Baltic Sea- the inland sea of Eurasia, located in Northern Europe, partially washes the shores of Western and Eastern Europe. Refers to the Atlantic Ocean basin. The Baltic Sea is inland, separated from the ocean by the Scandinavian Peninsula and washes the shores of the Leningrad and Kaliningrad regions of Russia. The sea is connected to the ocean by narrow and shallow straits, which hinders water exchange. Complete renewal of water in the sea occurs in 20-40 years. The Baltic Sea has large bays: the Bothnian, Finnish, Riga and Curonian lagoons. The area of the Baltic Sea is 419 thousand km 2, it is almost equal to the area of the Black Sea (422 thousand km 2). The length of the coastline of the Baltic is 7 thousand km. Russia has about 500 km of coast, that is, about 7%. The volume of water is 21.5 thousand km³.

The name of the sea was first mentioned by the North German chronicler Adam of Bremen in 1075. The origin of the name is not completely clear. The most common are two versions. According to the first, the name comes from (Lithuanian) baltas, (Latvian) balts "white", which may be related to the color of the sandy shores of this sea. According to another version, the name is derived from (Latin) balteus "belt", and this is due to the fact that this sea continues the chain of seas encircling mainland Europe. In medieval Russia, it was called the Varangian Sea or the Sea of Swedes from the ethnonym Svei - “Swedes”. On Russian maps of the 18th century, the form Baltic Sea was used, but the well-known and now name Baltic Sea is fixed in use. The same name is used in other countries washed by this sea, although in Germany it is also the East Sea, and in Estonia the West Sea.

About 250 rivers flow into the Baltic Sea. The largest rivers are Vistula, Oder, Neman, Daugava, Neva. The largest number The Neva brings water in a year.

seafaring

The Baltic Sea throughout the history of Russia has been the busiest sea route, but navigation on the Baltic Sea is associated with a number of difficulties. Numerous islands, shoals, narrowness make it very difficult for navigation. Therefore, an accurate map of the sea was needed. Meanwhile, navigators continued to use maps compiled by the old methods.

Bottom relief

The Baltic Sea is located within the continental shelf. Its history goes back tens of thousands of years. The Baltic Sea is not one of the large or deep seas. Its maximum depth is only about 470 meters. And even then depths of hundreds of meters are a rarity in this sea. Its average depth is 55 meters. Buildings having more than 18 floors would protrude when placed at the average depth of this sea. And the needle of the Moscow television tower could not have been hidden even by its maximum depth /

The bottom relief of the Baltic Sea is uneven. The bottom of its basin is indented by underwater depressions, separated by hills and islands. The Baltic Sea is characterized by a long coastline. It has many bays, coves and big number islands. They are located both off the mainland coast and in the open sea; in some parts of the sea the islands are grouped in large archipelagos, in others they stand alone.

Climate and hydrological regime

The climate of the Baltic Sea is of maritime temperate latitudes with features of continentality. The peculiar configuration of the sea and a significant length from north to south and from west to east create differences in climatic conditions in different areas of the sea.

Flora and fauna

Economic importance

Fishing is widely developed in the Baltic Sea. Baltic herring, sprat, cod, whitefish, lamprey, salmon and other types of fish are caught here. Also in these waters, a large amount of algae is mined. There are many marine farms on the Baltic Sea where the most sought-after fish species are grown. On the coast there are a large number of placers of minerals. In the Kaliningrad region, work is underway to extract amber. There is oil in the bowels of the Baltic Sea. Iron-manganese nodules have been found. St. Petersburg is the largest port in the Baltic. The Volga-Baltic route connects the sea with the Volga, through the White Sea-Baltic Canal - with the White Sea. Due to the shallow depths in the Gulf of Finland, many places are inaccessible to vessels with a significant draft. However, all of the largest cruise ships built pass through the Danish straits into the Atlantic Ocean. Major Russian ports in the Baltic: Baltiysk, Vyborg, Kaliningrad, St. Petersburg. Recreational resources are well developed: resorts - Sestroretsk, Zelenogorsk, Svetlogorsk, Pionersky and Zelenogradsk.

Ecology

The number one environmental problem of today's Baltic is the excess supply of nitrogen and phosphorus to the water area as a result of flushing from fertilized fields, municipal sewage from cities and waste from some enterprises. The second most important problem of the Baltic Sea is the accumulation of heavy metals - mercury, lead, copper, zinc, cadmium, cobalt, nickel. About half of the total mass of these metals enters the sea with atmospheric precipitation, the rest - with direct discharge into the water area or with river runoff of domestic and industrial waste. The presence of landfills chemical weapons(burial of containers with toxic substances was carried out after the Second World War) has a strong impact on the ecology of the Baltic Sea.

