Baltic Sea

For other uses, see Baltic (disambiguation).

TheBaltic Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, enclosed byScandinavia, Finland, the Baltic countries, and the NorthEuropean Plain. It includes the Gulf of Bothnia, the Bayof Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Riga.The sea stretches from 53N to 66N latitude and from10E to 30E longitude. A mediterranean sea of the At-lantic, with limited water exchange between the two bod-ies, the Baltic Sea drains through the Danish islands intothe Kattegat by way of the straits of resund, the GreatBelt, and the Little Belt.The Baltic Proper is bordered on its northern edge, at thelatitude 60N, by the land islands and the Gulf of Both-nia, on its northeastern edge by the Gulf of Finland, onits eastern edge by the Gulf of Riga, and in the West bythe South-Swedish part of the Scandinavian Peninsula.The Baltic Sea is connected by articial waterways to theWhite Sea via the White Sea Canal and to the GermanBight of the North Sea via the Kiel Canal.

1 Denitions

Danish Straits and southwestern Baltic Sea

Administration:The Helsinki Convention on the Protection of the Marine

Environment of the Baltic Sea Area includes the BalticSea and the Kattegat, without calling Kattegat a part ofthe Baltic Sea, For the purposes of this Convention theBaltic Sea Area shall be the Baltic Sea and the Entranceto the Baltic Sea, bounded by the parallel of the Skaw inthe Skagerrak at 5744.43'N.[3]

Trac history:Historically, the Kingdom of Denmark collected SoundDues from ships at the border between the ocean andthe land-locked Baltic Sea. They were collected in theresund at Kronborg castle near Helsingr, in the GreatBelt at Nyborg. In the Little Belt, the site of intake wasmoved to Fredericia, after that stronghold had been built.The narrowest part of Little Belt is the Middelfart Sundnear Middelfart.[4]

Oceanography:Geographers widely agree that the preferred physical bor-der of the Baltic is a line drawn through the southern Dan-ish islands, Drogden-Sill and Langeland.[5] The DrogdenSill is situated north of Kge Bugt and connects Dragrin the south of Copenhagen to Malm; it is used by theresund Bridge, including the Drogden Tunnel. By thisdenition, the Danish Straits are part of the entrance, butthe Bay of Mecklenburg and the Bay of Kiel are parts ofthe Baltic Sea.Hydrography and biology:Drogden Sill (depth of 7 m (23 ft)) sets a limit to resundand Darss Sill (depth of 18 m (59 ft)), and a limit to theBelt Sea.[6] The shallow sills are obstacles to the ow ofheavy salt water from the Kattegat into the basins aroundBornholm and Gotland.The Kattegat and the southwestern Baltic Sea are welloxygenated and have a rich biology. The remainder ofthe Sea is brackish, poor in oxygen and in species. Thus,statistically, the more of the entrance that is included inits denition, the healthier the Baltic appears; conversely,the more narrowly it is dened, the more endangered itsbiology appears.

2 EtymologyWhile Tacitus called it Mare Suebicum[7] after theGermanic people called the Suebi, the rst to name itthe Baltic Sea (Mare Balticum) was the eleventh-centuryGerman chronicler Adam of Bremen. The origin of thelatter name is speculative. It might be connected to the

1

2 3 HISTORY

Germanic word belt, a name used for two of the Danishstraits, the Belts, while others claim it to be derived fromLatin balteus (belt).[8] Adam of Bremen himself com-pared the sea with a belt, stating that it is so named be-cause it stretches through the land as a belt (Balticus, eoquod in modum baltei longo tractu per Scithicas regionestendatur usque in Greciam). He might also have been in-uenced by the name of a legendary island mentioned inthe Natural History of Pliny the Elder. Pliny mentionsan island named Baltia (or Balcia) with reference to ac-counts of Pytheas and Xenophon. It is possible that Plinyrefers to an island named Basilia (kingdom or royal)in On the Ocean by Pytheas. Baltia also might be derivedfrom belt and mean near belt of sea (strait). Mean-while, others have concluded that the name of the islandoriginates from the Indo-European root *bhel meaningwhite, fair. This root and its basic meaning were retainedin both Lithuanian (as baltas) and Latvian (as balts). Onthis basis, a related hypothesis holds that the name origi-nated from this Indo-European root via a Baltic languagesuch as Lithuanian.[9] Another explanation is that, whilederived from the aforementioned root, the name of thesea is related to names for various forms of water andrelated substances in several European languages, thatmight have been originally associated with colors foundin swamps. Yet another explanation is that the nameoriginally meant enclosed sea, bay as opposed to opensea.[10] Some Swedish historians believe the name derivesfrom the god Balder of Nordic mythology.In the Middle Ages the sea was known by variety ofnames. The name Baltic Sea became dominant only af-ter 1600. Usage of Baltic and similar terms to denote theregion east of the sea started only in 19th century.

2.1 Name in other languagesThe Baltic Sea was known in ancient sources asMare Sue-bicum or Mare Germanicum.[11] It is also known by theequivalents of East Sea, West Sea, or Baltic Sea indierent languages:

Baltic Sea is used in English; in the Baltic languagesLatvian (Baltijas jra) and Lithuanian (Baltijosjra); in Latin (Mare Balticum) and the Romancelanguages French (Mer Baltique), Italian (MarBaltico), Portuguese (Mar Bltico), Romanian(Marea Baltic) and Spanish (Mar Bltico); inGreek ( ); in Albanian (DetiBalltik); in Welsh (E Mr Baltig); in the Slaviclanguages Polish (Morze Batyckie or Batyk),Czech (Baltsk moe or Balt), Croatian (Baltikomore), Slovenian (Baltsko morje), Bulgarian (Balti-jsko More, ), Kashubian (Bt),Macedonian ( , Baltiko More),Ukrainian ( , Baltijske More),Belarusian ( , BaltyjskajeMora), Russian ( , Baltiyskoye

Morye) and Serbian ( , Baltikomore).

In Germanic languages, except English, East Seais used: Afrikaans (Oossee), Danish (stersen),Dutch (Oostzee), German (Ostsee), Icelandic andFaroese (Eystrasalt), Norwegian (stersjen), andSwedish (stersjn). In Old English it was knownas Osts.

In addition, Finnish, a Baltic-Finnic language, hascalqued the Swedish term as Itmeri East Sea, dis-regarding the geography (the sea is west of Finland),though understandably since Finland was a part ofSweden from the Middle Ages until 1809.

