Central Baltic Sea | Bothnian Sea | Gulf Of Finland | Gulf Of Riga
The Baltic Sea is located in Northern Europe and is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of 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.
The Baltic Sea is a brackish (saltier than freshwater but not as salty as sea water) inland sea, it is 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.
The Baltic sea is about 1610 km (1000 miles) long, an average of 193 km (120 miles) wide, and an average of 55 metres (180 feet, 30 fathoms) deep. The maximum depth is 459 metres (1506 feet), on the Swedish side of the centre. The surface area is about 377,000 km² (145,522 square miles) and the volume is about 21,000 cubic km (3129 cubic miles). The periphery amounts to about 8000 km (4968 miles) of coastline. Because a number of different estimates have been made, these measurements are variable.
About 45% of the Baltic sea's surface area is covered with ice annually. The areas that are covered with ice during a normal winter are the Gulf Of Bothnia, the Gulf Of Finland, the 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 capacity during March and February, the thickest parts being in the North areas in Bothnian Bay which reaches about 70cm thick which is quite a lot for a land fast sea. As the sea moves southwards, the ice thickness decreases.
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The Baltic Sea itself incorporates other Gulfs and Bays, which are named as seas and bays in their own right. These: Central Baltic Sea, Gulf Of Bothnia which incorporates the Bay Of Bothnia and Bothnian Sea, Gulf Of Riga and the Gulf Of Finland.
Central Baltic Sea - the Western and Eastern Gotland Basins form the major parts of the Central Baltic Sea or as it is also known - Baltic proper.
Gulf Of Bothnia (Bothnian Sea and Bay Of Bothnia) - this is the most Northern part of the Baltic arm and is situated between Finland's west coast and Sweden's east coast. In the south of the Gulf Of Bothnia, lie the Aland Islands, between the Sea of Aland and the Archipelago Sea.
The Gulf Of Bothnia is 725 km (450 miles) long, 80-240 km (50-150 miles) wide and has an average depth of 60 metres (200 feet, 33 fathoms). The maximum depth is 295 metres (965 feet, 161 fathoms). The surface area is 117,000 km² (45,200 square miles).
A number of rivers flow into the Gulf Of Bothnia from both Finland and Sweden such as the Ume or Angerman, Lule, Torne, Kemijoki, Oulujoki and Kokemaenjoki rivers.
In the south of the Gulf, the water is the normal brackish water of the Baltic Sea, but in the north the salinity is so low that salt cannot be tasted in the water. Many freshwater fish thrive in it and being nearly fresh, the gulf is frozen over five months every year. The icing of the Baltic sea begins and ends there.
Gulf Of Finland - this Gulf 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. Other major cities around the gulf include Helsinki and Tallinn.
Gulf Of Riga (Bay Of Riga) - this is a small area of sea which is almost land trapped. The Saaremaa island (Estonia) partially separates it from the rest of the Baltic sea. The Gulf of Riga lies between Latvia and Estonia. The area of the Gulf of Riga is about 18,000 square km. The maximum depth is 54 metres. The Ruhnu island, in the middle of the gulf, also belongs to Estonia. The main rivers flowing into the gulf are the Daugava, the Lielupe, the Gauja, and the Salaca.