The Baltic Sea is the northern marginal body of water in Eurasia. It cuts deep into the land, and due to this it belongs to the water flows of the internal type. The sea fills the waters of the Atlantic. It is located in Northern Europe. The Baltic countries have access to the Baltic Sea. And also such states as: Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Russia and Poland. The stream connects with the ocean through the system and the North Sea.

The area of the reservoir is about 415 thousand square km. The volume of the water mirror is more than 20 thousand cubic meters. km. The deepest gutter is 470 meters.

Hydrology

the Baltic Sea, the salinity of which greatly affects the animal and vegetable world, filled with a huge amount of fresh water. Precipitation is their constant source. Salt streams penetrate into the reservoir due to bays and tributaries. The tides have insignificant levels and, as a rule, their magnitude is not more than 20 cm.

Constantly located within a radius of one mark. Air masses can exert a strong influence on it. Near the coast, the water level can rise up to 50 cm, in narrower places - up to 2 meters.

There are practically no storms on the water stream. Like other seas washing Russia, the Baltic reservoir is calm, and rarely when its waves are able to reach a height of 4 meters. Most of all it storms in autumn, in November. Maximum fluctuations - 7-8 points. In winter, they practically stop, this is facilitated by ice.
The constant flow of the Baltic Sea is small. Within 10-15 cm/s. The maximum current increases during storms up to 100-150 cm/s.
The tides of the Baltic Sea are almost imperceptible. This is facilitated by the isolation of the water flow to a greater extent. Their level varies within 20 meters. The maximum increase in water level is in August and September.

A significant part of the coast is covered with ice from October to April. The southern part and the center of the sea, but glaciers can drift along them during the thawing period (June-August).

The Baltic Sea is rich in Natural resources. Oil reserves are hidden here, new deposits are being developed. Large deposits of amber have also recently been found. The Nord Stream gas route runs along the bottom of the sea.

And the Baltic Sea is rich in fish and seafood. In recent years, the ecology of the stream has deteriorated significantly. The waters are clogged with toxins coming from large rivers. The presence of dumps of chemical weapons is also recorded.

Due to the shallow depth of the sea, shipping is not very developed here. Only light craft are able to cross the watercourse without problems. The largest ports of the Baltic Sea: Vyborg, Kaliningrad, Gdansk, Copenhagen, Tallinn, St. Petersburg, Stockholm.

The waters of this reservoir are unsuitable for the development of resort tourism, but nevertheless there are sanatoriums and clinics on the coastal part. These are Russian resort cities Svetlogorsk, Zelenogorsk, Sestroretsk, Latvian Jurmala, Lithuanian Neringa, Polish Koszalin and Sopot, German Albek and Binz.

Brief description of water temperature and sea salinity

In the central part of the Baltic Sea, as a rule, the temperature rarely exceeds 15-18 ° C. At the bottom, it is about 4 degrees. The bay often has calm weather and +9..+12 o C.

The Baltic Sea, whose salinity decreases in the direction from west to east, at the beginning of the current has an official indicator of 20 ppm. At depth, this figure increases by 1.5 times.

Name

For the first time, the etymological name "Baltic" is found in a historical treatise of the 11th century. The earlier name of the sea is Varangian. It is it that is mentioned in the famous Tale of Bygone Years.

extreme points

Extreme points of the Baltic Sea:

southern - Wismar (Germany), coordinates - 53° 45` N. sh.;
north - Arctic Circle coordinates - 65° 40` s. sh.;
eastern - St. Petersburg (Russia), coordinates - 30 ° 15` in. d.;
western - Flensburg (Germany), coordinates - 9 ° 10` in. d.

Geographical characteristics: territory, tributaries and bays

The Baltic Sea (salinity and its characteristics are described below) is extended from the southwest to the northeast for 1360 km. The greatest width is located between the cities of Stockholm and St. Petersburg. It is 650 kilometers.

By historical information The Baltic Sea has existed for about 4 thousand years. In the same period of time, the Neva (74 km) begins its existence, which flows into this reservoir. In addition to it, more than 250 rivers merge with the stream. The largest of them are Vistula, Oder, Narva, Neman, Zapadnaya Dvina.

Some ports of the Baltic Sea lie on its large bays. In the north is the Gulf of Bothnia, the largest and deepest. In the east - Riga, located between Estonia and Latvia, Finnish, washing the shores of Finland, Estonia, Russia, and Due to the fact that the latter is separated from the sea by a sandy spit, the water in the stream is almost fresh. This is a unique feature.

The average depth of the Baltic Sea is 50 meters, the bottom is completely within the mainland. This nuance makes it possible to attribute it to inland continental water bodies.

Islands

More than 200 islands of different sizes are located in the sea. They are located unevenly both near the coast and far from them. The largest islands in the Baltic are Zealand, Falster, Mön, Langeland, Lolland, Bornholm, Funen (belong to Denmark); Öland and Gotland (Swedish islands); Fehmarn and Rügen (refers to Germany); Hiiumaa, Saaremaa (Estonia).