In another Baltic-Finnic language, Estonian, it iscalled the West Sea (Lnemeri), with the correctgeography (the sea is west of Estonia).

3 History

3.1 The Classical worldAt the time of the Roman Empire, the Baltic Seawas known as the Mare Suebicum or Mare Sarmaticum.Tacitus in his AD 98 Agricola and Germania describedthe Mare Suebicum, named for the Suebi tribe, duringthe spring months, as a brackish sea where the ice brokeapart and chunks oated about. The Suebi eventually mi-grated south west to reside for a while in the Rhinelandarea of modern Germany, where their name survives inthe historic region known as Swabia. Jordanes called itthe Germanic Sea in his work, the Getica.

3.2 The Middle Ages

Cape Arkona on the island of Rgen in Germany, was a sacredsite of the Slavs before Christianization.

In the early Middle Ages, Norse (Scandinavian) mer-chants built a trade empire all around the Baltic. Later,the Norse fought for control of the Baltic againstWendishtribes dwelling on the southern shore. The Norse also

3.3 An arena of conict 3

used the rivers of Russia for trade routes, nding theirway eventually to the Black Sea and southern Russia. ThisNorse-dominated period is referred to as the Viking Age.Since the Viking age, the Scandinavians have referredto the Baltic Sea as Austmarr (Eastern Lake). East-ern Sea, appears in the Heimskringla and Eystra saltappears in Srla ttr. Saxo Grammaticus recorded inGesta Danorum an older name,Gandvik, "-vik being OldNorse for bay, which implies that the Vikings correctlyregarded it as an inlet of the sea. Another form of thename, Grandvik, attested in at least one English trans-lation of Gesta Danorum, is likely to be a misspelling.)In addition to sh the sea also provides amber, especiallyfrom its southern shores. The bordering countries havetraditionally exported lumber, wood tar, ax, hemp andfurs by ship across the Baltic. Sweden had from early me-dieval times exported iron and silver mined there, whilePoland had and still has extensive salt mines. Thus theBaltic Sea has long been crossed by much merchant ship-ping.The lands on the Baltics eastern shore were among thelast in Europe to be converted to Christianity. This nallyhappened during the Northern Crusades: Finland in thetwelfth century by Swedes, and what are now Estonia andLatvia in the early thirteenth century by Danes and Ger-mans (Livonian Brothers of the Sword). The TeutonicOrder gained control over parts of the southern and east-ern shore of the Baltic Sea, where they set up their monas-tic state. Lithuania was the last European state to convertto Christianity.

3.3 An arena of conict

Main trading routes of the Hanseatic League (Hanse).

In the period between the 8th and 14th centuries,there was much piracy in the Baltic from the coasts ofPomerania and Prussia.Starting in the 11th century, the southern and easternshores of the Baltic were settled by migrants mainlyfrom Germany, a movement called the Ostsiedlung (east

In 1649 the settlement of the Latvian-speaking Kurseniekispanned from Klaipda to Gdask along the coast of the BalticSea.

settling). Other settlers were from the Netherlands,Denmark, and Scotland. The Polabian Slavs were grad-ually assimilated by the Germans.[12] Denmark graduallygained control over most of the Baltic coast, until she lostmuch of her possessions after being defeated in the 1227Battle of Bornhved.

The naval Battle of the Sound took place on 8 November 1658during the Dano-Swedish War.

In the 13th to 17th centuries, the strongest economicforce in Northern Europe was the Hanseatic League, afederation of merchant cities around the Baltic Sea andthe North Sea. In the sixteenth and early seventeenthcenturies, Poland, Denmark, and Sweden fought warsfor Dominium maris baltici (Lordship over the BalticSea). Eventually, it was Sweden that virtually encom-passed the Baltic Sea. In Sweden the sea was then re-ferred to as Mare Nostrum Balticum (Our Baltic Sea).The goal of Swedish warfare during the 17th century wasto make the Baltic Sea an all-Swedish sea (Ett Svenskt in-nanhav). Something that was accomplishes except therout between Riga in Latvia and Szczecin in Poland.

4 3 HISTORY

The burning Cap Arcona shortly after the attacks, 3 May 1945.Only 350 of the 4,500 prisoners who had been aboard the CapArcona survived.

However, it was the Dutch who dominated Baltic trade inthe seventeenth century.In the eighteenth century, Russia and Prussia became theleading powers over the sea. Swedens defeat in the GreatNorthernWar brought Russia to the eastern coast. Russiabecame and remained a dominating power in the Baltic.Russias Peter the Great saw the strategic importance ofthe Baltic and decided to found his new capital, SaintPetersburg, at the mouth of the Neva river at the eastend of the Gulf of Finland. There was much trading notjust within the Baltic region but also with the North Searegion, especially eastern England and the Netherlands:their eets needed the Baltic timber, tar, ax and hemp.During the Crimean War, a joint British and French eetattacked the Russian fortresses in the Baltic. They bom-barded Sveaborg, which guards Helsinki; and Kronstadt,which guards Saint Petersburg; and they destroyedBomarsund in the land Islands. After the unicationof Germany in 1871, the whole southern coast becameGerman. WorldWar I was partly fought in the Baltic Sea.After 1920 Poland was connected to the Baltic Sea by thePolish Corridor and enlarged the port of Gdynia in rivalrywith the port of the Free City of Danzig.During World War II, Germany reclaimed all of thesouthern and much of the eastern shore by occupyingPoland and the Baltic states. In 1945, the Baltic Sea be-came a mass grave for retreating soldiers and refugees ontorpedoed troop transports. The sinking of the WilhelmGustlo remains the worst maritime disaster in history,killing (very roughly) 9,000 people. In 2005, a Rus-sian group of scientists found over ve thousand airplanewrecks, sunkenwarships, and othermaterial, mainly fromWorld War II, on the bottom of the sea.

