Baltic Sea (beluga, mink, and beaked whales). The world's second-largest shark, just after the whale shark, the basking shark, is one of the most prominent megafaunas in the Baltic Sea.

Because the Baltic Sea is a unique and fragile environment that supports a diverse range of species, it has been classified as a Marine Protected Area (MPAs) in many regions. In addition, nature 2000 sites, biosphere sites, and Ramsar sites are protected areas.

To conserve two bird species, the razorbill and the common guillemot, a five sq mi (12.7 sq km) region east of Bornholm has been declared a Bird Directive Area. Hvidodde Rev and David's Banke are two other places.

The Helsinki Convention covers all aspects of protecting the Baltic Sea from environmental damage caused by air, land, and sea-based operations.

It also requires signatories to take steps to protect ecosystems and biological variety and ensure that marine resources are used sustainably. The nine countries bordering the European Union and the Baltic Sea are Contracting Members to the Convention.

Marine species coexist with freshwater species, which grow in freshwater streams or can endure the brackish temperatures on a Baltic scale. Although there are multiple examples of biological evolution and diversification, both fresh and marine creatures are stressed by brackish water.

Consequently, freshwater species predominate in the inner and far less saline portions, even though marine species are more frequent in the southern parts. Invasive species affect fish and marine resources by degrading, changing, or displacing native habitats and competing with native life for food, shelter, and territory.

Nine nations border the Baltic Sea across Northern Europe: Germany, Denmark, Lithuania, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Russia, and Sweden. The Baltic Sea has served as a strong link between these nations and a resource of human livelihood for as long as humans have lived nearby. St Petersburg is a prominent Russian city on the Baltic Sea's eastern shore.

In 1992, a revised convention was signed in response to political trends and ecological and maritime legislation innovations. As a result, on January 17, 2000, the Baltic Sea Area Convention on the prevention of the Marine Environment came into force.

The Baltic Sea anomaly is a phenomenon apparent on an unclear sonar image obtained in June 2011 with Dennis Berg, Peter Lindberg, and the Swedish 'Ocean X' dive team. They were on a treasure hunt along the northern Baltic Sea bottom at the middle of the Gulf of Bothnia.