Coastline

The Baltic Sea (the ocean strongly affects it with its waters) has a different coastline along the entire perimeter of the waters. In the northern part, the bottom is uneven, rocky, and the coast is indented with small bays, ledges and small islands. The southern part, on the contrary, has a flat bottom, and a low-lying coast, with a sandy beach, which in some areas is represented by small dunes. A frequent occurrence on the young coast is sandy spits, deeply cutting into the sea.
The sedimentary bottom is represented by green, black silt (of glacial origin) and sand, and the soil consists of stones and boulders.

Salinity and its regular changes

Due to the large amount of precipitation and powerful water runoff from the rivers, the Baltic Sea (the salinity of the reservoir is relatively low) is filled with excess fresh water. It is distributed unevenly. Where the Baltic reservoir enters deep into the shore, the water is practically fresh, and the North Sea influences its salinity. This position is not permanent. Storm winds contribute to the mixing of water.
Based on this, the salinity of the Baltic Sea is low. A decrease in its level is typical for the coastline, the largest number of ppm is at the bottom.
In the territory where the watercourse meets the straits in the west, the salinity of the waters is up to 20 ‰ on the sea surface, at the bottom - 30 ‰. Off the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland, the lowest indicator. It does not exceed 3‰. The level from 6 to 8‰ is characteristic of the waters of the central part.

Seasonality also affects the distribution of salinity in the Baltic Sea. So, in the spring-summer season, it decreases by 0.5-0.2 ppm. This is due to the fact that melted rivers carry fresh water to the sea. And in autumn and winter, on the contrary, it increases due to the influx of cold northern masses.

The change in the salinity of the sea is one of the important reasons that regulate the biological, physical and chemical processes on the coast. Partly due to the freshness of the water, the coast has a loose structure.

The Baltic Sea washes the shores Russian Federation, Denmark, and countries . The Russian Federation owns small water areas in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea - the Kaliningrad Bay and part of the Curonian Lagoon (the territory of the Kaliningrad Region) and the eastern outskirts of the Gulf of Finland (the territory Leningrad region).

The Baltic Sea is deeply incised into the Northwestern part. This is an inland sea, connected with the North Sea of the Atlantic Ocean by the system of the Øresund (Sund), Great Belt, Small Belt straits, known collectively as the Danish Straits. They pass into the deep and wide straits of the Skagerrak, Kattegat, which already belong to, which is directly connected with.

The area of the Baltic Sea is 419 thousand km2, the volume is 21.5 thousand km3, the average depth is 51 m, the greatest depth is 470 m.

About 250 rivers flow into the Baltic Sea. The largest rivers are Vistula, Oder, Neman, Daugava, Neva. The Neva brings the largest amount of water per year - an average of 83.5 km3.
The Baltic Sea stretches from the southwest to the northeast, and its greatest length is 1360 km. The widest point of the sea is at 60° N. sh., between St. Petersburg and Stockholm, it stretches for almost 650 km.

The bottom relief of the Baltic Sea is uneven. The sea lies entirely within the shelf. The bottom of its basin is indented by underwater depressions, separated by hills and socles of islands.

The Baltic Sea is characterized by a long coastline. It has many bays, bays and a large number of islands. The sea represents a set of individual basins: the zone of the Danish Straits, the open or central part of the sea and three large bays - Bothnian, Finnish and Riga, which account for almost half of the sea.

Numerous islands of the Baltic Sea are located both off the mainland coast and in the open sea; in some parts of the sea the islands are grouped in large archipelagos, in others they stand alone.

The largest of the islands: Danish -, Funen, Lolland, Falster, Langeland, Mön, Bornholm; Swedish - Gotland, Eland; German - Rügen and Fehmarn; - Saaremaa and Hiiumaa.

The coasts of the northern and southern half of the sea differ sharply in character. The skerry shores of Sweden and Finland are indented with small bays and gulfs, framed by islands composed of crystalline rocks. They are mostly low, sometimes bare, and in some places overgrown. The southern shores are low-lying, consist of sand and have a large number of shoals. In some places, along the coast, chains of sand dunes stretch here, and long spits protrude into the sea, forming large lagoons desalinated by the flow of rivers. The largest of these shallow bays are Curonian and Vistula.

The bottom sediments of the Baltic Sea are represented mainly by silts and sand. The soils of the Baltic Sea are characterized by stones and boulders, often found at the bottom of the sea. Sandy deposits are common in coastal areas. In the Gulf of Finland, most of the bottom is covered with sands with separate patches of silt, occupying small and forming a somewhat elongated field of sediments along the strike of the gulf of the Neva delta front. The construction of the dam, which fenced off a significant part of the water area from the open sea, significantly changed the composition and distribution of precipitation that existed in natural conditions.