3.4 Since World War II

Since the end of World War II, various nations, includingthe Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the UnitedStates, have disposed of chemical weapons in the BalticSea, raising concerns of environmental contamination.[13]Even now shermen accidentally retrieve some of these

materials: the most recent available report from theHelsinki Commission notes that four small scale catchesof CW munitions representing approximately 105 kilo-grams (231 lbs) of material were reported in 2005. Thisis a reduction from the 25 incidents representing 1,110kilograms (2,447 lbs) of material in 2003.[14] Until now,the U.S. government refuses to disclose the exact coor-dinates of the wreck sites. Rotting bottles leak Lost andother substances, thus slowly poisoning a substantial partof the Baltic Sea.After 1945, the German population was expelled fromall areas east of the Oder-Neisse line, making room fordisplaced Poles and Russians. Poland gained most ofthe southern shore. The Soviet Union gained anotheraccess to the Baltic with the Kaliningrad Oblast. TheBaltic states on the eastern shore were annexed by theSoviet Union. The Baltic then separated opposing mili-tary blocs: NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Had war brokenout, the Polish navy was prepared to invade the Danishisles. This border status restricted trade and travel. Itended only after the collapse of the Communist regimesin Central and Eastern Europe in the late 1980s.Since May 2004, with the accession of the Baltic statesand Poland, the Baltic Sea has been almost entirely sur-rounded by countries of the European Union (EU). Theonly remaining non-EU shore areas are Russian: theSaint Petersburg area and the exclave of the KaliningradOblast.Winter storms begin arriving in the region during Octo-ber. These have caused numerous shipwrecks, and con-tributed to the extreme diculties of rescuing passen-gers of the ferry M/S Estonia en route from Tallinn, Es-tonia, to Stockholm, Sweden, in September 1994, whichclaimed the lives of 852 people. Older, wood-based ship-wrecks such as the Vasa tend to remain well-preserved,as the Baltics cold and brackish water does not suit theshipworm.

3.5 Storm oodsStorm surge oodings are generally taken to occur whenthe water level is more than one metre above normal. InWarnemnde about 110 oods occurred from 1950 to2000, an average of just over two per year.[15]

Historic ood events were the All Saints Flood of 1304and other oods in the years 1320, 1449, 1625, 1694,1784 and 1825. Little is known of their extent.[16] From1872, there exist regular and reliable records of water lev-els in the Baltic Sea. The highest was the 1872 Baltic Seaood when the water was an average of 2.43 m (8 ft 0 in)above sea level at Warnemnde and a maximum of 2.83m (9 ft 3 in) above sea level in Warnemnde. In the lastvery heavy oods the average water levels reached 1.88m (6 ft 2 in) above sea level in 1904, 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) in1913, 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) in January 1954, 1.68 m (5 ft 6in) on 24 November 1995 and 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) on 21

4.3 Subdivisions 5

February 2002.[17]

Baltic Sea in a mild winter

4 Geography

4.1 Geophysical data

An arm of the North Atlantic Ocean, the Baltic Sea isenclosed by Scandinavia to the northwest, Finland to thenortheast, the Baltic countries to the southeast, and theNorth European Plain to the southwest.It is about 1,600 km (1,000 mi) long, an average of 193km (120 mi) wide, and an average of 55 m (180 ft, 30fathoms) deep. The maximum depth is 459 m (1506ft) which is on the Swedish side of the center. Thesurface area is about 349,644 km [18] (145,522 sq mi)and the volume is about 20,000 km (5040 cubic miles).The periphery amounts to about 8,000 km (5,000 mi) ofcoastline.[19]

The Baltic Sea is one of the largest brackish inland seasby area, and occupies a basin (a zungenbecken) formed byglacial erosion during the last few ice ages.

4.2 Extent

The International Hydrographic Organization denes thelimits of the Baltic Sea as follows:[20]

Bordered by the coasts of Germany, Den-mark, Poland, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Es-tonia, Latvia and Lithuania, it extends north-eastward of the following limits:

In the Little Belt. A line joiningFalshft (5447N 957.5E / 54.783N9.9583E) and Vejsns Nakke (r:5449N 1026E / 54.817N 10.433E).

In the Great Belt. A line joining Gul-stav (South extreme of Langeland Island)and Kappel Kirke (5446N 1101E/ 54.767N 11.017E) on Island ofLolland.

In Guldborg Sound. A line joiningFlinthorne-Rev and Skjelby (5438N1153E / 54.633N 11.883E).

In the Sound. A line joining Stevns Light-house (5517N 1227E / 55.283N12.450E) and Falsterbo Point (5523N1249E / 55.383N 12.817E).

4.3 SubdivisionsThe northern part of the Baltic Sea is known as the Gulfof Bothnia, of which the northernmost part is the Bay ofBothnia or Bothnian Bay. The more rounded southernbasin of the gulf is called Bothnian Sea and immediatelyto the south of it lies the Sea of land. The Gulf of Fin-land connects the Baltic Sea with Saint Petersburg. TheGulf of Riga lies between the Latvian capital city of Rigaand the Estonian island of Saaremaa.The Northern Baltic Sea lies between the Stockholmarea, southwestern Finland and Estonia. The Westernand Eastern Gotland Basins form the major parts ofthe Central Baltic Sea or Baltic proper. The BornholmBasin is the area east of Bornholm, and the shallowerArkona Basin extends from Bornholm to the Danish islesof Falster and Zealand.In the south, the Bay of Gdask lies east of the Hel Penin-sula on the Polish coast and west of the Sambia Penin-sula in Kaliningrad Oblast. The Bay of Pomerania liesnorth of the islands of Usedom andWolin, east of Rgen.Between Falster and the German coast lie the Bay ofMecklenburg and Bay of Lbeck. The westernmost partof the Baltic Sea is the Bay of Kiel. The three Danishstraits, the Great Belt, the Little Belt and The Sound(/resund), connect the Baltic Sea with the Kattegat bayand Skagerrak strait in the North Sea.

