In which city is the Baltic Sea located? Seas of Russia - Baltic Sea

Encyclopedia of Plants 13.10.2019

Encyclopedia of Plants

BALTIC SEA(Late Latin Mare Balticum, among the ancient Slavs - the Varangian Sea or the Svean Sea), the inland sea of the Atlantic Ocean, between the Scandinavian Peninsula and the mainland shores of North-Western Europe. Washes the shores of Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Denmark. Joins the North Sea in the southwest Danish Straits. The maritime boundary of the Baltic sea runs along the southern entrances of the Øresund, Great Belt, and Lesser Belt straits. The area is 419 thousand km 2, the volume is 21.5 thousand km 3. The greatest depth is 470 m. Depths above the rapids of the Danish Straits: Darser - 18 m, Drogden - 7 m. The cross section above the rapids is 0.225 and 0.08 km 2, respectively, which limits water exchange with the North Sea. The B. m. protrudes deeply into the Eurasian continent. The heavily indented coastline forms numerous bays and coves. The largest bays: Gulf of Bothnia, Gulf of Finland, Gulf of Riga, Curonian Lagoon, Szczecin Bay, Gdansk Bay. The shores of the B. m. in the north are high, rocky, mostly of the skerry and fjord types, in the south and southeast they are mostly low-lying, of the lagoon type, with sandy and pebble beaches. The largest islands: Gotland, Bornholm, Saaremaa, Muhu, Hiiumaa, Eland and Rügen. There are many small rocky islands - skerries, located along the northern shores (there are over 6 thousand in the Aland Islands group).

Relief and geological structure of the bottom

The Baltic Sea is shallow, lies completely within the shelf, depths up to 200 m occupy 99.8% of its area. The most shallow are the Gulfs of Finland, Bothnia and Riga. Their bottom sections have a leveled accumulative relief and a well-developed cover of loose sediments. Most of the bottom of the Baltic Sea is characterized by a strongly dissected relief. The bottom of its basin has depressions delimited by elevations and island bases: in the west - Bornholmskaya (105 m) and Arkonskaya (53 m), in the center - Gotlandskaya (249 m) and Gdanskaya (116 m); to the north of the island of Gotland, from the northeast to the southwest, the deepest depression, Landsortskaya (up to 470 m), stretches. Numerous stone ridges, ledges are traced in the central part of the sea - continuations of glints stretching from the northern coast of Estonia to the northern tip of the island of Öland, underwater valleys, glacial-accumulative landforms flooded by the sea.

B. m. occupies a depression in the west of the ancient East European platform. The northern part of the sea is located on the southern slope Baltic Shield; the central and southern parts belong to a large negative structure of the ancient platform - the Baltic syneclise. The extreme southwestern part of the sea enters the limits of the young Western European platform. The bottom in the north of the Baltic sea is composed mainly of complexes of Precambrian age, overlain by a discontinuous cover of glacial and modern marine deposits. Silurian and Devonian sediments take part in the bottom structure in the central part of the sea. The ledges traced here are formed by the Cambrian-Ordovician and Silurian rocks. The Paleozoic complexes in the south are overlain by a thick layer of glacial and marine sediments.

During the last ice epoch (late Pleistocene), the depression of the B. m. was completely covered by an ice sheet, after the melting of which the Baltic Glacial Lake was formed. Late Late Pleistocene, ca. 13 thousand years ago, there was a connection of the lake with the ocean and the depression was filled with sea water. Communication with the ocean was interrupted in the interval of 9–7.5 thousand years ago, after which a marine transgression followed, the deposits of which are known on the modern coast of the Baltic Sea. In the northern part of the Baltic Sea, uplift continues, the rate of which reaches 1 cm per year.

Bottom sediments at depths of more than 80 m are represented by clayey silts, under which banded clay occurs on glacial deposits; at shallower depths, silt is mixed with sand; sands are common in coastal areas. There are boulders of glacial origin.

Climate

B. m. is characterized by a temperate maritime climate with features of continentality. His seasonal features are determined by the interaction of baric centers: the Icelandic Low and the Azores High in the west and the Siberian High in the east. Cyclonic activity reaches its greatest intensity in the autumn-winter months, when cyclones bring cloudy, rainy weather with strong western and southwestern winds. The average air temperature in February is from -1.1 °C in the south, -3 °C in the central part of the sea to -8 °C in the north and east, and up to -10 °C in the northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia. rare and on a short time cold Arctic air penetrating the Baltic Sea lowers the temperature to -35 °C. In summer, westerly winds also blow, but of low strength, bringing cool, humid weather from the Atlantic. The air temperature in July is 14–15 °C in the Gulf of Bothnia and 16–18 °C in the rest of the sea. Rare inflows of warm Mediterranean air cause short-term temperature rises up to 22–24 °C. Annual precipitation varies from 400 mm in the north to 800 mm in the south. The greatest number of days with fogs (up to 59 days a year) is noted in the south and in the central part of the Baltic Sea, the smallest (22 days a year) - in the north of the Gulf of Bothnia.

Hydrological regime

The hydrological conditions of the Baltic sea are determined by its climate, a significant influx of fresh water, and limited water exchange with the North Sea. Approx. flows into B. m. 250 rec. River flow averages 472 km 3 per year. Most major rivers: Neva - 83.5 km 3, Vistula - 30, Neman - 21, Western Dvina - 20 km 3 per year. Freshwater runoff is unevenly distributed throughout the territory. 181 km3 per year enters the Gulf of Bothnia, 110 km3 enters the Gulf of Finland, 37 km3 enters the Gulf of Riga, and 112 km3 per year into the central part of the Baltic Sea. The amount of fresh water precipitation (172 km 3 per year) is equal to evaporation. Water exchange with the North Sea averages 1660 km 3 per year. Fresher waters with a surface runoff flow out of the Baltic Sea into the North Sea, while salty North Sea water with a near-bottom current enters through the straits from the North Sea. Strong westerly winds usually increase the inflow, while easterly winds increase the outflow of water from the Baltic Sea through the Danish Straits.

The hydrological structure of the sea in most areas is represented by surface and deep water masses separated by a thin intermediate layer. The surface water mass occupies a layer from 20 to (in some places) 90 m, its temperature during the year varies from 0 to 20 °C, salinity is usually in the range of 7–8‰. This water mass is formed in the sea itself as a result of the interaction of sea water with fresh water, precipitation and river runoff. It has winter and summer modifications, which differ mainly in temperature. In the warm season, the presence of a cold intermediate layer is noted, which is associated with the summer heating of water on the surface. The deep water mass occupies a layer from 50–100 m to the bottom, its temperature varies from 1 to 15 °C, salinity - from 10.0 to 18.5‰. Deep water is formed in the bottom layer as a result of mixing with high salinity water coming from the North Sea. The renewal and ventilation of bottom waters are highly dependent on the inflow of North Sea water, which is subject to interannual variability. With a reduction in the influx of salt water into the sea, at great depths and in depressions in the bottom topography, conditions are created for the appearance of dead water phenomena. Seasonal changes in water temperature capture the layer from the surface to 50–60 m and usually do not penetrate deeper.

Wind waves develop especially strongly in autumn-winter with long and strong southwestern winds, when waves 5–6 m high and 50–70 m long are observed. The highest waves are observed in November. In winter, sea ice prevents the development of waves.

Cyclonic (counterclockwise) circulation of water, complicated by eddy formations of different scales, is everywhere traced in the Baltic Sea. The velocities of constant currents are usually approx. 3–4 cm/s, but in some areas sometimes increase to 10–15 cm/s. Due to the low velocities of the current, they are unstable, their pattern is often disturbed by the action of winds. Storm winds cause strong wind currents with speeds of up to 150 cm/s, which quickly fade after a storm.

Because of their insignificant connection with the ocean, the tides in the sea are weakly expressed, and the height is 0.1–0.2 m. Surge-induced level fluctuations reach significant values (up to 2 m at the tops of the bays). The combined action of wind and sharp changes in atmospheric pressure causes seiche level fluctuations with a period of 24–26 hours. The magnitude of such fluctuations is from 0.3 m in the open sea to 1.5 m in the Gulf of Finland. Seiche waves during surge western winds sometimes cause a rise in the level at the top of the Gulf of Finland up to 3-4 m, which delays the flow of the Neva and leads to floods in St. Petersburg, sometimes catastrophic: in November 1824 about 410 cm, in September 1924 - 369 cm .

The temperature of the water on the surface of the B. m. varies greatly from season to season. In August, in the Gulf of Finland, the water warms up to 15-17 ° C, in the Gulf of Bothnia - 9–13 °C, in the central part of the sea– 14–18 °C, in the southern regions it reaches 20 °C. In February, in the open part of the sea, the water temperature on the surface is 1–3 °C, in bays and bays below 0 °C. The salinity of water on the surface is 11‰ at the outlet of the Danish Straits, 6–8‰ in the central part of the sea, and 2‰ or less at the tops of the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland.

B. m. refers to the so-called. brackish basins, in which the temperature of the highest density is above the freezing point, which leads to an intensification of the formation process sea ice. Ice formation begins in November in the bays and off the coast, later in the open sea. In severe winters, the ice cover occupies the entire northern part of the sea and the coastal waters of its central and southern parts. The thickness of landfast (fixed) ice reaches 1 m, drifting - from 0.4 to 0.6 m. Ice melting begins at the end of March, spreads from southwest to northeast and ends in June.

