Top 10 Fascinating Facts about the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea. Photo by Philipp Deus. Unsplash

Top 10 Fascinating Facts about the Baltic Sea

Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North and Central European Plain encircle the Baltic Sea.

The sea encompasses 53°N to 66°N latitude and 10°E to 30°E longitude. The Baltic Sea, a marginal sea of the Atlantic with limited water exchange between the two bodies, drains into the Kattegat via the Danish Straits via the resund, Great Belt, and Little Belt. It comprises the Gulf of Bothnia, Bay of Bothnia, Gulf of Finland, Gulf of Riga, and Bay of Gdask.

The Baltic Proper is bounded on the north by land and the Gulf of Bothnia, on the northeast by the Gulf of Finland, on the east by the Gulf of Riga, and on the west by the Swedish part of the southern Scandinavian Peninsula.

The Baltic Sea is linked to the White Sea by the White Sea-Baltic Canal and to the German Bight of the North Sea by the Kiel Canal.

1. The Baltic Sea has a distinct seasonality

The Baltic Sea has a distinct climate, also known as the Baltic climate. It has pronounced seasonality, with cold winters that are long and warm summers that are relatively short. The extreme temperatures between the two seasons range between 10 and 17 degrees Celsius.

Another notable feature of the Baltic climate is its tendency to change over time. While it exhibits the influence of mild maritime weather at times, it also exhibits the influence of continental climate at other times.

The amount of precipitation depends on the type of climate at the time. It could be anywhere between 20 and 24 inches depending on the weather. That is, it may vary between 500 mm and 600 mm over the course of a year.

The weather is cloudy for the majority of the year. In the spring, fog appears, whereas in the summer, a sea breeze blows.

2. The Baltic Sea is the largest inland brackish sea in the world

Brackish water. Photo by Karl Callwood. Unsplash

Only two other brackish waters are larger: The Black Sea has a larger surface area and volume of water, but it is mostly located outside the continental shelf (only a small percentage is inland). The Caspian Sea has more water volume, but it is a lake rather than a sea, despite its name.

3. The salinity of the Baltic Sea is much lower than that of ocean water

Baltic Sea. Photo by Christian. Unsplash

Because it is almost completely surrounded by land on all sides, the Baltic Sea has a shallow outlet. Its two major tributaries are the Oder and the Vistula. These rivers run for a long distance and are influenced by a temperate continental climate. As a result, they evaporate at a slower rate. This explains why both rivers evaporate at a slower rate.

When it comes to the salinity of the Baltic Sea, the western Baltic has the highest salinity. The water in the Gulf of Bothnia is the least salty. The top portion contains approximately one-third of the average salinity of the sea.

The lower salt concentration in seawater is reflected in the Baltic Sea’s hydrology. The Sea collects ice on the Gulf of Bothnia due to its low salinity, especially during winter. The resulting pack ice reaches a height of 50 feet. Furthermore, the lower salt concentration in seawater plays an important role in the formation of drift ice, particularly in the northern region of the Aland Islands.

Normally, navigating in areas with ice packs or drift ice becomes difficult. In contrast, navigation is simple in various regions of Finland where ice formation occurs. Though severe winters make navigation difficult in these areas, it remains simple and straightforward for the majority of the time.

4. The Baltic Sea is home to both freshwater and marine life

Freshwater and marine wildlife, in general, thrive in their respective environments or habitats. However, some habitable zones can support both types of life in the same environment. 

The Baltic Sea is fed by many rivers, including the major ones. This is in charge of bringing in fresh water organisms.

The presence of life forms from both freshwater and marine environments is a distinguishing characteristic of the Baltic Sea. It attracts the attention of environmentalists and other curious individuals to the water. The lower density of salt, which is primarily responsible for creating a favorable environment for freshwater wildlife, also contributes to ice-cap accumulation.

5. Since World War II, some of the world’s largest countries have polluted the Baltic Sea

Various nations, including the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States, have disposed of chemical weapons in the Baltic Sea since World War II, raising concerns about environmental contamination. Today, fishermen find some of these materials on occasion.

6. The Baltic Sea is one of the world’s youngest seas

Two people sitting on shore. Photo by Robert Bye. Unsplash

Most people believe that seas represent older bodies of water. As a result, the time of its formation is highlighted. In this regard, the Baltic is not particularly old. Other seas existed much earlier.

It formed around 10,000 years ago, and as a result, most people believe it is younger than other seas. They believe that 10,000 years is a relatively short time span compared to the formation of other seas. The Danish islands are distinguished by numerous shallow inlets and a shattered coastline.

7. A speculation of a crashed UFO was found at the bottom of the Baltic Sea

Debris found in sea. Photo by Pascal Scholl. Unsplash

Using sonar, a group of treasure hunters based in Stockholm discovered a strange disc-shaped object on the floor of the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Finland. From above, it resembles the Millennium Falcon from “Star Wars.” It’s big (197 feet in diameter) and in about 275 feet of water.

The adventurous Ocean Explorer team was diving in the waters between Sweden and Finland in search of old shipwrecks. Instead, when they discovered what they thought was an underwater UFO, their imaginations ran wild. Others speculated that it could be a Russian spaceship or the ruins of a sunken city from 140,000 years ago.

8. The Baltic Sea contains over 20 archipelagos and islands

Island surrounded with water with trees. Photo by Zunnoon Ahmed. Unsplash

Gotland, off the coast of Sweden, is the largest island in the Baltic Sea, measuring 1,156 square miles (2,994 sq. km).

9. There are over 200 large harbors on the Baltic Sea

Almost every city along the coast has some kind of port. Several national capitals, including Helsinki, Tallinn, Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Riga, are also major ports.

The largest passenger ports are the Ports of Helsinki and Tallinn, as well as the Ports of Stockholm and Helsingborg.

10. The Baltic Sea is no longer the major trade route

In the Middle Ages, when it served as the primary means of communication between the Hanseatic League ports. The German Hansa merchants primarily traded in fish, particularly salted herring and stock fish (dried cod from Norway and Iceland), but they also traded in softwood timber for shipbuilding, hemp for ropes, flax for sailcloth, and grain.

Honey and furs, particularly from Russia and Finland, were among the forest products, as were Stockholm tar and amber, the latter a semiprecious commodity. The Hanseatic League declined due to overfishing of herring, the opening of trade to the Americas and the Caribbean following the European Age of Discovery, and the increase in the size of sailing ships. Copenhagen, on the other hand, prospered on the profits from tolls levied on passing shipping until tolls were abolished in 1857.