4.4 The iceOn the long-term average, the Baltic Sea is ice-coveredat the annual maximum for about 45% of its surfacearea. The ice-covered area during such a typical win-ter includes the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland,

6 4 GEOGRAPHY

Regions and basins of the Baltic Sea:1 = Bothnian Bay2 = Bothnian Sea1 + 2 = Gulf of Bothnia, partly also 3 & 43 = Archipelago Sea4 = land Sea5 = Gulf of Finland6 = Gulf of Riga7 = North Gotland Basin8 = West Gotland Basin9 = East Gotland Basin10 = Bay of Gdask11 = Bornholm Basin & Han Bight12 = Arkona Basin7 12 = Baltic Proper, partly also 3, 4, 1413 = resund14 = Belt Sea, divided among Baltic Sea & Kattegat15 = Kattegat, not an integral part of the Baltic Sea[21]16 = Skagerrak, no part of the Baltic Sea

the Gulf of Riga, the archipelago west of Estonia, theStockholm archipelago, and the Archipelago Sea south-west of Finland. The remainder of the Baltic does notfreeze during a normal winter, with the exception of shel-tered bays and shallow lagoons such as the Curonian La-goon. The ice reaches its maximum extent in Februaryor March; typical ice thickness in the northernmost areasin the Bothnian Bay, the northern basin of the Gulf ofBothnia, is about 70 cm (28 in) for landfast sea ice. Thethickness decreases farther south.Freezing begins in the northern extremities of Gulf ofBothnia typically in the middle of November, reachingthe openwaters of the Bothnian Bay in early January. TheBothnian Sea, the basin south of Kvarken, freezes on av-erage in late February. The Gulf of Finland and the Gulfof Riga freeze typically in late January. In 2011, the Gulfof Finland was completely frozen on 15 February.[22]

The ice extent depends on whether the winter is mild,moderate, or severe. Severe winters can lead to ice for-mation around southern Sweden and even in the Danish

straits. According to the 18th-century natural historianWilliam Derham, during the severe winters of 1703 and1708, the ice cover reached as far as the Danish straits.[23]Frequently, parts of the Gulf of Bothnia and Gulf of Fin-land are frozen, in addition to coastal fringes in moresoutherly locations such as theGulf of Riga. This descrip-tion meant that the whole of the Baltic Sea was coveredwith ice.It is known that since 1720, the Baltic Sea has frozen overentirely a total of 20 times. The most recent case was inearly 1987, which was the most severe winter in Scandi-navia since that date. The ice then covered 400,000 km2(150,000 sq mi). During the winter of 201011, whichwas quite severe compared to those of the last decades,the maximum ice cover was 315,000 km2 (122,000 sqmi), which was reached on 25 February 2011. The icethen extended from the north down to the northern tip ofGotland, with small ice-free areas on either side, and theeast coast of the Baltic Sea was covered by an ice sheetca. 25100 km (1662 mi) wide all the way to Gdask.This was brought about by a stagnant high-pressure areathat lingered over central and northern Scandinavia fromca. 10 to 24 February. After this, strong southern windspushed the ice further into the north, and much of the wa-ters north of Gotland were again free of ice, which hadthen packed against the shores of southern Finland.[24]The eects of the afore-mentioned high-pressure area didnot reach the southern parts of the Baltic Sea, and thus theentire sea did not freeze over. However, oating ice wasadditionally observed near winoujcie harbour in Jan-uary 2010.In recent years prior to 2011, the Bothnian Bay and theBothnian Sea were frozen with solid ice near the Balticcoast and dense oating ice far from it. In 2008, therewas almost no ice formation except for a short period inMarch.[25]

Piles of drift ice on the shore of Puhtulaid, near Virtsu, Estonia,in late April

During winter, fast ice, which is attached to the shoreline,develops rst, rendering ports unusable without the ser-vices of icebreakers. Level ice, ice sludge, pancake ice,and rafter ice form in the more open regions. The gleam-ing expanse of ice is similar to the Arctic, with wind-

4.6 Salinity 7

driven pack ice and ridges up to 15 m (49 ft). Oshore ofthe landfast ice, the ice remains very dynamic all year, andit is relatively easily moved around by winds and thereforeforms pack ice, made up of large piles and ridges pushedagainst the landfast ice and shores.In spring, the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Bothnianormally thaw in late April, with some ice ridges per-sisting until May in the eastern extremities of the Gulfof Finland. In the northernmost reaches of the BothnianBay, ice usually stays until late May; by early June it ispractically always gone.The ice cover is the main habitat for two large mammals,the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) and the Baltic ringedseal (Pusa hispida botnica), both of which feed under-neath the ice and breed on its surface. Of these two seals,only the Baltic ringed seal suers when there is not ade-quate ice in the Baltic Sea, as it feeds its young only onice. The grey seal is adapted to reproducing also with noice in the sea. The sea ice also harbours several speciesof algae that live in the bottom and inside unfrozen brinepockets in the ice.

4.5 Hydrography

Depths of the Baltic Sea in metres

The Baltic Sea ows out through the Danish straits; how-ever, the ow is complex. A surface layer of brackishwater discharges 940 km3 (230 cu mi) per year into theNorth Sea. Due to the dierence in salinity, by salinitypermeation principle, a sub-surface layer of more salinewater moving in the opposite direction brings in 475 km3(114 cu mi) per year. It mixes very slowly with the upperwaters, resulting in a salinity gradient from top to bot-

tom, with most of the salt water remaining below 40 to70 m (130 to 230 ft) deep. The general circulation iscounter-clockwise: northwards along its eastern bound-ary, and south along the western one .[26]

The dierence between the outow and the inow comesentirely from fresh water. More than 250 streams draina basin of about 1,600,000 km2 (620,000 sq mi), con-tributing a volume of 660 km3 (160 cu mi) per year to theBaltic. They include the major rivers of north Europe,such as the Oder, the Vistula, the Neman, the Daugavaand the Neva. Additional fresh water comes from thedierence of precipitation less evaporation, which is pos-itive.An important source of salty water are infrequent inowsof North Sea water into the Baltic. Such inows, impor-tant to the Baltic ecosystem because of the oxygen theytransport into the Baltic deeps, used to happen on averageevery four to ve years until the 1980s. In recent decadesthey have become less frequent. The latest three occurredin 1983, 1993 and 2003 suggesting a new inter-inow pe-riod of about ten years.The water level is generally far more dependent on the re-gional wind situation than on tidal eects. However, tidalcurrents occur in narrow passages in the western parts ofthe Baltic Sea.The signicant wave height is generally much lower thanthat of the North Sea. Violent and sudden storms oftensweep the surface, due to large transient temperature dif-ferences and a long reach of wind. Seasonal winds alsocause small changes in sea level, of the order of 0.5 m (1ft 8 in) .[26]

4.6 Salinity

Baltic Sea near Klaipda (Karkl).