The climate of the Baltic Sea is maritime with features of continentality. The peculiar configuration of the sea and a significant length from north to south and from west to east create differences in different areas of the sea.

The Icelandic low, as well as the Siberian and Azores have the most significant effect on the weather. The nature of their interaction determines the seasonal features of the weather. In autumn and especially in winter, the Icelandic Low and the Siberian High interact intensively, which intensifies cyclonic activity over the sea. In this regard, in autumn and winter, deep cyclones often pass, which bring with them cloudy weather with strong southwestern and western winds.

In the coldest months - January and February - the average in the central part of the sea is -3°С in the north and -5...-8°С in the east. With rare and short-term cold intrusions associated with the strengthening of the Polar Maximum, the air temperature over the sea drops to -30°C and even to -35°C.

In summer, predominantly western, northwestern weak to moderate winds blow. They are associated with the cool and humid summer weather characteristic of the sea. The average monthly temperature of the warmest month is 14–15°C in the Gulf of Bothnia and 16–18°C in the rest of the sea. Hot weather is rare. It is caused by short-term inflows of warm Mediterranean air.

The temperature conditions of the waters of the Baltic Sea in different parts of it are not the same and depend not only on geographical location places, but also on the meteorological and hydrological features of the area. The heating of the surface by the rays of the sun and the inflow of deep ocean waters are of the greatest importance for the temperature regime of the Baltic Sea. It determines big picture temperature conditions of the sea. In the surface layers, the water temperature varies widely. At depths exceeding 50 meters, the water temperature is kept within 3-4 ° C all year round in the southern part of the sea and near zero in the northern Bothnian region.

During the summer months, surface water temperatures are generally close to air temperatures. Near the eastern shores, the water temperature is higher due to the influence of warm, southward land masses, and along the western, Swedish, coast, it is lower due to the flow of cold waters from the north, from the Gulf of Bothnia. In winter, on the contrary, the eastern parts of the sea are colder than the western ones; they are subject to the influence of the chilled land masses of the mainland, and the western parts of the sea during this period experience a regular supply of warm air.

Limited water exchange with the North Sea and significant river runoff result in low salinity. On the sea surface, it decreases from west to east, which is associated with the predominant inflow of river waters from the eastern Baltic. In the northern and central regions of the basin, salinity somewhat decreases from east to west, since in cyclonic circulation, saline waters are transported from south to northeast along the eastern coast of the sea further than along the western one. A decrease in surface salinity is also traced from south to north in the bays.

In almost the entire sea, a significant increase from the surface to the bottom is noticeable. The change in salinity with depth is basically the same throughout the sea, with the exception of the Gulf of Bothnia. In the southwestern and partly central regions of the sea, it gradually and slightly increases from the surface to horizons of 30–50 m; below, between 60–80 m, there is a sharp shock layer (halocline), deeper than which the salinity again slightly increases towards the bottom. In the central and northeastern parts, salinity increases very slowly from the surface to horizons of 70–80 m; deeper, at 80–100 m, there is a halocline, and then salinity slightly increases to the bottom. In the Gulf of Bothnia, salinity increases from the surface to the bottom only by 1–2‰.

In autumn-winter time, the flow of North Sea waters into the Baltic Sea increases, and in summer-autumn it somewhat decreases, which leads to an increase or decrease in the salinity of deep waters, respectively. In the autumn-winter season, the salinity of the upper layers slightly increases due to reduction and deviation during ice formation. In spring and summer, salinity on the surface decreases by 0.2–0.5‰ compared to the cold half of the year. This is explained by the desalination effect of continental runoff and the spring melting of ice. In addition to seasonal fluctuations in salinity, the Baltic Sea, unlike many seas of the World Ocean, is characterized by its significant interannual changes. Salinity variability in the Baltic Sea is one of the most important factors regulating many physical, chemical and biological processes. Due to the low salinity of the surface waters of the sea, their density is also low and decreases from south to north, varying slightly from season to season. Density increases with depth.

The Baltic Sea is covered with ice in some areas. The earliest (around the beginning of November) ice forms in the northeastern part of the Gulf of Bothnia, in small bays and off the coast. Then the shallow areas of the Gulf of Finland begin to freeze. The maximum development of the ice cover reaches in early March. By this time, motionless ice occupies the northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia, the region of the Aland skerries and the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland. Floating ice occurs in the open areas of the northeastern part of the sea.

The main problems of the Baltic Sea are related to the gradual deterioration of oxygen conditions in the deep layers of the sea, which has been observed in recent decades. In some years, oxygen disappears completely already at a depth of 150 m, where it forms hydrogen sulfide. These changes are the result of both natural changes in the environment, mainly temperature, water salinity and water exchange, and anthropogenic impact, which is expressed mainly in an increase in the supply of nutrient salts in the form of various forms of nitrogen and phosphorus.