Research History

The first information about B.'s studies of m. is associated with the Normans. All R. 7th c. they penetrated the Gulf of Bothnia, discovered the Aland Islands, in the 2nd floor. 7th–8th centuries reached the western coast of the Baltic, discovered the Moonsund archipelago, first penetrated the Gulf of Riga, in the 9th-10th centuries. used the coast from the mouth of the Neva to the Gdansk Bay for trade and piracy. Hydrographic and cartographic work was carried out by Russians in the Gulf of Finland at the beginning of the 18th century. In 1738, F. I. Soymonov published an atlas of B. m., compiled from domestic and foreign sources. All R. 18th century Long-term studies were carried out by A. I. Nagaev, who compiled a detailed navigation chart of the B. m. The first deep-sea hydrological studies in the middle. 1880s were performed by S. O. Makarov. Since 1920, hydrological work has been carried out by the Hydrographic Department of the Navy, the State Hydrological Institute (Leningrad), and from the 2nd half. 20th century extensive comprehensive research was launched under the leadership of the Leningrad (St. Petersburg) Department of the State Oceanographic Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Economic use

Fish resources consist of freshwater species living in the fresh waters of the bays (crucian carp, bream, pike, pike perch, chub), the Baltic salmon herd and purely marine species distributed mainly in the central part of the sea (cod, Baltic herring, smelt, vendace, sprat). Baltic herring, sprat, herring, smelt, river flounder, cod, perch, and others are fished. Eel is a unique object of fishing. Placers of amber are common on the coast of the Baltic Sea, and mining is carried out near Kaliningrad (Russia). Oil reserves have been discovered at the bottom of the sea, and industrial development has begun. Iron ore is mined off the coast of Finland. B.'s value of m as a transport artery is great. Large volumes of transportation of liquid, bulk, and general cargoes are carried out along the B. m. Through B. the m is carried out a significant part foreign trade Denmark, Germany, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden. The cargo turnover is dominated by oil products (from the ports of Russia and from the Atlantic Ocean), coal (from Poland, Russia), timber (from Finland, Sweden, Russia), pulp and paper (from Sweden and Finland), iron ore (from Sweden); An important role is also played by machinery and equipment, the major producers and consumers of which are the countries located on the shores and in the basin of the Baltic Sea.

On the bottom of the B. m. between Russia and Germany, a gas pipeline was laid (two threads, each with a diameter of 1220 mm) “Nord Stream” (“Nord Stream”). Passes from Portovaya Bay near Vyborg (Leningrad region) to Lubmin near Greifswald (Germany, federal state Mecklenburg - Vorpommern); length 1224 km (the longest underwater gas pipeline in the world). Bandwidth(capacity) of the gas pipeline 55 billion m³ of gas per year. The maximum depth of the sea in the places where the pipe passes is 210 m. 148 sea vessels were involved in the construction. The total mass of steel used in the construction of the gas pipeline is 2.42 million tons.

On the preparatory stage Nord Stream spent approx. 100 million euros. In 1997, preparatory work began on the construction of the offshore section: Scientific research, on the basis of which an approximate route of the gas pipeline is determined. In 2000, by decision of the Commission of the European Union on Energy and Transport, the project was awarded the status of TEN (“Trans-European Networks”). The construction of the gas pipeline began on April 9, 2010. The first string of the gas pipeline was put into operation on November 8, 2011, the second - on October 8, 2012.

In September 2015, a Shareholders' Agreement was signed for the implementation of the project, called Nord Stream 2. On July 8, 2016, Nord Stream 2 completed a tender to select a contractor for applying weighting concrete pavement on gas pipelines.

344 ships with a total carrying capacity of 1,196,600 deadweight tons are registered in the ports of the Baltic sea. Major ports: St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Vyborg, Baltiysk (all - Russia); Tallinn (Estonia); Riga, Liepaja, Ventspils (all - Latvia); Klaipeda (Lithuania); Gdansk, Gdynia, Szczecin (all - Poland); Rostock - Warnemünde, Luebeck, Kiel (all - Germany); Copenhagen (Denmark); Malmö, Stockholm, Lulea (all - Sweden); Turku, Helsinki and Kotka (all from Finland). Maritime passenger and ferry traffic is developed: Copenhagen - Malmö, Trelleborg - Sassnitz (railway ferries), Nortelje - Turku (car ferry), etc. Crossings across the straits: Great Belt (1998; length 6790 m), Small Belt (both - Denmark; 1970; 1700 m), Øresund (Denmark - Sweden; 2000; 16 km); it is planned to build a crossing across the Femer Strait (Denmark - Germany; 2018; 19 km). Due to the shallow depths, many places are inaccessible to ships with a significant draft, however, the largest cruise ships pass through the Danish Straits in Atlantic Ocean.

There are many resort places on the southern and southeastern coasts: Sestroretsk, Zelenogorsk, Svetlogorsk, Pionersky, Zelenogradsk, Curonian Spit (all - Russia); Pärnu, Narva-Jõesuu (both - Estonia); Jurmala, Saulkrasti (both - Latvia); Palanga, Neringa (both - Lithuania); Sopot, Hel, Kolobrzeg, Koszalin (all - Poland); Ahlbeck, Binz, Heiligendamm, Timmendorf (all from Germany); Öland island (Sweden).

Ecological state

B. m., which has a difficult water exchange with the World Ocean (renewal of water lasts about 30 years), is surrounded by industrial developed countries and is experiencing an extremely intense anthropogenic load. Main ecological problems associated with the burial of chemical weapons at the bottom of the sea, dumping into the sea Wastewater major cities, flush chemical fertilizers used in agriculture, and especially with shipping - one of the most intensive in the world (mainly oil tankers). After the entry into force in 1980 of the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of marine marine life, the ecological situation improved due to the commissioning of a large number of treatment facilities sewage, reducing the use of chemical fertilizers, monitoring the technical condition of ships. The concentration of toxic substances such as DDT and polychlorinated biphenyls, petroleum hydrocarbons has decreased. The content of dioxins in the Baltic herring is 3 times lower than the MPC, the gray seal population has recovered. Consideration is being given to giving the BM the status of a particularly vulnerable sea area.

BALTIC SEA (Late Latin - Mare Balticum, among the ancient Slavs - the Varangian Sea or the Sveisky), the inland sea of the Atlantic Ocean, between the Scandinavian Peninsula and the mainland shores of North-Western Europe. Washes the shores of Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Denmark. In the southwest it is connected to the North Sea by the Danish Straits. The maritime boundary of the Baltic Sea runs along the southern entrances of the Øresund, Great Belt and Small Belt straits. The area is 419 thousand km 2, the volume is 21.5 thousand km 3. The greatest depth is 470 m. Depths above the thresholds of the Danish Straits: Darser - 18 m, Drogden - 7 m. The cross section above the thresholds is 0.225 and 0.08 km 2, respectively, which limits water exchange with the North Sea. The Baltic Sea juts deep into the Eurasian continent. The heavily indented coastline forms numerous bays and coves. The largest bays: the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland, the Gulf of Riga, the Curonian Lagoon, the Szczecin Bay, the Gulf of Gdansk. The shores of the Baltic Sea in the north are high, rocky, mostly of skerry and fjord types, in the south and southeast they are mostly low-lying, lagoon-type, with sandy and pebble beaches. The largest islands: Gotland, Bornholm, Saaremaa, Muhu, Hiiumaa, Eland, Rügen. There are many small rocky islets - skerries, located along the northern shores (there are over 6 thousand in the Aland Islands group).

relief and geological structure bottom. The Baltic Sea is shallow, lies completely within the shelf, depths up to 200 m occupy 99.8% of its area. The most shallow are the Gulfs of Finland, Bothnia and Riga. These areas of the bottom have a leveled accumulative relief and a well-developed cover of loose sediments. Most of the bottom of the Baltic Sea is characterized by a strongly dissected relief. The bottom of its basin has depressions delimited by elevations and the bases of the islands: in the west - Bornholmskaya (105 m) and Arkonskaya (53 m), in the center - Gotlandskaya (249 m) and Gdanskaya (116 m); to the north of the island of Gotland, the deepest depression - Landsortskaya (up to 470 m) stretches from the northeast to the southwest. Numerous stone ridges, ledges are traced in the central part of the sea - continuations of glints stretching from the northern coast of Estonia to the northern tip of the island of Öland, underwater valleys, glacial-accumulative landforms flooded by the sea.

The Baltic Sea occupies a depression in the west of the ancient East European Platform. The northern part of the sea is located on the southern slope of the Baltic Shield; the central and southern parts belong to a large negative structure of the ancient platform - the Baltic syneclise. The extreme southwestern part of the sea enters the limits of the young Western European platform. The bottom in the north of the Baltic Sea is composed mainly of Precambrian age complexes overlain by a discontinuous cover of glacial and modern marine deposits. Silurian and Devonian sediments take part in the bottom structure in the central part of the sea. The ledges traced here are formed by the Cambrian-Ordovician and Silurian rocks. The Paleozoic complexes in the south are overlain by a thick layer of glacial and marine sediments.

During the last ice age (late Pleistocene), the Baltic Sea depression was completely covered by an ice sheet, after which the Baltic Glacial Lake was formed. At the end of the late Pleistocene, about 13 thousand years ago, the lake joined the ocean, and the depression was filled with sea water. Communication with the ocean was interrupted in the interval of 9-7.5 thousand years ago, followed by a marine transgression, the deposits of which are known on the modern coast of the Baltic Sea. Uplift continues in the northern part of the Baltic Sea, at a rate of up to 1 cm per year.