The Baltic Seas salinity is much lower than that of oceanwater (which averages 3.5%), as a result of abundantfreshwater runo from the surrounding land, combinedwith the shallowness of the sea itself; indeed, runo con-tributes roughly one-fortieth its total volume per year,as the volume of the basin is about 21,000 km3 (5,000cu mi) and yearly runo is about 500 km3 (120 cu mi).The open surface waters of the central basin have salin-

8 4 GEOGRAPHY

ity of 0.5% to 0.8%, which makes the basin border-lineor, nearly Freshwater. Drinking the water as a meansof survival would actually hydrate the body instead ofdehydrating, like that of ocean water. At the semi-enclosed bays with major freshwater inows, such as headof Finnish Gulf with Neva mouth and head of Bothniangulf with close mouths of Lule, Tornio and Kemi, thesalinity is considerably lower. Below 40 to 70 m (130to 230 ft), the salinity is between 1.0% and 1.5% in theopen Baltic Sea, and more than this near Danish Straits,but this is still less than half that of ocean water.The ow of fresh water into the sea from approximatelytwo-hundred rivers and the introduction of salt from theSouth builds up a gradient of salinity in the Baltic Sea.Near the Danish straits the salinity is close to that of theKattegat, but still not fully oceanic, because the saltiestwater that passes the straits is still alreadymixedwith con-siderable amounts of outow water. The salinity steadilydecreases towards North and East. At the northern part ofthe Gulf of Bothnia the water is no longer salty and manyfresh water species live in the sea. The salinity gradient isparalleled by a temperature gradient. These two factorslimit many species of animals and plants to a relativelynarrow region of Baltic Sea.The most saline water is vertically stratied in the watercolumn to the north, creating a barrier to the exchange ofoxygen and nutrients, and fostering completely separatemaritime environments.[27]

4.7 Major auentsSee also: List of rivers of the Baltic Sea

The rating of mean discharges diers from the rating ofhydrological lengths (from the most distant well to thesea) and the rating of the nominal lengths:

4.8 Islands and archipelagoesMain article: List of islands in the Baltic Sea

Skerries form an integral and typical part of many of thearchipelagos of the Baltic Sea, such as these in the archipelagoof the land Islands, Finland.

land Islands (Finland, autonomous) Archipelago Sea (Finland)

Pargas Nagu Korpo Houtskr Kustavi Kimito

Blekinge archipelago (Sweden) Bornholm, including Christians (Denmark) Falster (Denmark) Gotland (Sweden) Hailuoto (Finland) Kotlin (Russia) Lolland (Denmark) Kvarken archipelago, including Valsrarna(Finland)

Mn (Denmark) land (Sweden) Rgen (Germany) Stockholm archipelago (Sweden)

Vrmdn (Sweden) Usedom or Uznam (split between Germany andPoland)

West Estonian archipelago (Estonia): Hiiumaa Muhu Saaremaa Vormsi

Wolin (Poland) Zealand (Denmark)

4.9 Coastal countriesCountries that border on the sea:

Denmark, Estonia, Finland,Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland,Russia, Sweden.Countries that are in the drainage basin but do not borderon the sea:

Belarus, Czech Republic, Norway,Slovakia, Ukraine.

9Vast coastal dunes are characteristic for large parts of the south-ern shore of the Baltic Sea. Kuri Nerija National Park inLithuania (pictured) is a part of the Curonian Spit World Her-itage Site.

The Baltic sea drainage basin is roughly four times thesurface area of the sea itself. About 48% of the region isforested, with Sweden and Finland containing the major-ity of the forest, especially around the Gulfs of Bothniaand Finland.About 20% of the land is used for agriculture and pas-ture, mainly in Poland and around the edge of the BalticProper, in Germany, Denmark and Sweden. About 17%of the basin is unused open land with another 8% of wet-lands. Most of the latter are in the Gulfs of Bothnia andFinland.The rest of the land is heavily populated. About 85 mil-lion people live in the Baltic drainage basin, 15 millionwithin 10 km (6 mi) of the coast and 29 million within 50km (31 mi) of the coast. Around 22 million live in pop-ulation centers of over 250,000. 90% of these are con-centrated in the 10 km (6 mi) band around the coast. Ofthe nations containing all or part of the basin, Poland in-cludes 45% of the 85 million, Russia 12%, Sweden 10%and the others less than 6% each.

4.9.1 Cities

Main article: List of cities and towns around the BalticSea

/Copenhagen and Malm are located at resund,

5 GeologyMain article: Geology of the Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea somewhat resembles a riverbed, with twotributaries, the Gulf of Finland and Gulf of Bothnia.Geological surveys show that before the Pleistocene in-stead of the Baltic Sea, there was a wide plain around a

big river paleontologists call the Eridanos. Several Pleis-tocene glacial episodes scooped out the river bed into thesea basin. By the time of the last, or Eemian Stage (MIS5e), the Eemian Sea was in place. Instead of a true sea,the Baltic can even today also be understood as the com-mon estuary of all rivers owing into it.From that time the waters underwent a geologic historysummarized under the names listed below. Many of thestages are named after marine animals (e.g. the Littorinamollusk) that are clear markers of changing water tem-peratures and salinity.The factors that determined the seas characteristics werethe submergence or emergence of the region due tothe 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 whatare now the large lakes of Sweden, and the White Sea-Arctic Sea.

Eemian Sea, 130,000115,000 (years ago) Baltic Ice Lake, 12,60010,300 Yoldia Sea, 10,3009500 Ancylus Lake, 9,5008,000 Mastogloia Sea 8,0007,500 Littorina Sea, 7,5004,000 Post-Littorina Sea 4,000present

The land is still emerging isostatically from its depressedstate, which was caused by the weight of ice during thelast glaciation. The phenomenon is known as post-glacialrebound. Consequently, the surface area and the depthof the sea are diminishing. The uplift is about eight mil-limetres per year on the Finnish coast of the northern-most Gulf of Bothnia. In the area, the former seabed isonly gently sloping, leading to large areas of land beingreclaimed in what are, geologically speaking, relativelyshort periods (decades and centuries).