The significance of the Baltic Sea in the national economy of the countries of the region and the ever-increasing negative impact of anthropogenic factors on the quality of the marine environment require urgent measures to be taken to guarantee the cleanliness of the sea.

Pollution enters the sea directly from sewage or from ships, diffusely across rivers or . The main mass of pollutants is brought into the sea with the flow of rivers (Neva, Vistula) both in a dissolved state and adsorbed on suspension. In addition, the seaside cities, St. Petersburg, Kronstadt, Vyborg and, to the greatest extent, the merchant and military fleets are sources of pollution of the marine environment with oil products.

The greatest harm to the marine environment is caused by toxic substances (salts of heavy metals, DDT, phenols, etc.), oil products, organic and biogenic substances. About 300 tons of oil products come from various sources annually. The main mass of nitrogenous compounds enters the sea diffusely, as well as sulfur compounds, which enter the marine environment mainly through the atmosphere. Toxic substances are discharged mainly by industry. The different nature of pollution complicates the struggle for the purity of the marine environment and requires the implementation of a complex set of water protection measures.

Monitoring of the marine environment is, first of all, the organization of systematic observations of the physicochemical and biological indicators of the marine environment at constant representative points of the reservoir.

The quality of the marine environment of the Baltic Sea as a whole meets the requirements of water users, however, pollution zones have formed near many large cities. It is alarming that over the past decades the content of toxic substances in marine living organisms has increased to two orders of magnitude, which once again indicates the need for urgent water protection measures. Great harm is caused by accidental spills of oil products from tankers. The monitoring results will make it possible to periodically check the state of the marine environment, i.e., to identify the dynamics of marine pollution.

Two small sections of the bottom of the coastal part of the Baltic Sea belonging to Russia are sharply different in terms of geoecological conditions. The most anthropogenic pressure is experienced by the inner, eastern part of the Gulf of Finland within the Leningrad region. The main area of pollution was that part of the bay, which is located east of Kotlin Island, between it and the Neva delta. This happened several years ago after the construction of a dam running from Kotlin Island to the northern and southern mainland shores. An important element of the geoecological situation in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland are numerous underwater quarries for the extraction of construction raw materials, mainly sand, which in the future may pose a threat to the stability of the coastal part of the bottom and coasts.

In ancient times, there was a glacial lake on the site of the current Baltic Sea. Only 14,000 years ago, it formed inside the Eurasian continent, in fact, creating an extension of the Atlantic Ocean inland.

The Baltic Sea is a unique body of water in which three layers of the water column almost do not mix with each other, and also contains a significant gold and amber reserve.

The Baltic Sea is an inland sea with a strongly indented coastline, as closed as possible by land. Only a few straits connect it to the waters of the North Sea around Denmark, Germany and Sweden. The coastline of the Baltic Sea covers nine states: Germany, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Estonia.

Reference:

Harsh northern landscapes, large shallows and amazing story- The Baltic Sea hides many secrets under the water column, which few people know about.

Baltic Sea water temperature map

Climate and water temperature in the Baltic Sea

Sea features

The Baltic Sea is essentially a unique body of water on our planet. Three layers of the water column, which miraculously do not mix with each other, but are layered on top of each other - there is no such phenomenon in any other sea in the world. Upper layer(70 meters deep) is represented by desalinated and rain water, as well as a slightly saline solution of sea water, second layer(10-20 meters) - this is the so-called "salt wedge", it prevents the mixing of salt water with the lowest layer, completely devoid of oxygen. third layer fills the hollows of the sea, from which hydrogen sulfide can sometimes rise, turning the water into a "dead zone" where living organisms cannot reproduce. However, during severe storms, about once every few years, water from the Arctic Ocean is thrown into the Baltic Sea, thereby renewing it.

Interesting history of the sea. Twice from the moment of formation, it turned out to be a freshwater lake. For the first time - over 4000 years it existed in the form of a glacial reservoir. Then, in the area of Swedish lakes in Yoldiev (as scientists called that period in the history of the Baltic Sea), salt water penetrated the sea, thereby creating a strait not far from Stockholm. The lowering of the world ocean level after several thousand years again led to the desalination of the sea, again returning it to the state of the fresh lake of Ancylus. The Baltic Sea finally formed about 7,000 years ago, when the level of the world's oceans rose again.

The coastline of the Baltic Sea is quite different. The sandy bottom is pronounced in the south and southeast. The flat coast is far from everywhere, for example, in Sweden and Finland the coastline is special - it is a landscape of amazing beauty, formed by thousands of rounded islands.

Another one interesting feature Baltic Sea - there are no tides. Currents are formed mainly by means of winds and the force of flowing rivers. Fresh water from more than two hundred rivers flowing into the sea replenishes the supply of the eastern regions of the reservoir most of all. The currents are slow, as they are surface, and are up to 15 cm/sec.

