There are some popular seas in Europe, such as Mediterranean Sea, Ireland Sea, Celtic Sea, Black Sea, etc. You should have heard about the Baltic Sea as well. Historically, the Baltic Sea had an important role for the development of Europe. There are some characteristics and facts about the Baltic Sea. Besides, there are some interesting facts about the Dead Sea.
Characteristics of the Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a part of Mediterranean Sea that ends at the Atlantic Ocean. This sea is surrounded by some countries, such as the eastern part of Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Kaliningrad (Russia), and Poland. Furthermore, some small islands also exist in the Baltic Sea, like Alamd, Hiiumaaa, Saaremaa, Gotland, Bornholm, and Zealand Islands. There are 23 types of seas in this world.
The Baltic Sea is located in northeastern part of Europe. It’s being bordered by Scandinavian Peninsula, along with the centre and the eastern part of Europe (Denmark). The Baltic Sea itself flows into Kattegat and the North Sea, through the Little Belt and the Great Belt. Before reaching the Atlantic Ocean, the Baltic Sea connects itself to the North Sea through the Kiel Canal, and to the White Sea through the White Sea Canal. The Baltic Sea has an area of 377.000 km2, with maximum length of 1.601 km and maximum width of 193 km. It has water volume around 21.700 km3 and maximum depth up to 459 m.
Due to the geographical location and weather, the Baltic Sea becomes the largest brackish water system in the world. It happens since the Baltic Sea water is a mixing of Atlantic Ocean in the northeastern part and many rivers that flow water four times bigger than the sea itself. There are some reasons why sea water is salty. Therefore, its unique ecosystem, with different types of flora and fauna, is a great example of the characteristics and facts about the Baltic Sea.
Fun Facts About the Baltic Sea
- The Baltic Sea is such a closed water system, therefore it has a fresh water. There are two big rivers that act as water resources for the Baltic Sea; Oder and Vistula Rivers, these rivers are located in the warm weather area. Thus, these rivers have such low evaporation rate and will face the increasing rate of water volume from the melting snow. This event could decrease the Baltic Sea salinity. The highest rate of salinity is found in western part of the Baltic Sea, around 10/1000 at the surface and 15/1000 at the bottom. Meanwhile the lowest salinity is found around the Gulf of Bothnian.
- Some parts of the Baltic Sea stick to the land, it’s called the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Bothnian. The Baltic Sea is surrounded by many countries, no wonder it has such long coastlines as much as 8.000 km. There is also the Caspian Sea, the largest lake in the world.
- Historically, the Baltic Sea was named by Adam, a historian from Bremen. However, people still don’t know the exact meaning of Balticuntil day. Some people assume that Baltic may come from belt since the Baltic Sea shape looks like a belt.
- There are various histories that associate with the Baltic Sea. In the Middle Ages, some Norse traders from Scandinavian created trading route around Baltic. But, the Wendish Tribe also wanted to claim the power of the Baltic Sea. The Norse Tribe, during the Vikings era, successfully dominated the Baltic Sea. At that time, they called the Baltic Sea as Ausmarr or Eastern Sea. The Baltic Sea also supported the economy around it as it provided proper amount of fish and pearl. Those countries also use the Baltic Sea route to export wood, wool, flak, and hemp.
- In 1945, the Baltic Sea once was a mass grave for refugees and soldiers when a torpedo hit their ship. Around 9.000 people were dead in that event. In 2005, some scientists from Russia successfully found thousands of pieces of planes and ships from the World War II.
That’s the article of the characteristics and facts about the Baltic Sea. Thanks for reading. You should also need to know about the Mariana Trench, the deepest trench in the world.