6 Biology

6.1 Fauna

The fauna of the Baltic sea is a mixture of marine andfreshwater species. Among marine shes are cod, her-ring, hake, plaice, ounder, shorthorn sculpin and turbot,and examples of freshwater species include perch, pike,whitesh and roach.There is a decrease in faunal species from the Belts to theGulf of Bothnia. The decreasing salinity along this pathcauses restrictions in both physiology and habitats.[29] The

10 7 ECONOMY

lack of tides has aected the marine species as comparedwith the Atlantic.Since the Baltic Sea is so young there are only afew endemic species. The mostly asexually reproduc-ing brown alga Fucus radicans seems to have evolvedin the basin. Another endemic is the Copenhagencockle Parvicardium hauniense. However, several ma-rine species have populations in the Baltic Sea adapted tothe low salinity, such as the Baltic Sea herring which issmaller than the Atlantic herring.A peculiar feature of the fauna is that it contains a num-ber of glacial relict species, isolated populations of arcticspecies which have remained in the Baltic Sea since thelast glaciation, such as the large isopod Saduria entomon,the Baltic subspecies of ringed seal, and the fourhornsculpin. Some of these relicts are derived from glaciallakes, such asMonoporeia anis, which is a main elementin the benthic fauna of the low-salinity Bothnian Bay.

6.2 Environmental status

Phytoplankton algal bloom in the Baltic Proper, July 2001

Satellite images taken in July 2010 revealed a mas-sive algal bloom covering 377,000 square kilometres(146,000 sq mi) in the Baltic Sea. The area of thebloom extends fromGermany and Poland to Finland. Re-searchers of the phenomenon have indicated that algalblooms have occurred every summer for decades. Fertil-izer runo from surrounding agricultural land has exacer-bated the problem and led to increased eutrophication.[30]

Approximately 100,000 km2 (38,610 sq mi) of theBaltics seaoor (a quarter of its total area) is a variabledead zone. The more saline (and therefore denser) wa-ter remains on the bottom, isolating it from surface wa-ters and the atmosphere. This leads to decreased oxygenconcentrations within the zone. It is mainly bacteria thatgrow in it, digesting organic material and releasing hy-drogen sulde. Because of this large anaerobic zone, theseaoor ecology diers from that of the neighbouring At-lantic.

Plans to articially oxygenate areas of the Baltic that haveexperienced eutrophication have been proposed by theUniversity of Gothenburg and Inocean AB. The proposalintends to use wind-driven pumps to inject oxygen (air)into waters at, or around, 130m below sea level.[31]

7 EconomySee also: Baltic Sea cruiseferries and Ports of the BalticSeaConstruction of the Great Belt Bridge in Denmark (com-

Pedestrian pier at Palanga, the most popular sea resort inLithuania

pleted 1997) and the resund Bridge-Tunnel (completed1999), linking Denmark with Sweden, provided a high-way and railroad connection between Sweden and theDanish mainland (the Jutland Peninsula). The underseatunnel of the resund Bridge-Tunnel provides for navi-gation of large ships into and out of the Baltic Sea. TheBaltic Sea is the main trade route for export of Russianpetroleum. Many of the countries neighboring the BalticSea have been concerned about this, since a major oil leakin a seagoing tanker would be disastrous for the Balticgiven the slow exchange of water. The tourism industrysurrounding the Baltic Sea is naturally concerned aboutoil pollution.Much shipbuilding is carried out in the shipyardsaround the Baltic Sea. The largest shipyards are atGdask, Gdynia, and Szczecin, Poland; Kiel, Germany;Karlskrona, Sweden; Malm, Sweden; Rauma, Turku,and Helsinki, Finland; Riga, Ventspils, and Liepja(Latvia); Klaipda (Lithuania); and St. Petersburg, Rus-sia.There are several cargo and passenger ferries that op-erate on the Baltic Sea, such as Scandlines, Silja Line,Polferries, the Viking Line, Tallink, and Superfast Fer-ries.

7.1 Tourism

8.2 1992 Convention 11

7.1.1 European Route of Brick Gothic

European Route of Brick Gothic is a touristic route con-necting cities with Brick Gothic architecture in threecountries along the Baltic Sea: Denmark, Germany andPoland.

7.1.2 Piers

Liepaja, Latvia Sopot, Poland Midzyzdroje, Poland Koobrzeg, Poland Klaipda, Lithuania Heiligendamm, Germany Ahlbeck (Usedom), Germany

7.1.3 Resort towns

Examples:

winoujcie, Poland Kamie Pomorski, Poland Koobrzeg, Poland Prnu, Estonia Jrmala, Latvia Palanga, Lithuania Nida, Lithuania Sopot, Poland Ueckermnde, Germany Travemnde, Germany Ustka, Poland Svetlogorsk, Russia

8 The Helsinki Convention

8.1 1974 ConventionFor the rst time ever, all the sources of pollution aroundan entire sea were made subject to a single convention,signed in 1974 by the then seven Baltic coastal states. The1974 Convention entered into force on 3 May 1980.

8.2 1992 Convention

Main article: Helsinki Convention on the Protection ofthe Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area

In the light of political changes and developments in in-ternational environmental and maritime law, a new con-vention was signed in 1992 by all the states bordering onthe Baltic Sea, and the European Community. After rat-ication the Convention entered into force on 17 January2000. The Convention covers the whole of the Baltic Seaarea, including inland waters and the water of the sea it-self, as well as the seabed. Measures are also taken in thewhole catchment area of the Baltic Sea to reduce land-based pollution. The Convention on the Protection of theMarine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area, 1992, en-tered into force on 17 January 2000.The governing body of the Convention is the HelsinkiCommission,[32] also known as HELCOM, or Baltic Ma-rine Environment Protection Commission. The presentcontracting parties are Denmark, Estonia, the Euro-pean Community, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania,Poland, Russia and Sweden.The ratication instruments were deposited by the Euro-pean Community, Germany, Latvia and Sweden in 1994,by Estonia and Finland in 1995, by Denmark in 1996, byLithuania in 1997 and by Poland and Russia in November1999.

9 See also Baltic

Baltic region

Baltic Sea Action Group (BSAG)

Baltic states

Council of the Baltic Sea States

List of cities and towns around the Baltic Sea

List of rivers of the Baltic Sea

MS Estonia

Nord Stream

Northern Europe

Ports of the Baltic Sea

Scandinavia

SS Cap Arcona

MVWilhelm Gustlo

12 10 REFERENCES

10 References[1] Coalition Clean Baltic. Retrieved 5 July 2013.

[2] Oceanographic data

[3] Text of Helsinki Convention

[4] Pierers Universal-Lexikon, (a German encyclopedia from18571865, automatic transcription of little quality):Sundzoll (Sound Dues )

[5] Leibniz-Institut fr Ostseeforschung Warnemnde:Gehrt das Kattegatt noch zur Ostsee (Is the Kattegat apart of the Baltic Sea?)

