Key Facts about Baltic Sea

About Baltic Sea

• It is a semi-enclosed inland sea located in Northern Europe.
• It is an arm of the North Atlantic Ocean, extending northward from the latitude of southern Denmark almost to the Arctic Circle and separating the Scandinavian Peninsula from the rest of continental Europe. 
• It has a coastline of approximately 8,000 km, shared by several countries, including Sweden, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Finland, Estonia, Germany, Denmark, and Russia.
• It covers an area of approximately 377,000 sq.km. The sea is approximately 1,600 km long and 193 km wide.
• It is connected to the White Sea via the White Sea Canal and to the North Sea’s German Bight via the Kiel Canal.
• It connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the Danish Straits.
• The Baltic Sea contains three major gulfs: the Gulf of Bothnia to the north, the Gulf of Finland to the east, and the Gulf of Riga slightly to the south of that.
• It is often cited as the world’s largest brackish inland water body.
• Its water salinity levels are lower than that of the World Oceans due to the inflow of fresh water from the surrounding land and the sea’s shallowness.
• More than 250 rivers and streams empty their waters into the Baltic Sea. Neva is the largest river that drains into the Baltic Sea.
• slands: It is home to over 20 islands and archipelagos. Gotland, located off the coast of Sweden, is the largest island in the Baltic Sea.

Q1) What are the Baltic Nations?

These are three countries of north-eastern Europe, on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Nations are Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. They are bounded on the west and north by the Baltic Sea, on the east by Russia, on the southeast by Belarus, and on the southwest by Poland and an exclave of Russia. 

Source: Scientists accidentally find a mysterious one-km-long wall in Baltic Sea