Climate. The Baltic Sea is characterized by a temperate maritime climate with continental features. Its seasonal features are determined by the interaction of baric centers: the Icelandic Low and the Azores High in the west and the Siberian High in the east. Cyclonic activity reaches its greatest intensity in the autumn-winter months, when cyclones bring cloudy, rainy weather with strong western and southwestern winds. The average air temperature in February is from -1.1°С in the south, -3°С in the central part of the sea, to -8°С in the north and east, in the northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia to -10°С. Rarely and for a short time, the cold arctic air penetrating the Baltic Sea lowers the temperature to -35°C. In summer, westerly winds also blow, but of low strength, bringing cool, humid weather from the Atlantic. The air temperature in July is 14-15°C in the Gulf of Bothnia and 16-18°C in the rest of the sea. Rare inflows of warm Mediterranean air cause short-term temperature rises up to 22-24°C. Annual precipitation varies from 400 mm in the north to 800 mm in the south. The greatest number of days with fogs (up to 59 days a year) is observed in the south and in the central part of the Baltic Sea, the smallest (22 days a year) - in the north of the Gulf of Bothnia.

Hydrological regime. The hydrological conditions of the Baltic Sea are determined by its climate, significant inflow of fresh water and limited water exchange with the North Sea. About 250 rivers flow into the Baltic Sea. River flow averages 472 km 3 per year. The largest rivers: Neva - 83.5 km 3, Vistula - 30, Neman - 21, Western Dvina - 20 km 3 per year. Freshwater runoff is unevenly distributed throughout the territory. 181 km3 enters the Gulf of Bothnia, 110 km3 enters the Gulf of Finland, 37 km3 enters the Riga Gulf, and 112 km3 per year enters the central part of the Baltic Sea. The amount of fresh water coming with precipitation (172 km 3 per year) is equal to evaporation. Water exchange with the North Sea averages 1660 km 3 per year. Fresher water with a surface runoff flow from the Baltic Sea to the North Sea, salty North Sea water with a bottom current enters through the straits from the North Sea. Strong westerly winds usually increase the inflow, east winds - the outflow of water from the Baltic Sea through the Danish straits.

The hydrological structure of the Baltic Sea in most areas is represented by surface and deep water masses separated by a thin intermediate layer. The surface water mass occupies a layer from 20 to (in some places) 90 m, its temperature during the year varies from 0 to 20 ° C, salinity is usually in the range of 7-8‰. This water mass is formed in the sea itself as a result of the interaction of sea water with fresh water, precipitation and river runoff. It has winter and summer modifications, which differ mainly in temperature. In the warm season, the presence of a cold intermediate layer is noted, which is associated with the summer heating of water on the surface. The deep water mass occupies a layer from 50-100 m to the bottom, its temperature varies from 1 to 15°C, salinity - from 10.0 to 18.5‰. Deep water is formed in the bottom layer as a result of mixing with high salinity water coming from the North Sea. The renewal and ventilation of bottom waters are highly dependent on the inflow of North Sea water, which is subject to interannual variability. With a reduction in the inflow of salt water into the Baltic Sea at great depths and in the depressions of the bottom topography, conditions are created for the appearance of dead sea phenomena. Seasonal changes in water temperature capture the layer from the surface to 50-60 m and usually do not penetrate deeper.

Wind waves develop especially strongly in autumn and winter with long and strong southwestern winds, when waves 5-6 m high and 50-70 m long are observed. The highest waves are observed in November. In winter, sea ice prevents the development of waves.

In the Baltic Sea, cyclonic (counterclockwise) water circulation is everywhere, complicated by eddy formations of different scales. The velocities of constant currents are usually about 3-4 cm/s, but in some areas they sometimes increase to 10-15 cm/s. Due to the low velocities of the current, they are unstable, their pattern is often disturbed by the action of winds. Storm winds cause strong wind currents with speeds of up to 150 cm/s, which quickly fade after a storm.

The tides in the Baltic Sea are weakly expressed due to a slight connection with the ocean, the height is 0.1-0.2 m. The surge fluctuations in the level reach significant values (at the tops of the bays up to 2 m). The combined action of the wind and sudden changes in atmospheric pressure cause seiche level fluctuations with a period of 24-26 hours. The magnitude of such fluctuations is from 0.3 m in the open sea to 1.5 m in the Gulf of Finland. Seiche waves with surge western winds sometimes cause a rise in the level at the top of the Gulf of Finland up to 3-4 m, which delays the flow of the Neva and leads to floods in St. Petersburg, sometimes catastrophic: in November 1824, about 410 cm, in September 1924 - 369 cm

The water temperature on the surface of the Baltic Sea varies greatly from season to season. In August in the Gulf of Finland the water warms up to 15-17°С, in the Gulf of Bothnia 9-13°С, in the central part of the sea 14-18°С, in the southern regions it reaches 20°С. In February, in the open part of the sea, the water temperature on the surface is 1-3°C, in bays and bays below 0°C. The salinity of water on the surface is 11‰ at the outlet of the Danish Straits, 6-8‰ in the central part of the sea, 2‰ and less at the tops of the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland.

The Baltic Sea belongs to the so-called brackish basins, in which the temperature of the highest density is above the freezing point, which leads to an intensification of the process of sea ice formation. Ice formation begins in November in the bays and along the coast, later - in the open sea. In severe winters, the ice cover occupies the entire northern part of the sea and the coastal waters of its central and southern parts. The thickness of landfast (fixed) ice reaches 1 m, drifting - from 0.4 to 0.6 m. Ice melting begins at the end of March, spreads from southwest to northeast and ends in June.

Research History. The first information about the exploration of the Baltic Sea is associated with the Normans. In the middle of the 7th century they penetrated the Gulf of Bothnia, discovered the Aland Islands, in the 2nd half of the 7th-8th centuries they reached the western coast of the Baltic states, discovered the Moonsund archipelago, first penetrated the Gulf of Riga, in the 9th-10th centuries they used the coast for trade and piracy from the mouth of the Neva to the Gdansk Bay. Russian hydrographic and cartographic work began in the Gulf of Finland in the early 18th century. In 1738, F. I. Soymonov published an atlas of the Baltic Sea, compiled from Russian and foreign sources. In the middle of the 18th century, A. I. Nagaev conducted many years of research, who compiled a detailed sailing chart of the Baltic Sea. The first deep-sea hydrological studies in the mid-1880s were carried out by S. O. Makarov. Since 1920, hydrological work has been carried out by the Hydrographic Department of the Navy, the State Hydrological Institute (Leningrad), and since the 2nd half of the 20th century, extensive comprehensive research has been launched under the guidance of the Leningrad (St. Petersburg) Branch of the State Oceanographic Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Economic use. Fish resources consist of freshwater species living in the fresh waters of the bays (crucian carp, bream, pike, pike perch, chub), the Baltic salmon herd and purely marine species distributed mainly in the central part of the sea (cod, Baltic herring, smelt, vendace, sprat). Baltic herring, sprat, herring, smelt, river flounder, cod, perch, etc. are fished for. Eel is a unique object of fishing. Placers of amber are common on the coast of the Baltic Sea, mining is carried out near Kaliningrad (Russia). Oil reserves have been discovered at the bottom of the sea, and industrial development has begun. Iron ore is mined off the coast of Finland. The significance of the Baltic Sea as a transport artery is great. Large volumes of liquid, bulk and general cargo are transported across the Baltic Sea. A significant part of the foreign trade of Denmark, Germany, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden is carried out through the Baltic Sea.

The cargo turnover is dominated by oil products (from the ports of Russia and from the Atlantic Ocean), coal (from Poland, Russia), timber (from Finland, Sweden, Russia), pulp and paper (from Sweden and Finland), iron ore (from Sweden); An important role is also played by machinery and equipment, the major producers and consumers of which are the countries located on the shores and in the basin of the Baltic Sea. The largest ports of the Baltic Sea: St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad (Russia), Tallinn (Estonia), Riga (Latvia), Gdansk, Gdynia, Szczecin (Poland), Rostock - Warnemünde, Lubeck, Kiel (Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark), Malmö , Stockholm, Luleå (Sweden), Turku, Helsinki, Kotka (Finland). In the Baltic Sea, maritime passenger and ferry traffic: Copenhagen - Malmö, Trelleborg - Sassnitz (railway ferries), Nortelje - Turku (car ferry), etc. There are many resort places on the southern and southeastern coasts.

Ecological state. The Baltic Sea, which has a difficult water exchange with the World Ocean (water renewal lasts about 30 years), is surrounded by industrialized countries and is experiencing an extremely intense anthropogenic load. The main environmental problems are associated with the disposal of chemical weapons at the bottom of the sea, the discharge of sewage from large cities into the sea, the washing off of chemical fertilizers used in agriculture, and especially with shipping - one of the most intensive in the world (mainly oil tankers). After the entry into force of the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea in 1980, the environmental situation improved due to the commissioning of a large number of wastewater treatment plants, a reduction in the use of chemical fertilizers, and control over the technical condition of ships. The concentration of toxic substances such as DDT and polychlorinated biphenyls, petroleum hydrocarbons has decreased. The content of dioxins in the Baltic herring is 3 times lower than the MPC, the gray seal population has recovered. The issue of giving the Baltic Sea the status of a particularly vulnerable sea area is being considered.