[6] Swedish Chemicals Agency (KEMI): The BaltSensProject The sensitivity of the Baltic Sea ecosystems tohazardous compounds

[7] Tacitus, Germania (book): Ergo iam dextro Suebici marislitore Aestiorum gentes adluuntur, quibus ritus habitusqueSueborum, lingua Britannicae propior. Upon the right ofthe Suevian Sea the AEstyan nations reside, who use thesame customs and attire with the Suevians; their languagemore resembles that of Britain.

[8] (Swedish) Balteus in Nordisk familjebok.

[9] Forbes, Nevill (1910). The Position of the Slavonic Lan-guages at the present day. Oxford University Press. p. 7.

[10] Dini, Pierto Umberto (2000) [1997]. Baltu valodas (inLatvian). Translated from Italian by Dace Meiere. Riga:Jnis Roze. ISBN 9984-623-96-3.

[11] Hartmann Schedel 1493 map File:SchedelscheWeltchronik d 287.jpg: Baltic Sea called MareGermanicum, North Sea called Oceanus Germanicus

[12] Wend West Wend. Britannica.com. Retrieved on 23June 2011.

[13] Chemical Weapon Time Bomb Ticks in the Baltic SeaDeutsche Welle, 1 February 2008.

[14] Activities 2006: Overview Baltic Sea Environment Pro-ceedings No. 112. Helsinki Commission.

[15] Sztobryn, Marzenna; Stigge, Hans-Joachim; Wiel-biska, Danuta; Weidig, Brbel; Stanisawczyk, Ida;Kaska, Alicja; Krzysztok, Katarzyna; Kowalska, Beata;Letkiewicz, Beata; Mykita, Monika (2005). Sturmutenin der sdlichen Ostsee (Westlicher und mittlerer Teil)"[Storm oods in the Southern Baltic (western and centralpart)] (PDF). Berichte des Bundesamtes fr Seeschifahrtund Hydrographie (in German) (39): 6.

[16] Sturmuten an der Ostseekste eine vergesseneGefahr?" [Storm oods along the Baltic Sea coastline aforgotten threat?]. Informations-, Lern-, und Lehrmodulezu den Themen Kste, Meer und Integriertes Kstenzonen-management. EUCCDieKstenUnionDeutschland e. V.Retrieved 2 July 2012. Citing Weiss, D. Schutz der Ost-seekste von Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In Kramer,J.; Rohde, H. Historischer Kstenschutz: Deichbau, In-selschutz und Binnenentwsserung an Nord- und Ostsee

[Historical coastal protection: construction of dikes, insu-lar protection and inland drainage at North Sea and BalticSea] (in German). Stuttgart: Wittwer. pp. 536567.

[17] Tiesel, Reiner (October 2003). Sturmuten an derdeutschen Ostseekste [Storm oods at the GermanBaltic Sea coasts]. Informations-, Lern-, und Lehrmod-ule zu den Themen Kste, Meer und Integriertes Kstenzo-nenmanagement (in German). EUCC Die Ksten UnionDeutschland e. V. Retrieved 2 July 2012.

[18] EuroOcean. Retrieved 14 April 2014.

[19] Geography of the Baltic Sea Area at the Wayback Ma-chine (archived April 21, 2006) at envir.ee. (archived)(2006-04-21). Retrieved on 23 June 2011.

[20] Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd edition (PDF). Inter-national Hydrographic Organization. 1953. Retrieved 6February 2010.

[21] The Baltic Sea, Kattegat and Skagerak sea areas anddrainig basins

[22] Helsingin Sanomat, 16 February 2011, p. A8.

[23] Derham,William Physico-Theology: Or, A Demonstrationof the Being and Attributes of God from His Works of Cre-ation (London, 1713).

[24] Helsingin Sanomat, 10 February 2011, p. A4; 25 February2011, p. A5; 11 June 2011, p. A12.

[25] Sea Ice Survey Space Science and Engineering Center,University of Wisconsin.

[26] Alhonen, p. 88

[27] The Baltic Sea: Its Past, Present and Future PDF (352KB), Jan Thulin and Andris Andrushaitis, Religion, Sci-ence and the Environment SymposiumV on the Baltic Sea(2003).

[28] Statistische Kurzinformation (in German). Landeshaupt-stadt Kiel. Amt fr Kommunikation, Standortmarketingund Wirtschaftsfragen Abteilung Statistik. Retrieved on11 October 2012.

[29] Lockwood, A. P.M.; Sheader, M.; Williams, J. A. (1998).Life in Estuaries, SaltMarshes, Lagoons andCoastalWa-ters. In Summerhayes, C. P.; Thorpe, S. A. Oceanog-raphy: An Illustrated Guide (2nd ed.). London: MansonPublishing. p. 246. ISBN 1-874545-37-5.

[30] Satellite spies vast algal bloom in Baltic Sea. BBC News.23 July 2010. Archived from the original on 26 July 2010.Retrieved 27 July 2010.

[31] Oxygenation at a Depth of 120 Meters Could Save theBaltic Sea, Researchers Demonstrate. Science Daily.

[32] Helcom : Welcome. Helcom.. Retrieved on 23 June2011.

Alhonen, Pentti (1966). Baltic Sea. In Fairbridge,Rhodes. The Encyclopedia of Oceanography. NewYork: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company. pp. 8791.

13

11 Further reading Ojaveer, H.; Jaanus, A.; MacKenzie, B. R.; Martin,G.; Olenin, S. et al. (2010). Status of Biodiver-sity in the Baltic Sea. PLoS ONE 5 (9): e12467.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0012467.

12 External links Baltic Sea clickable map and details. Protect the Baltic Sea while its still not too late. The Baltic Sea Portal a site maintained bythe Finnish Institute of Marine Research at theWayback Machine (archived February 14, 2008)(FIMR) (in English, Finnish, Swedish and Estonian)

www.balticnest.org Encyclopedia of Baltic History Old shipwrecks in the Baltic How the Baltic Sea was changing Prehistory of theBaltic from the Polish Geological Institute

Late Weichselian and Holocene shore displacementhistory of the Baltic Sea in Finland more prehis-tory of the Baltic from the Department of Geogra-phy of the University of Helsinki

Baltic Environmental Atlas: Interactive map of theBaltic Sea region

Can a New Cleanup Plan Save the Sea? spiegel.de List of all ferry lines in the Baltic Sea The Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) HELCOMis the governing body of the Convention on the Pro-tection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic SeaArea

Baltice.org information related to winter naviga-tion in the Baltic Sea.