The Baltic climate is not as severe as in the area of the Arctic seas. Temperate latitudes, location within the mainland and air masses with Atlantic Ocean soften the rather harsh northern climate of the Baltic Sea. Continental climate with sea features - this is how the weather formation factor in the Baltics is characterized. But given the area of the reservoir, its different parts have their own climacteric features.

The Siberian, Azov anticyclones, as well as the Icelandic Low are the main weather factors, the dominant effect of which forms the change of seasons in the Baltic region.

Baltic sea in autumn

In autumn, the Siberian High and the Icelandic Low dominate the Baltic. Cyclones sweep across the sea from west to east. They bring with them cold, overcast weather with strong southwesterly and western direction. Winds create surface currents, which are especially strong in autumn and winter during storms - up to 150 cm/sec.

In the last 10 years, the climate has changed, and the period when the water usually warms up has shifted from July to almost September.

Baltic sea in winter

Cyclones have an impact, gradually spreading to the northeast. January and February are considered the coldest months of the year. In the central part of the Baltic Sea, the average temperature in January does not exceed -3°C. It is colder in the northern and eastern parts, where average monthly temperatures are around -8°C. There are also significant cold snaps, when the air temperature drops sharply to -35 ° C. Such frosty weather is formed by the air masses that came from the Arctic through the Polar Minimum.

In the northern part of the sea, the water freezes in winter, sometimes the ice lasts up to 50 days. Near the coast, the water temperature is lower than at depth.

Baltic sea in spring

In spring and summer, the Baltic is dominated by low pressure and the Azores High, which is sometimes supplemented by the Polar High. Cyclones are no longer as strong as in winter. The winds are not so strong, different directions. In the spring, because of this, the weather is unstable, and when the north winds blow, they quickly bring cold to the region.

Most precipitation occurs in March.

In spring and summer, the Neva gives the sea the largest flow of river water.

Baltic sea in summer

Western and northwestern winds in summer form unstable, humid and cool weather. Nevertheless, it is also hot in the Baltic region - air masses from the Mediterranean bring dry and very warm weather, but very rarely. More often the average July temperature does not exceed +18°C. The coldest water in summer will be near the western, central and southern coasts. The westerly wind constantly "drives" the heated layers of water, thus mixing the cold waters from the open sea with the warm water near the shore, so you can never find warm water in the Baltic Sea.

In July, when the water temperature rises, the sea begins to “bloom”, and already in the first half of August it turns into a “soup”, in which it is almost impossible to swim.

Holidays on the Baltic Sea

The water temperature varies by season and region. In winter, the water near the coast is colder than in the open sea. The western coast is generally warmer than, for example, the eastern part, which is due to the influence of air masses from the coast.

There are often storms in the Baltic Sea, but the waves rarely exceed three meters. Several cases were recorded when the waves reached 10 meters in height.

The maximum water temperature is +20°C. But it all depends on the strength of the wind and its direction.

The most environmentally friendly beaches are located on the segment south of the Klaipeda Bay, as well as off the coast of Latvia.

The most popular Baltic Sea resorts by country

The beaches around the Klaipeda Strait and the border with Latvia are considered the cleanest. In Lithuania, there are "blue flags" of the EU, meaning environmental friendliness, cleanliness, safety of recreation. They rise above three beaches: the central one in Nida, in Juodkrante and on the beach of Birutes Park in Palanga.

Baltic Sea in Russia

The country owns small water areas. This is the eastern part of the Baltic Sea - the Kaliningrad Bay, part of the Curonian Lagoon in the region of the Kaliningrad Region) and the eastern outskirts of the Gulf of Finland.

In Russia, the Kaliningrad region is responsible for the resort area on the Baltic Sea. Sandy beaches, low water and air temperature, no need for acclimatization. Svetlogorsk and Zelenogradsk are the main tourist centers. The Curonian Spit is interesting to visit, along which you can go to the territory of neighboring Lithuania. Narrowed in places from four kilometers to several hundred meters, it used to be picturesque and rich in natural beauties. But today the reserve is on the verge of ecological catastrophe. The local hydrogen sulfide smell of the bay is considered a natural feature.

In bays or near the mouth of rivers, the water level often fluctuates. The maximum values can reach up to two meters. This often causes floods in St. Petersburg.

Baltic Sea in Poland

Poland is lucky with the Baltic coast. The country owns 500 kilometers of coastline. Often, these are sandy beaches and a well-developed tourist infrastructure. Air saturated with iodine is useful for lung diseases.

Kolobrzeg, Poland. High European class resort, at the same time one of the best health spots in the Baltic

Baltic Sea in Germany

A distinctive feature of the coastline of the Baltic Sea, which belongs to Germany, are the fjords - indented stretches of land, sometimes deeply protruding into the sea in the west, and gently sloping wide sandy beaches in the east. Interestingly, the Germans call the sea not the Baltic, but the East. In summer, the air temperature here is a maximum of + 20 ° С, the sea warms up no higher than + 18 ° С.