Lit.: Terms. Concepts. Reference tables. M., 1980; Hydrometeorological conditions of the shelf zone of the seas of the USSR. L., 1983. T. 1. Issue. 1: Baltic Sea without bays; Atlantic Ocean. L., 1984; Biological resources of the Atlantic Ocean. M., 1986; Pushcharovsky Yu. M. Tectonics of the Atlantic with elements of nonlinear geodynamics. M., 1994; Hydrometeorology and hydrochemistry of the seas of the USSR. SPb., 1994. T. 3. Issue. 2; Zalogin B. S., Kosarev A. N. Morya. M., 1999.

Østersøen, Fin. Itämeri, est. Läänemeri, Latvian. Baltijas jūra, lit. Baltijos jūra) - 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 northernmost point of the Baltic Sea is located near the Arctic Circle (65°40"N), the southernmost point is near the city of Wismar (53°45"N).

The westernmost point is located in the Flensburg region (9°10"E), the easternmost point is in the St. Petersburg region (30°15"E)

The surface area of the sea (without islands) is 415 thousand km². The volume of water is 21.5 thousand km³. Due to the huge flow of rivers, the water has low salinity and therefore the sea is brackish. It is the largest sea in the world with such a feature.

Geological history

Antsyl Lake about 8.7 thousand years ago. The remains of a glacier are still visible on the peaks of the Scandinavian mountains

The severity of the ice caused a significant deflection of the earth's crust, part of which was below sea level. With the end of the last ice age, these territories are freed from ice, and the depression formed by the trough of the crust is filled with water:

Physical-geographical sketch

The Baltic Sea goes deep into the land of Europe, washes the shores of Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Finland.

Large bays of the Baltic Sea: Finnish, Bothnian, Riga, Curonian (freshwater bay, separated from the sea by the sandy Curonian Spit).

Major rivers emptying into the Baltic Sea are the Neva, Narva, Zapadnaya Dvina (Daugava), Neman, Pregolya, Vistula, Oder and Venta.

Bottom relief

Relief of the Baltic Sea (meters)

The Baltic Sea lies within the continental shelf. The average depth of the sea is 51 meters. Small depths (up to 12 meters) are observed in the areas of shoals, banks, near the islands. There are several basins in which depths reach 200 meters. The deepest basin is Landsortskaya ( 58°38′ N. sh. 18°04′ in. d. HGI AMO) with a maximum sea depth of 470 meters. In the Gulf of Bothnia, the maximum depth is 293 meters, in the Gotland Basin - 249 meters.

The bottom in the southern part of the sea is flat, in the north - uneven, rocky. In coastal areas, sands are common among the bottom sediments, but most of the seabed is covered with sediments of clayey silt green, black or Brown glacial origin.

Hydrological regime

A feature of the hydrological regime of the Baltic Sea is a large excess of fresh water, formed due to precipitation and river runoff. The brackish surface waters of the Baltic Sea through the Danish Straits go to the North Sea, and the salty waters of the North Sea enter the Baltic Sea with a deep current. During storms, when the water in the straits is mixed to the very bottom, the water exchange between the seas changes - along the entire cross section of the straits, water can go both to the North and to the Baltic Sea.

In 2003, there were 21 reported cases of chemical weapons in the Baltic Sea fishing nets- all are clots of mustard gas with a total weight of approximately 1005 kg.

In 2011, paraffin was released into the sea, which spread throughout the sea. Tourists found large pieces of paraffin on the beach. [ ]

Natural resources

The development of deposits may be hindered by stringent environmental requirements associated with an insignificant water exchange between the sea and the ocean, anthropogenic pollution of water with runoff from the territory of coastal states, contributing to enhanced eutrophication.

The Nord Stream gas pipeline is laid along the bottom of the Baltic Sea.

Sea transport

Recreational resources

Titles

First time title Baltic Sea(lat. mare balticum) is found in Adam of Bremen in his treatise Acts of the Archbishops of the Hamburg Church" (lat. Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum) .

In the Tale of Bygone Years, the Baltic Sea is named Varangian by sea. Historically, in Russian the sea was called Varangian, and then Sveisky(Swedish). Under Peter I, the German name was strengthened - Ostsee sea. Since 1884, the modern name has been used.

Material from ENE

Map of the Baltic Sea.

Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea (BESBE)

Remarkable is the change in the boundaries of the sea and the mainland in the Baltic Sea; it retreats from both coasts of the Gulf of Finland and Bothnia (usually 1.2 to 1.6 m per century for the northern coasts of Finland and 0.6 m for the south), and on the southern coasts of Sweden and on the banks of Kurisch-gaff, on the contrary, it floods coast.

In terms of salt content, the Baltic Sea is the most freshwater of all seas, which depends on the confluence of up to 40 freshwater rivers into it. According to the content of salts, the sea is divided into three regions: the first region includes the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland, and the Gulf of Riga; the second region includes the middle water body of the sea up to the Prussian coast and the meridian of the southern tip of Sweden; to the third - the western, narrow continuation of the sea to the Belts. In the northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia, the water is almost fresh (0.26 - 0.39%), in the Kvarken Strait you can even drink it. In the Gulf of Finland from the mouth of the Neva to Kronstadt, the water is also almost fresh (about 0.35%). Beyond Kronstadt the water is already salty, but as far as the island of Gokhland it is still used for drinking. In the Gulf of Riga, the salt content is not constant, which depends on the direction of the winds (near the mouth of the Dvina - 0.58%). In the second area, the salt content fluctuates between 6 and 11 per. In the third area of the Baltic sea, the salt content depends on whether the current flows from the Kategat to the Baltic Sea or vice versa. Wave on the Baltic Sea no more than 1.5 meters high and 9 - 12 meters wide. Sea disturbances are least noticeable with a northeast wind. There are almost no ebbs and flows.

Due to the low salt content, shallow depth and harsh winters, the Baltic Sea freezes over a large area, although not every winter. So, for example, driving on ice from Reval to Helsingfors is not possible every winter, but in severe frosts and deep straits between the Åland Islands and both coasts of the mainland are covered with ice, and in the city the Russian army with all military weights crossed here to the ice to Sweden and at 2 other locations across the Gulf of Bothnia. In the city of Swedish King Charles X crossed the ice from Jutland to Zeeland. In the more open part of the sea, ports that are not too protected freeze by far not every winter, and in any case usually only for a few days, for example, within Russia, especially Libava and Vindava, the ice usually stays somewhat more in the Baltic port and Gangeude, Reval, Pernov, Riga, even longer at the mouths of the Neva and the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland, and especially in the northern part of Bothnia. Below are data on the duration of freezing of the sea and the lower reaches of the rivers flowing into it:

Latitude .			Number of days under ice.
54°	The mouth of the river Herbs near Lübeck		32
54°	Greifswald Bay		58
57°	Gulf of Riga	at Ahrensburg	149
58°		at Pernov	135
57°		at Tserelsk. lighthouse	40
57°	Western Dvina	near Riga	121
	Western Dvina	Oriental	165
60°	Kronshtat raids	Small	153
	Kronshtat raids	Big	162
60°	Neva in St. Petersburg		147
60°	Inner raid on the Ganges		86
65°	Ulea at Uleoborg		175

Average air temperatures:

	Of the year	January	April	July	October
Copenhagen	7,4	0,1	5,7	16,6	8,2
Koenigsberg	6,6	3,1	5,6	17,3	8,0
Libava	6,6	3,2	4,2	16,9	8,4
Mitava	6,4	5,0	4,9	17,6	6,9
Baltic port	4,6	5,4	1,6	16,1	6,3
Revel	4,4	6,4	1,5	16,6	5,9
Petersburg	3,7	9,4	2,1	17,8	4,5
Helsingfors	3,9	6,9	1,0	16,4	5,6
Ganges	4,4	4,3	0,4	15,5	6,4
Torneo	0,3	12,3	1,5	15,5	1,3

Novgorod was in lively relations with the Hansa. Somewhat later, the Hansa began the military and commercial predominance of Denmark in the Baltic Sea. At the end of the 16th century and before the beginning of the 18th century the trade route through the Gulf of Finland and the Neva lost its significance. Thanks to the wars, the defeat of Novgorod by Ivan the Terrible, the hostility towards Russia of Sweden and the German Order, Russia's overseas maritime trade went mainly through Arkhangelsk. The founding of St. Petersburg by Peter the Great, the transfer of the capital here and the construction of canals connecting the regions of the rivers flowing into the Gulf of Finland with the Volga region raised trade in the mouths of the Neva to an unprecedented height. The construction of railways, especially the Nikolaev, Moscow-Ryazan and Ryazan-Kozlovskaya, was also of great importance. But other railways then began to divert cargo from St. Petersburg, partly to more convenient and for a shorter time freezing Russian ports (Revel, Riga, Libau), partly abroad, to Koenigsberg.