Baltic Sea Wind Marine weather forecasts Ostseeug A short lm (55'), showing the coastlineand the major German cities at the Baltic sea.

14 13 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

13 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses13.1 Text

Baltic Sea Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_Sea?oldid=676487974 Contributors: Kpjas, WojPob, H.J., Vicki Rosenzweig,Bryan Derksen, Zundark, Szopen, Taw, Css, Eclecticology, LA2, Rmhermen, Christian List, Froderik, Space Cadet, SimonP, Peter-lin~enwiki, Ktsquare, Vkem~enwiki, Smelialichu, JohnOwens, Pit~enwiki, David Martland, Gdarin, Gabbe, Wapcaplet, Mic, Kosebamse,Looxix~enwiki, Ahoerstemeier, Den fjttrade ankan~enwiki, Darkwind, , Jschwa1, Bogdangiusca, Nikai, Jiang, Efghij, EdH,Ruhrjung, Jonik, Raven in Orbit, Timwi, Wik, Timc, Kaare, Tuomas, Joy, Sandman~enwiki, Wetman, Pollinator, Robbot, Psmith, DaleArnett, Baldhur, Altenmann, Naddy, Babbage, Postdlf, Merovingian, Jhi, Bkell, Wikibot, Cautious, Jor, Ruiz~enwiki, Jao, Jyril, Gdansk,Wiglaf, Meursault2004, Muke, Wwoods, Everyking, Snowdog, Kadzuwo~enwiki, DO'Neil, Andris, Kpalion, Mboverload, Matthead,Wronkiew, Gzornenplatz, Bobblewik, Chowbok, Sca, Marqoz, Zarvok, Quadell, Juntung, Noe, Antandrus, The Singing Badger, Ereglibob, Domino theory, Thincat, Neutrality, Mschlindwein, Zeman, Jayjg, PZFUN, Swedophile, Bornintheguz, Discospinster, Guanabot,Wclark, Naive cynic, RomanK~enwiki, Autiger, Kostja, SpookyMulder, Bender235, S.K., CanisRufus, El C, Mulder1982, Kross, Gil-gamesh he, RoyBoy, Bobo192, Wwwillly, Vystrix Nexoth, Jojit fb, Nk, PeterisP, Davidweman, Jumbuck, Red Winged Duck, Alan-sohn, Anthony Appleyard, Chino, Blahma, Plumbago, Avenue, Bart133, Wtmitchell, SidP, Evil Monkey, Vuo, Jguk, Embryomystic, OlegAlexandrov, Bikerams, Rodii, Thryduulf, Monmartre, Woohookitty, Georgia guy, Camw, BoLingua, WadeSimMiser, Tabletop, Kelisi,NormanEinstein, Jonnabuz, CPES, T6nis, Palica, Marudubshinki, Graham87, Esbi, Rjwilmsi, Isaac Rabinovitch, Vegaswikian, SeanMack,Bhadani, Nguyen Thanh Quang, Watcharakorn, FlaBot, TimSE, Kolbasz, KFP, Russavia, MoRsE, NevilleDNZ, Chobot, Kresspahl, Bg-white, Eweisser, YurikBot, Wavelength, Mushin, Saulelis, Jimp, Trainthh, RussBot, TinusVL, Gaius Cornelius, Snek01, 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domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Wilson44691 File:BalticSea_March2000_NASA-S2000084115409_md.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/

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cense: Public domain Contributors: Own work by uploader + Online map creation; data from various sources; including Andrn, T. 2003c:Ancylussjn fortfarande ett mysterium. Havsutsikt 3, 2003, 8-9. and Var gick vattnet, Arkeologisk Information nr 3, Riksantikvariem-betet & stergtlands lnsmuseum Original artist: Koyos

File:Baltic_Marine_subdivisions.gif Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Baltic_Marine_subdivisions.gifLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: http://www.baltic.vtt.fi/demo/baltmap.htm Original artist: HELCOM, recoloured by Ulamm (talk) 12:06, 19 April 2014 (UTC)

File:Belte_inter.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Belte_inter.png License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contribu-tors: http://www.maps-for-free.com (Google maps) Original artist: Ulamm 18:32, 26 January 2008 (UTC)

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13.2 Images 15

File:Commons-logo.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Originalartist: ?

File:Curonians_kursenieki_in_1649.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Curonians_kursenieki_in_1649.png License: Public domain Contributors: Own work, based on map from Kleinlitauen im Herzogtum Preuen (1525-1701) andreport: Es halten sich auch ein gut Theil derselben [t.i. -latvieu] in Preussen au/ denn dieselben so am Curischen Haie von der Memelund ferner bi fast an Dantzig/ am Wasser wohnen/sind Letten und gebrauchen sich der Lettischen Sprache [1] Original artist: tarakonas

File:Eerste_fase_van_de_Zeeslag_in_de_Sont_-_First_phase_of_the_Battle_of_the_Sound_-_November_8_1568_(Jan_Abrahamsz_Beerstraten,_1660).jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Eerste_fase_van_de_Zeeslag_in_de_Sont_-_First_phase_of_the_Battle_of_the_Sound_-_November_8_1568_%28Jan_Abrahamsz_Beerstraten%2C_1660%29.jpgLicense: Public domain Contributors: Nederlands Scheepvaart Museum Original artist: Jan Abrahamsz. Beerstraaten

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-x-'s le -x-'s code Zirlands codes of colors

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16 13 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

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13.3 Content license Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

Definitions Etymology Name in other languages

History The Classical worldThe Middle AgesAn arena of conflictSince World War IIStorm floods

Geography Geophysical data ExtentSubdivisionsThe iceHydrographySalinityMajor affluents Islands and archipelagoes Coastal countriesCities

GeologyBiology FaunaEnvironmental status

Economy TourismEuropean Route of Brick GothicPiersResort towns

The Helsinki Convention 1974 Convention1992 Convention

See also ReferencesFurther reading External links Text and image sources, contributors, and licensesTextImagesContent license