Main resort: Rügen, Germany. The resort is for youth, most of the beaches are nudist.

Anomaly of the Baltic Sea. In 2011, the media published a number of controversial statements made by members of the Ocean X Team, who explored the bottom of the Baltic Sea in the area between the Swedish and Finnish waters in order to find sunken ships. At a depth of 87 meters, research divers found a huge "something" that is not particularly amenable to scientific description. According to the team members, the object located at the bottom looks like a huge "mushroom" with a diameter of almost 20 meters. Within a radius of 200 meters from it, all radar and satellite equipment stops working. Theories have been put forward that it is both a UFO, and a Nazi anti-submarine structure, and just a rock. Almost a decade has passed, but the origin of the object is still a mystery.

Baltic Sea in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia

The Baltics got the cleanest and most beautiful part of the Baltic Sea. There are beaches awarded with "blue flags", and the historical component is nearby ... Tourism on the coast is very well developed here.

The best beaches in the region include:

The beaches of Palanga, Lithuania. The length is 20 kilometers, there is an infrastructure for recreation, a botanical garden, a pine forest around.
Beaches of Neringa, Lithuania. Secluded place, few tourists. There is a "blue flag" - that says it all about environmental friendliness. Cons: unstable climate, strong wind.
Pirita beach, Estonia. The largest beach in Tallinn. The length is four kilometers, fine sand, pine forest right at the coastline. There is a yacht center.
Nyva beach, Estonia. An ideal place for a camping holiday. The only place in the country where there are "singing sands" - a unique natural phenomenon in which the sand creaks underfoot. It sounds more like a dog "wow-wow" than a melody, but the phenomenon is interesting.
Ventspils beach, Latvia. The magnificent dunes are up to nine meters high, and the width of the beach is up to 80 meters, the length is more than a kilometer. There is a blue flag. Minus - because of the cold currents, the water never warms up to comfortable temperatures.
Liepaja beach, Latvia. Soft white sand. You can find pieces of amber.
Jurmala, Latvia. The medical-resort direction is developed, as well as the festival movement.

Baltic Sea in Sweden and Finland

The Swedish and Finnish coasts are skerry, that is, they are formed by large and small rounded islands, whose age reaches 15,000-118,000 years. They arose back in the ice age, when huge masses of ice roamed the water surface, polishing the coastal strip and protruding land. Sweden and Finland can boast of such amazing landscapes.

Main Resort: Öland, Sweden. The island is located seven kilometers from land, connected to the mainland by a bridge. Europeans call it the "Swedish Cote d'Azur". From tourist objects: raukars are sculptures carved by nature from limestone. People come here for excellent surfing from May to October, the local wind creates excellent waves for skiing. But you won't be able to swim - the water is very cold.

Baltic Sea in Denmark

On the coast of the Danish part of the Baltic Sea is one of the natural wonders - a bizarre forest called the "Troll Forest". Ornate, sometimes twisted trunks and branches of trees turn this place into a landscape from a fairy tale. Another "miracle" of the Danish side of the Baltic Sea is a natural phenomenon near the city of Skagen. Surely, everyone is familiar with the photographs, called "Meeting of the Seas", and the locals consider this place the end of the world. We are talking about the border of the Baltic and North Seas, in which the density of water and salinity are different (the salinity differs by one and a half times in favor of the North Sea), so their border is clearly visible, and the waters do not mix with each other. The existence and cause of the watershed was once proved by the world-famous Jacques Yves Cousteau.

Cruises on the Baltic Sea

Cruises are a popular form of recreation. They are organized for 7-14 days with the opportunity to visit a different number of countries. In addition, you can see the Aland Islands and the island of Gotland. During the cruise, cities such as Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Tallinn, Riga, Copenhagen, Kiel, Visby are most often visited.

The season starts at the end of April when passenger navigation opens and ends in October. The best months are July and August. In the second half of June, you can see such a phenomenon as "white nights".

Ports of the Baltic Sea

In the Baltic Sea, given the number of countries that its coastline covers, there are many ports. Transshipment of goods goes on non-stop, thereby uninterruptedly supplying goods and raw materials to production. But connected with it a big problem- ecological.

The Baltic Sea is one of the most polluted, environmentalists say. This is facilitated by its closed type, slow renewal of water reserves, a series of oil spills, hazardous industrial production and constant emissions from the coastline, as well as active shipping, and the absence of treatment facilities. Shipping brings more and more dangerous dioxides. Nitrogen, phosphorus - the "handiwork" of Poland, heavy metals - the Baltic countries, the most polluting the sea with mercury, lead, cadmium - Russia.