Currently on import Petersburg with Kronstadt still remains decisively the first port of the Baltic Sea; in general, the most important ports of the Baltic Sea - 10; specifically in Russia: St. Petersburg, Revel, Riga, Libava; in Germany: Pillau (port of Königsberg), Danzig, Stetin and Lübeck; in Denmark - Copenhagen, in Sweden - Stockholm. None of these ports, however, are far from having such turnovers as London, Liverpool, Hamburg, Antwerp and New York. Of the secondary ports, one can also name in Germany: Flensburg, Kiel, Wismar, Rostock, Stralsund, Elbing and Memel, in Russia: Vindava, Ahrensburg, Pernov, the Baltic port, the mouth of the Narova, Vyborg, Helsingsfors with Sveaborg, Gange, Abo, Uleaborg; in Sweden: Istod and Visby. The import and release of goods has changed, in the following sizes since the 40s.

Russian ports without Finland.

	Average export.			Average import.
	1840-49	1850-60	1888	1840-49	1850-60
	In thousands of rubles.
Petersburg and Kronstadt	83485	34408	84240	43378	62386	61920
Revel	285	468	20723	495	700	41873
Riga	13253	14303	53806	4239	4109	22189
Libava	743		51236	140	164	24234

From this it can be seen that the trade of all ports has increased, but in Reval and Libau to a much greater extent than in St. Petersburg and Riga. The very large import of Reval is explained by the fact that it serves as a winter port for St. Petersburg. The main export items of the Baltic ports are bread in grain, especially rye and oats, flax and hemp, linseed, timber. Imports - tea, cotton, wine, expensive manufactured goods and, until very recently, iron in all forms, from cast iron to machines, inclusive.

Literature:

"Lotsia" (published by the Hydrographic Department, also published maps and atlases);
Segelhandb. fur die Ostsee"; (Berlin, 1878);
"Jahresb. des Komission zur Untersuch, der deutsch. Meere" (since 1873);
Ackerman, Phys. geogr. des Ostsee" (Hamburg, 1883);
Stuckenber, "Hydr. des russ. Reiches, vol. I;
Nebolsin, “Review of external. trade of Russia "(ed. Dep. there. collection.);
Veselovsky, "Climate of Russia" (1857);
Voeikov, "Climate the globe» (1884).

Baltic Sea (addition to the article)

(cm.). Bottom relief. Depths of more than 200 m lie to the north of the island of Gotland (max. depth 325 m) and to the east of the same island (max. depth 255 m). Between the island of Oland (at the beginning of the Gulf of Bothnia) and west. depths of more than 200 m are also found along the coast. Depths of more than 100 m lie to the east of Bornholm Island, to the south of the B. sea in the Danzig Bay, then in the central part of the B. of the sea to the east of the island of Gotland there is a hundred-meter basin, which is to the north 59 ° turns to the Gulf of Finland, gradually narrowing, and ends on the line Gangeudd - Baltic port. The aforementioned depression up to 255 m is located in this basin. Depths of more than 100 m are also found in the Bothnian Hall. to the west of the island of Oland, between 61 ° and 63 ° 15 ", and in the northern part between 64 ° and 65 °. On the parallel of 63 ° near the western coast there is a small pit with a maximum depth of 272 m. Off the coast of the Baltic sea depths are insignificant (up to 20 m).

Priming in the deep places of the Baltic Sea it exclusively consists of brown or gray, soft silt or hard clay, and on the banks and in the coastal strip there is always fine white or yellow sand, or brown sand with gravel. At the bottom, especially in the area of skerries, there are a lot of stones.

Temperature of water on the surface of the B. sea follows the temperature of the air, with the first on average exceeding the second by ½ °. From August to March, the surface of the sea is warmer than the air, from April to July the air is warmer. The highest average monthly temp. in winter (February) are observed in the west. parts of the sea (2.8°). Average February temp. surface of the south. parts of the Baltic Sea 1.5°; pace. generally decreases in the direction from W to E. August temperatures by 3 approx. 16-17°, at German stations about 18°, in the throat of the Gulf of Finland 16-17° (Revel). As for the temperatures at depths, judging by the observations at the Danish stations, from October to March the temp. increases with depth, and decreases from April to August. Change temp. to deep 8 m is pretty much the same at all stations, while at other stations the temp. very different depending on the topography of the bottom. Minimum temp. (3° - 5°) in the low layers occurs in March, the maximum at the bottom (12° - 16°) in September and in some places in October. The magnitude of oscillations decreases with depth. With coastal winds, sometimes in the hottest time, the temp. water on the surface drops by several degrees, especially in places where the depths increase gradually. The reason for this phenomenon is that the warm water driven by the wind is replaced by cold water protruding from below. Drops from 20° to 6° were observed.

currents. A large number of rivers bring a mass of fresh water into the sea, which at all times of the year maintains an excess of water gain over loss through evaporation; the lighter surface fresh waters from the Baltic Sea flow into the German Sea through the straits, while the more salty heavy water of oceanic origin moves at depth through the straits into the Baltic Sea; passing mainly through the Great Belt, this water partly spills into the Kiel Bay, increasing the degree of salinity in it, partly passes to the shores of Mecklenburg. As a result of spreading over a large area, the salty current loses its strength and is difficult to trace further. Correct observations of the currents, made on the floating lighthouse "Adler-Grunt", revealed a large variability of surface currents in the southwest. parts of the B. sea, depending on the winds. This influence is revealed very quickly down to a depth of 5 m, so that with a significant change in the wind from one day to another, the course of the second day almost always corresponded more with the wind blowing at that time than with the wind of the previous day. In general, with a wind of sufficient strength, the current is always directed downwind with a deviation of approximately 2½ points from the wind.

Salinity B. sea decreases from W to E and from the bottom to the surface. Due to the large influx of fresh water in spring and summer, it decreases in the surface layers at this time; in app. part of the B. sea, it decreases much faster than in the east. In the Fehmarn Hall. to the south of Laalanda Island, salinity is 1% on the surface, up to 2.956% was found at depths of 30 m; to the east of the Falster-Darserort line at great depths - less than 2%, to the east from the island of Gotland on the surface - 0.71% at a depth of 59 m 1.72%, at depths. 100 m 1%, deep 200 m 1.16%. At the entrance to the Finnish Hall. surface salinity 0.69%, at Seskar 0.35%, in the Gulf of Riga. 0.57%, in the south. parts of the Bothnian Hall. 0.77-0.437%, from this hall. 0.39-0.26%.

Level fluctuations B. seas have a regular course during the year. The highest level is in August, after which it decreases until November, rises slightly in December, but then decreases until April, after which it begins to rise again. The annual amplitude in Kronstadt (46 years of observations) is 9.5 inches, in Swinemünde (the southwestern part of the sea, 78 years of observations) is about 5 inches. Winds have a great influence on temporary rises of water near the coast, and the rise of water sometimes precedes the wind. O and NO winds raise water off the coast of Holstein and Mecklenburg and drive it off the coast of Courland and east. Prussia. W vice versa; in addition, W drives water into the Finnish Hall. S drive water partly through the Sound and the Belts to Kattegat, partly on S to the Bothnian Hall. Winds often produce devastating floods in the low-lying south. shores of the Baltic Sea and in the Gulf of Finland.

Ebb and flow in the Baltic Sea are insignificant and decrease towards E: in Skagen, the tide is 0.28 m, in Kiel, 0.07 m, in Swinemünde, 0.011 m, in Pilau, 0.006 m, and in Memel, 0.005 m

The article reproduced material from the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron.

Baltic Sea (ITU)

Baltic Sea. Map from ITU

Baltic Sea, inland sea in Sev. Europe, with gulfs (Botnian, Finnish and Riga), protruding far into the mainland and conn. with the German Sea Sound, Great and Lesser Belts, Skagerrak, Kattegat, as well as arts. Kiel Canal (see map, art. 567-68). Pl. - 406.720 km 2. Numerous islands: Danish Islands, Bornholm, Eland, Gotland, Ezel, Dago, Aland Islands, etc. The average depth is 55 m, the greatest is 463 m south of Stockholm. The bottom relief is restless. Due to the abundant inflow of water from the inflowing rivers (Oder, Vistula, Neman, Western Dvina, Neva, etc.), the Baltic Sea is heavily desalinated, salinity is from 0.3 to 1.5%. The tides are insignificant and almost imperceptible: in the Great Belt it is about 30 cm, in the Baltic itself it is even less - about 10 cm. 35 days. The open part of the sea is covered with ice only in exceptionally severe winters.

Fishing is significant; from commercial fish, herring, sprat, flounder, salmon, etc. are caught. also Klaipeda (Lithuania), Libava, Riga (Latvia), Revel, aka Tallinn (Estonia), Abo, Helsinki, aka Helsingfors (Finland), Kronstadt, Leningrad (RSFSR).

The article reproduced the text from the Small Soviet Encyclopedia.

Baltic Sea (TSB)

Baltic Sea(Late Latin mare Balticum), among the ancient Slavs - Varangian Sea.

Physico-geographical essay.

General information.

The Baltic Sea is a Mediterranean (inland) sea of the Atlantic Ocean, deeply protruding into the mainland of Europe. It is connected to the North Sea by the Øresund (Sund), B. and M. Belta, Kattegat and Skagerrak straits. It washes the shores of the USSR, Poland, the GDR, the FRG, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. The maritime boundary of the Baltic Sea runs along the southern entrances of the Øresund, B. and M. Belta straits. Area 386 thousand sq. km 2. Average depth 71 m. The average volume of water is 22 thousand cubic meters. km 3. The shores of the Baltic Sea in the south and south-east. predominantly low-lying, sandy, lagoon type; from the land side - dunes covered with forest, from the sea side - sandy and pebble beaches. In the north, the coasts are high, rocky, mostly of the skerry type. The coastline is strongly indented, forming numerous bays and coves.

The largest bays are: Bothnian (according to physical and geographical conditions it is a sea), Finnish, Riga, Curonian, Gdansk Bay, Szczecin, etc.

Baltic Sea. Shore of the Danish island of Bornholm.

Islands B. m. of mainland origin. There are many small rocky islets - skerries, located along the northern shores and concentrated in the groups of the Vasi and Aland Islands. The largest islands: Gotland, Bornholm, Sarema, Muhu, Khiuma, Eland, Rügen, etc. It flows into the Baltic Sea a large number of rivers, the largest of which are the Neva, Zapadnaya Dvina, Neman, Vistula, Odra, etc.

Geological structure and bottom topography. The Baltic Sea is a shallow shelf sea. Depths 40-100 prevail m. The shallowest areas are the Kattegat Straits (average depth 28 m), Øresund, B. and M. Belts, the eastern parts of the Gulf of Finland and Bothnia and the Gulf of Riga. These areas of the sea bottom have a leveled accumulative relief and a well-developed cover of loose sediments. Most of the bottom of the Baltic sea is characterized by a strongly dissected relief, there are relatively deep basins: the Gotland (249 m), Bornholmskaya (96 m), in the Södra-Kvarken Strait (244 m) and the deepest - Landsortsjupet to the south of Stockholm (459 m). There are numerous stone ridges, ledges are traced in the central part of the sea - continuations of the Cambrian-Ordovician (from the northern coast of Estonia to the northern tip of Eland Island) and Silurian glints, underwater valleys, glacial-accumulative landforms flooded by the sea.

The Baltic Sea occupies a depression of tectonic origin, which is a structural element of the Baltic Shield and its slope. According to modern concepts, the main irregularities of the sea bottom are due to block tectonics and structural denudation processes. The latter, in particular, owe their origin to the underwater ledges of the glints. The northern part of the sea floor is composed mainly of Precambrian rocks overlain by a discontinuous cover of glacial and recent marine sediments.

In the central part of the sea, the bottom is composed of Silurian and Devonian rocks, which are hidden to the south under thick layers of glacial and marine sediments.

The presence of underwater river valleys and the absence of marine sediments under the glacial layer testify to the fact that in the pre-glacial period there was land on the site of the B. m. During at least the last glacial epoch, the depression of the B. m. was completely occupied by ice. Only about 13 thousand years ago there was a connection with the ocean, and sea waters filled the depression; the Yoldian Sea was formed (according to the mollusk Joldia). The phase of the Yoldian Sea was somewhat earlier (15 thousand years ago) preceded by the phase of the Baltic glacial lake, which had not yet communicated with the sea. About 9-7.5 thousand years ago, as a result of tectonic uplift in Central Sweden, the connection of the Yoldian Sea with the ocean ceased, and the B. m. again became a lake. This phase of the development of B. m. is known as the Ancylus Lake (after the mollusk Ancylus). New subsidence of land in the area of modern Danish Straits, that happened about 7-7.5 thousand years ago, and extensive transgression led to the resumption of communication with the ocean and the formation of the Littorina Sea. The level of the last sea was several meters higher than the modern one, and the salinity was higher. Deposits of the Littorina transgression are widely known on the modern coast of the Baltic Sea. m for a hundred years and gradually decreasing towards the south.

Climate The Baltic Sea is a maritime temperate, strongly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. It is characterized by relatively small annual temperature fluctuations, frequent precipitation, fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, and fog in the cold and transitional seasons. During the year, westerly winds prevail, which are associated with cyclones coming from the Atlantic Ocean. Cyclonic activity reaches its highest intensity in the autumn-winter months. At this time, cyclones are accompanied by strong winds, frequent storms and cause large rises in water levels off the coast. In the summer months, cyclones weaken and their frequency decreases. The invasion of anticyclones is accompanied by easterly winds.

The prolongation of the B. m. by 12° along the meridian determines the noticeable differences in the climatic conditions of its individual regions. The average air temperature in the southern part of the Baltic Sea is -1.1°C in January and 17.5°C in July; middle part: in January -2.3°C, in July 16.5°C; Gulf of Finland: in January -5°C, in July 17°C; northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia: in January -10.3°C, in July 15.6°C. Cloudiness in summer about 60%, in winter more than 80%. The average annual rainfall in the north is about 500 mm, in the south over 600 mm, and in some areas up to 1000 mm. The greatest number of days with fog falls in the southern and middle parts of the Baltic Sea, where it averages up to 59 days a year, and the least in the north of the Gulf of Bothnia (up to 22 days a year).

The hydrological conditions of the Baltic sea are determined mainly by its climate, an abundance of fresh water, and water exchange with the North Sea. Fresh water surplus equal to 472 km 3 per year, is formed due to continental runoff. The amount of water entering in precipitation (172.0 km 3 per year) is equal to evaporation. Water exchange with the North Sea averages 1659 km 3 per year (salt water 1187 km 3 per year, fresh - 472 km 3 in year). Fresh water flows from the B. m. into the North Sea as a runoff current, while salt water enters the B. m. through the straits through the straits from the North Sea into the B. m. Øresund straits, B. and M. Belta.

The currents of B. m. form a cycle counterclockwise. The current is directed east along the southern coast, northward along the eastern coast, southward along the western coast, and west along the northern coast. The speed of these currents varies from 5 to 20 m/sec. Under the influence of winds, currents can change direction and their speed near the coast can reach 80 cm/sec and more, and in the open part - 30 cm/sec.

The surface water temperature in August in the Gulf of Finland is 15°C, 17°C; in the Gulf of Bothnia 9°C, 13°C and in the central part of the sea 14°C, 18°C, and in the south it reaches 20°C. In February - March, the temperature in the open part of the sea is 1°С-3°С, in the Gulf of Bothnia, Finland, Riga and other bays and bays below 0°С. Salinity surface water decreases rapidly with distance from the straits from 11‰ to 6-8‰ (1‰-0.1%) in the central part of the sea. In the Gulf of Bothnia it is 4-5‰ (in the north of the Gulf 2‰), in the Gulf of Finland 3-6‰ (at the top of the Gulf 2‰ and less). In the deep and near-bottom water layers, the temperature is 5°C or more, and salinity varies from 16‰ in the west to 12–13‰ in the central part and 10‰ in the north of the sea. In years of increased water inflow, salinity rises to 20‰ in the west, to 14–15‰ in the central part of the sea, and in years of reduced inflow, it drops to 11‰ in the middle parts of the sea.

Fauna The Baltic Sea is poor in species, but rich in quantity. The brackish-water race of the Atlantic herring (herring), the Baltic sprat, as well as cod, flounder, salmon, eel, smelt, vendace, whitefish, and perch live in the Baltic Sea. From mammals - the Baltic seal. An intensive fishery is carried out in the Baltic Sea.

Research history.

Russian hydrographic and cartographic work began in the Gulf of Finland at the beginning of the 18th century. In 1738, F. I. Soymonov published an atlas of B. m., compiled from Russian and foreign sources. In the middle of the 18th century A. I. Nagaev conducted many years of research in B. m., who compiled a detailed sailing position. The first deep-sea hydrological research in the mid-1880s. were performed by S. O. Makarov. Since 1920, hydrological work has been carried out by the Hydrographic Administration and the State Hydrological Institute, and after the Patriotic War of 1941–45, extensive comprehensive research was launched under the direction of the Leningrad Branch of the State Oceanographic Institute of the USSR.

Yu. D. Mikhailov, O. K. Leontiev.

Historical essay., Wolin, Novgorod, Gdansk and others. Offensive in the 12th-13th centuries. German, Danish, and Swedish feudal lords in the Baltic states; the dominant role in Baltic trade began to be played by the North German Hansa and its main center, Lübeck (especially after the victorious war of the Hanseatic League against Denmark, which until then had dominated the trade route between the Northern and Baltic seas). The value of B. m. as the main water artery, through which contacts were made between the Eastern and Western Europe(in the north of the mainland), it became especially large in the 16-17 centuries. in connection with the growing role of trade in the economy and politics of European states. Between the Eastern European powers, a struggle for hegemony in the Baltic Sea unfolded (" Dominium maris Baltici"in Latin, the diplomatic language of that time), which played the largest role in the pan-European and regional conflicts of that time - in the Livonian War of 1558-83 (which was from the Russian state milestone struggle for access to B. m.), in numerous Danish-Swedish and Polish-Swedish wars and in Thirty Years' War 1618-18. As a result of these wars, from the middle of the 17th century. Swedish hegemony was established in the Baltic Sea. Russia's victory over Sweden in the Northern War of 1700–21 ensured Russia's access to the Baltic Sea and its hegemony in the Eastern Baltic. Russia took possession of the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, with the most important ports of Revel (Tallinn), Narva, and Riga, the fortress of Vyborg, and others; Petersburg, founded in 1703, soon became the country's main foreign trade port on the Baltic Sea, and Kronstadt became the main naval fortress and the main base of the first Russian Baltic Fleet. From the end of the 19th century Germany's position on the Baltic Sea was significantly strengthened, creating a strong navy and a number of naval bases there and building (1886–95) the Kiel Canal, which connected the Baltic and North Seas. The situation changed after the defeat of Germany in World War I (which resulted, in particular, in the destruction of the main forces of the German navy and the limitation of Germany's naval armaments). After the seizure of power by the National Socialists (1933), German imperialism, with the complicity of the Western powers (the Anglo-German naval agreement of 1935, etc.), sought to revive the navy on the Baltic Sea. The defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, the strengthening of the positions of the USSR on the B. m., the creation of the PNR and the GDR radically changed the balance of forces and the whole situation on the B. m. in favor of the socialist countries.