There are no prerequisites for a resort holiday in the port water area, because there is the most polluted water.

Speaking of ecology, it should be noted that a real slow-acting weapon is hidden at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. The fact is that after the Second World War, about 300,000 tons of bombs and shells were dropped and flooded into the sea. The potential threat lies within - more than 50,000 tons of substances that make up ammunition, can potentially destroy the ecology of all of Europe. Salt water gradually corrodes the outer metal layers, rust allows the water to wash hazardous substances into the environment. Because of the ecological catastrophe threatening from the bowels of the Baltic, the reservoir is called the "sea of death" and "time bomb". However, this issue is still under observation.

Baltic Sea(it is also called the East Sea) is considered an inland sea that goes deep into the continent.

The northern extreme point of the Baltic Sea is located near the Arctic Circle, the southern one is near the German city of Wismar, the western one is near the city of Flensburg, and the eastern one is near St. Petersburg. This sea belongs to the ocean.

General information about the Baltic

The area of the sea (excluding islands) is 415 km. sq. It washes the shores of such states:

Estonia;
Russia;
Lithuania;
Germany;
Latvia;
Poland
Latvia;
Denmark;
Finland;
* Sweden.

Large bays are: Bothnian, Finnish, Riga, Curonian (separated by a scythe). The largest islands: Eland, Wolin, Aland, Gotland, Als, Saaremaaa, Muhu, Men, Usedom, Fore and others. The largest rivers are: Zapadnya Dvina, Neva, Vistula, Venta, Narva, Pregolya.

The Baltic Sea through the Volga-Baltic basin comes to and is located on the continental shelf. In the area of islands, shoals and banks, the depth varies within 12 meters. There are a couple of basins where the depth reaches 200 meters. The Landsort basin is considered the deepest (470 meters), the basin depth reaches 250 meters, and in the Gulf of Bothnia - 254 meters.

In the southern region, the seabed is flat, while in the north it is predominantly rocky. A huge part of the bottom is covered with deposits of glacial origin of various colors (green, brown, black).

A feature of the Baltic Sea is that there is an excess of fresh water here, which is formed due to river runoff and precipitation.

Its surface brackish waters constantly go into. During storms, the exchange between these seas changes, as in the straits the water mixes from the bottom. The salinity of the sea is on the wane from the Danish Straits (20 ppm) to the east (in the Gulf of Bothnia 3 ppm, and in Finland - 2 ppm). Tides can be diurnal and semidiurnal (do not exceed 20 cm).

Compared to other seas, the disturbances of the Baltic Sea are quite insignificant. In the central parts of the sea, waves can reach 3-3.5 meters, less often - 4 meters. During large storms, waves 10-11 meters high were recorded. The most transparent water with a bluish-green tint is observed in the Gulf of Bothnia, in coastal areas it is more turbid and has yellowish green color. Due to the development of plankton, the lowest water transparency can be traced in summer. The soils of the coastal zone are diverse: in the southern regions - sand, in the east - silt and sand, and on the northern coast - stone.

Climate of the Baltic Sea

The sea temperature is generally lower than in other seas. On mornings in the summer, due to southerly winds that drive the upper warm layers into the ocean, the temperature sometimes drops below 12 degrees. When northerly winds begin to blow, surface waters become much warmer. The highest temperature is in August - about 18 C. In January, it varies from 0 to 3 C.

Due to low salinity, harsh winters and shallow depths, the Baltic Sea often freezes over, although not every winter.

Flora and fauna

The water in the Baltic Sea changes from sea salt to fresh water. Marine mollusks live only in the western region of the sea, where the water is saltier. Of the fish, sprat, cod, herring are represented here. Smelt, vendace salmon and others are found in the Gulf of Finland. Seals live in the region of the Aland Islands.

Due to the presence of many islands, rocks, reefs in the sea, navigation in the Baltic Sea is quite dangerous. This danger is somewhat reduced due to the presence of a large number of lighthouses here (most of them). The largest cruise ships leave the Danish straits and enter Atlantic Ocean. The most difficult place is the Great Belt Bridge. The largest ports: Tallinn, Baltiysk, Lubeck, Riga, Stockholm, Szczecin, Rostock, Kiel, Vyborg, Gdansk, St. Petersburg;

Ptolemy called this sea the Venedian, which comes from the name of the Slavic peoples who lived in ancient times in the southern part of the coast - Wends or Wends;
The famous route from the Varangians to the Greeks ran across the Baltic Sea;
The Tale of Bygone Years calls him by the Varangian Sea;
The name "Baltic Sea" is found for the first time in the treatise of Adam of Bremen in 1080;
This sea is rich in oil, manganese, iron and amber. The Nord Stream gas pipeline runs along its bottom;
Every year March 22 is the day of protection environment the Baltic Sea. This decision was taken by the Helsinki Commission in 1986.