Economic and geographical essay.

The economic importance of the Baltic Sea is determined by its central position in relation to the economically developed states located on its shores - the USSR, Poland, the GDR, the FRG, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland. About 140 million people live in these countries (the USSR is considered part of the regions of the RSFSR and the union republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania adjacent to the Baltic Sea). and produces about 15% of the world industrial products. For the USSR, the Baltic sea serves as the shortest exit from the regions of the Center, the West, and the Northwest to the world sea lanes of the Atlantic Ocean; large coastal shipping is carried out along the Baltic Sea, including transportation from the ports of the Black Sea; On the coast of the Baltic sea there are bases of the Soviet expeditionary fishing fleet, which fishes in the Atlantic Ocean. Through B. the m passes b. h. foreign trade of Poland, East Germany, Sweden, Denmark and the vast majority of exports and imports of Finland. The cargo turnover of the Baltic Sea is dominated by petroleum products (from the ports of the USSR and from the Atlantic Ocean), coal (from Poland, the USSR), timber (from Finland, Sweden, the USSR), cellulose and paper (from Sweden and Finland), iron ore ( from Sweden); An important role in cargo turnover is also played by machinery and equipment, the major producers and consumers of which are all countries located on the shores and in the basin of the Baltic sea. The exit from the Baltic sea to the Atlantic Ocean is through the Øresund Strait, which belongs to the territorial waters of Sweden and Denmark , and through the Kiel Canal, which has an international statute. The largest ports of the Baltic sea are Leningrad (FRG), NATO (in the western part of the Baltic Sea, in particular on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany and Denmark, NATO air and naval bases are located) and, on the other hand, by the desire of progressive forces to turn Baltic m. to the zone of peace.

M. N. Sokolov.

Literature:

Betin VV, Ice conditions in the area of the Baltic Sea and on the approaches to it and their long-term changes, “Tr. State Oceanographic Institute, 1957, c. 41;
Hydrochemical regime of the Baltic Sea, L., 1965;
Egorieva A. V., Baltic Sea, M., 1961;
Zenkevich L. A., Biology of the Seas of the USSR, M., 1963;
Soskin I. M., Long-term changes hydrological characteristics Baltic Sea, L., 1963.

This article or section uses the text of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia.

Links

The Baltic Sea in the book: A. D. Dobrovolsky, B. S. Zalogin. Seas of the USSR. Moscow publishing house. un-ta, 1982.

The Baltic Sea is truly an amazing place. Perhaps everyone who has already been lucky enough to visit its shores will agree with this statement. Everything you need is here modern man. Romantics will discover amazing sunsets and sunrises, businessmen understand how profitable its ports can be in terms of cargo transportation, and travelers tired of the eternal bustle will surely be surprised by the spaciousness and special peace.

Among other things, the bays of the Baltic Sea have become a habitat for a huge number of marine animals and birds, and this automatically means that its role in the planet's ecosystem is generally difficult to overestimate.

This article will tell in more detail about all the nuances of this part of the oceans. The reader will receive valuable information not only about where the Baltic Sea is located, but also about its characteristic features. Reasonable reasons why you should choose this direction as a vacation spot next year will also be indicated.

general information

The Baltic Sea has a very peculiar shape and is located in the very north of Europe. This inland marginal surface of the World Ocean is surrounded on almost all sides by land and protrudes quite far into the northwestern part of Eurasia.

Only in the southwestern part through the Danish straits (Eressun (Sund), Great Belt and Small Belt) does it have access to the North Sea through the Kattegat and Skagerrak straits.

The lines of maritime boundaries with the Sound Strait pass through the Stevne lighthouse and Cape Falstersbuudde, with the Great Belt Strait - Cape Gulyetav, Klint and Kappel (Lolland Island), and with the Small Belt Strait - Cape Falschert, Cape Weisnes and Nakke (about . Eryo).

The Baltic Sea, the rest on which is considered one of the most pleasant in the Russian Federation, belongs to the Atlantic Ocean basin.

Not everyone knows that in terms of salt content it is the most freshwater of all. This is due, first of all, to the fact that forty rivers with fresh water flow into it. The coast of the Baltic Sea differs in shape and structure. - It has a shallow depth, and its bottom is quite uneven.

All this indicates that this part of the world ocean is located within the boundaries of the continental shelf.

Geographic features

V Ancient Russia the sea was called Varangian (from the Varangians) or Svebskoe (Sveiskoe) - this is how the Swedes were called during the Middle Ages. In chronicle sources Ancient Greece and Rome, the Baltic island is found, and in Western European writings of the 11th century. the Baltic Sea is mentioned. But the basis of this name can be both Lithuanian baltas and Latvian balts, meaning White color sandy shores.

In the XVIII century. the sea was already nicknamed the Baltic, but now it is commonly known as the Baltic Sea. However, the semantic meaning of this name has not yet been determined.

The water area occupies almost 420.0 thousand square meters. km, which almost corresponds to the size of the Black Sea (422.0 thousand sq. km). The volume of water in the sea is about 22.0 thousand cubic km.

The total length of the coast is 7 thousand km. The shores of the Baltic Sea are available in such states as Sweden, Finland, Russia, Poland, Germany and Denmark. The Russian Federation owns almost 500 km coastline located in the northwestern part of Europe.

The list of large islands includes: Gotland, Bornholm, Rügen, Oland, Wolin, Saaremaa and Alandia. The main river systems flowing into the water area are the Neva, Neman, Narva, Pregolya, Vistula and Oder.

The Baltic Sea, a photo of which can be found in almost every publication dedicated to the water surface of our planet, is known for its features.

Its ecosystem is considered very vulnerable, due to some natural factors.

This is a shallow inland sea, separated from the Atlantic by the Scandinavian Peninsula and connected to the ocean by narrow and shallow straits that prevent free water exchange between the two basins. It takes about 20-40 years for the complete renewal of water.

The coastline is heavily indented and forms many bays. The largest bays of the Baltic are Riga, Botanichesky, Finnish and Curonian. The latter is a freshwater bay-lagoon separated from the sea by the Curonian Spit.

The eastern part of the Gulf of Finland was named the Neva Bay. By the way, in the north-east of the bay, on the Russian-Finnish border, there is a similar Vyborgsky. The Saimaa Canal opens here, which is the most important transport route. The north coast is protected by high rocky shores and narrow winding bays. The central transit ports of the Baltic are Hamburg (Germany) and St. Petersburg (Russia), which have access to the sea and serve as the sea gates of Europe and Russia.

Bottom relief

Not everyone knows that the Baltic Sea, where rest has already become quite familiar for many, has a very complex and uneven bottom topography. In the southern part it is flat, in the north it is uneven and rocky.

The coast of the Baltic Sea is covered with bottom sediments, among which sand prevails. But most of The bottom consists of bottom sediments of green, black and brown clayey silt of glacial origin.

The sea goes deep into the land and is located within the continental shelf. The average depth of the pool is about 51 meters. Near the islands and on the shallows, there is a zone of shallow water up to 12 meters deep. At the bottom there are several basins with a depth of up to 200 meters. The largest is the Landsort Depression (470 m.)

Climatic conditions of the Baltic

Because of geographical features The climate of the Baltic is not severe and is close to the conditions of temperate latitudes. Many complain that, they say, the Baltic Sea is cold, however, this is nothing more than a delusion.

In general, there is also some similarity with the climate of the continental type. Big influence local weather conditions are affected by the Siberian and Azov anticyclones and the Icelandic low. The seasonal features of the climate of the Baltic Sea depend on this.

Windy and cloudy weather is typical for autumn and winter. The coldest months are January and February. In the central part of the Baltic, it drops to an average of 3°C below zero, in the north and east - to 8°C below zero. The temperature in the Baltic Sea at this time of the year approaches -3-5 C. Occasionally, under the influence of the Arctic masses, the air can cool down to 35 degrees below zero.

In the spring and summer, the winds weaken. Spring is cool. Northerly winds, which bring colder air, have a great influence on the climate. With the onset of heat, moderate western and northwestern winds predominantly blow. Therefore, summer is mostly cool and humid. The average temperature in July in the Botanical Bay rises to 14-15°C, in other areas of the sea - 16-18°C. Hot weather is rare and only during the period of incoming Mediterranean air masses.

The water in the Baltic Sea (temperature and salinity) depends on the part. In winter, it is warmer in the open sea than off the coast. V summer time the lowest temperature is near the western shores in the central and southern strip of the sea. Such fluctuations near the western coast are associated with the movement of warm upper layers of water by westerly winds and their replacement by colder deep waters.

local flora

It should be noted that the Baltic and North Seas as a whole can boast of a variety of flora.

The main part of the underwater flora consists of representatives of the Atlantic species, which live mainly in the southern and southwestern parts of the Baltic Sea.

The flora includes various types of algae, among which are peridine, cyanide, planktonic diatoms, benthic brown algae (kelp, fucus, ectocarpus and pilayella), red algae (rhodomela, polysiphonia and phyllophora), as well as blue-green algae.

Fauna of the Baltic Sea

It's no secret that both winter and summer water temperatures in the Baltic Sea hardly contribute to the appearance of a huge number of marine life.

The local fauna is represented by three groups of animals and fish, different in their origin.

The first includes representatives of a brackish-water arctic species that belonged to the descendants of the ancient Arctic Ocean. One of the inhabitants of this group is the Baltic seal.

The second consists of commercial fish (herring, cod, sprat and flounder). They also include valuable species such as salmon and eel.

The third group includes freshwater species, distributed mainly in the desalinated waters of the Botanical and Finnish Gulfs, but also found in salt water bodies (freshwater rotifers).

Commercial freshwater fish are zander, pike, bream, roach and perch. It should be noted that the temperature of the water in the Baltic Sea allows fishing almost throughout calendar year. This has a beneficial effect on the budget of countries and regions located on its territory.

Baltic Sea. Economic importance

Due to the natural conditions, the Baltic waters are of great economic importance. Their biological resources are of great value and are widely used by man.

The sea is home to many species of flora and fauna that serve for fishing activities. For example, the temperature of the water in the Baltic Sea favors the active reproduction of Baltic herring, which occupies a special place in the fishery.

Also here is the catch of sprat, salmon, smelt, lamprey, cod and eel. The bays of the Baltic Sea are famous for the extraction of various algae.

To date, a new direction has appeared for the development of mariculture, which is a promising industry for fish production. Marine farms are being created for the artificial breeding of various commercial fish species, etc. Fortunately, the temperature of the Baltic Sea in Kaliningrad and other coastal cities, as mentioned above, allows sailors to go to sea at almost any time of the year.

Local shores are rich in coastal-marine placers of minerals. In the Kaliningrad region, for example, developments are currently underway for underwater mining of amber contained in alluvial deposits. The Baltic Sea (Russia) is also being studied for the development of oil deposits found in the thickness of the seabed. Iron-manganese formations were also found.

The Baltic Sea, whose temperature even in summer rarely rises above +17 C, plays an important role in the transport and economic relations between the countries of Europe, carrying out shipping.

Thanks to the developed sea and river communications, large cargo and passenger transportations are actively taking place.

The water temperature of the Baltic Sea and the main recreational resources of the region

The favorable conditions of this area have long been used by man for recreational purposes.

The mild climate, sandy beaches and pine forests attract a large number of tourists. Cruise routes operate on the sea all year round, and in the warm season people come for rest and treatment.

During the Soviet period, the USSR owned about 25% of the coast of the Baltic Sea. As a result of its collapse, the length of the coast has decreased to 7%, and now only 500 km belong to Russia. After such a sharp reduction in territories, the role of recreational resources has increased significantly. Every year, a huge number of vacationers go to the Baltic Sea. - Kaliningrad, St. Petersburg, Nida, Svetlogorsk and other cities of the Russian Federation never lack tourists.

In the western part of Sosnovy Bor, there is an almost untouched coastal strip sandy beaches. Sea water here is much cleaner than in the resorts of Jurmala. In the future, these places can be used as resorts and sanatoriums, which will become no less popular than, for example, Ust-Narva.

Unfortunately, rest on the Baltic Sea is fraught with some difficulties. The thing is that the possibilities of sea beach pastime are significantly influenced by various environmental problems characteristic of coastal zones.

For this reason, many beaches in the summer season become unsuitable for swimming and close. Although for a huge number of vacationers, a vacation on the Baltic Sea is not only a chance to swim or sunbathe. Many go here for the purest air and breathtaking scenery.

Svetlovodsk and Zelenogradsk - the best Russian resorts

The main resort towns on this coast of Russia are Svetlogorsk and Zelenogradsk.

Despite the fact that the Baltic Sea, the photo of which can be found in almost all prospectuses dedicated to the recreational resources of our country, is northern and the water does not warm up much, many people prefer to spend time on the beach.

The weather in summer is sunny and the water can reach temperatures up to 20 degrees Celsius, which is quite favorable for taking such invigorating and relaxing sunbathing. If passive pastime is the goal of your vacation, you should not choose large cities for these purposes, for example, Kaliningrad. The Baltic Sea, whose water temperature ranges from +17 to +18 C in summer, is unlikely to please you. Experienced travelers are advised to give preference to more modest settlements

Some of them are worth discussing in more detail.

Svetlogorsk is the most famous resort. Beach with fine sand, clean and well maintained. For the convenience of vacationers, the necessary beach equipment is provided - umbrellas and sunbeds. There are many cafes and souvenir shops on the city promenade. The only drawback is a large number of people, both on the main street and on the beach. An important role in choosing a place to stay is played by the price level for hotel and excursion services, transport services, cafes, etc.

The cost of a taxi in the city is about 100 rubles, delivery to or from the airport - up to 850 rubles, a trip to Kaliningrad - within 600 rubles. The cheapest option is buses and trains. Travel by public transport to Zelenogradsk will cost 50.00-100.00 rubles. average cost apartments in hotels in Svetlogorsk is about 2000.00-2500.00 rubles per day. Rates for accommodation in rooms range from 1500.00-5000.00 rubles per day. There are many cafes in the resort where you can have a cheap meal (400.00-800.00 rubles for two).

Prices for sightseeing trips depend on the route and program (500.00-1500.00 rubles per person). Small souvenirs for relatives and friends will cost between 100.00-150.00 rubles, and branded amber products can cost more than 1000.00 rubles.

Another equally popular resort is Zelenogradsk, the advantage of which is a more relaxed atmosphere, the absence of a large tourist flow and a convenient location from the regional center. There are good transport links. The city attracts visitors with its architecture and winding streets. Along the coast there is a new spacious promenade where you can walk and spend time with family or friends.

Unlike Svetlogorsk, prices in hotels and hotels are quite reasonable, while the service is at a high level. You can find housing in the private sector near the sea. In many hotels, when ordering rooms, an advance payment of up to 25% of the accommodation cost is provided, which must be transferred by bank transfer. On the promenade next to the sea, there are many cafes and restaurants where you can have a tasty and inexpensive meal. The beach in the city is sandy, long and well-groomed.

The seashore is comfortable, with a gentle entrance and shallow depth.

Five reasons to go to the Baltic Sea

With the advent of summer, many seek to spend their holidays in the south or in exotic countries where there is a lot of sun, warm sea and hot sand. But there are those who prefer the beauty of northern nature and the amber shores of the Baltic, pine forests and sand dunes. Of course, the Baltic coast cannot be compared with the popular resorts of Turkey and Spain, but even here rest has its advantages.

1.Convenient location

The proximity of the Baltic Sea resorts will allow you to avoid long flights and high vacation costs. Especially if you are traveling with small children. For example, a plane flight in the direction of Moscow-Riga takes only about two hours, and the ticket price will be from 9700.00 rubles. From Riga by car in 30-40 minutes you can easily reach Jurmala. It is worth noting that it is not necessary to choose the Baltic resorts located outside of Russia and go to Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia or Germany, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. You can have a great rest in the Kaliningrad region of Russia at the resorts of Svetlogorsk or Zelenogradsk. For such a trip, visa documents are not required, which is an additional plus.

2. Affordable vacation prices

Unlike the southern resorts, spending time on the Baltic Sea involves housing at very affordable prices.

For example, apartments in hotels in Palanga (Lithuania) cost from 1200.00 rubles per day. For this cost, a comfortable room with all amenities and close to the sea will be provided.

Accommodation in hotels in Jurmala (Latvia) will cost from about 1800.00 rubles per night. At the Estonian resort in Pärnu - from 1450.00 rubles per night.

And in the Latvian capital Riga, you can find hotels from 220.00 rubles per day.

3. Lack of acclimatization

It is usually hot in popular resorts in the summer season, and the air warms up above 35 degrees Celsius. Just for lovers of comfort and coolness, the Baltic Sea is suitable. Kaliningrad, where the air temperature stays at +22+24 for almost the entire summer, is always glad to see guests.

As you know, exhausting heat exhausts a person and in most cases it takes time to acclimatize. The Baltic climate is warm and temperate. These places are great for a relaxing family holiday with young children.

4. Favorable conditions for recovery

The waters of the Baltic are known for their beneficial properties and are saturated with mineral salts, while the shores are rich in mineral springs and deposits of peat mud, which are used to improve the body. And also unique natural conditions: clean air with the aroma of pine trees, the freshness of the sea breeze and gentle sand on the seashore. You can relax and improve your health in sanatoriums, mud baths and mineral springs. Especially popular are the sanatorium complexes of Kołobrzeg in Poland.

5. Natural beauty of the Baltic coast

Resorts southern countries are notable for their tropical splendor, fun and incendiary discos and parties. But the northern nature of the amber region also has its own unique charm.

Everything is different here: a pleasant climate, picturesque landscapes, coniferous forests and sand dunes. And walking along the coast after a storm, you can find sunny pieces of amber - an unusual and mysterious stone.

The cities of the Baltic coast have preserved the atmosphere of antiquity and cozy quiet streets. There are many natural and historical attractions.

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general information

Geographic features

Bottom relief

Climatic conditions of the Baltic

local flora

Fauna of the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea. Economic importance

The water temperature of the Baltic Sea and the main recreational resources of the region

Svetlovodsk and Zelenogradsk - the best Russian resorts

Five reasons to go to the Baltic Sea

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