Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea (classic Sinus Codanus), the name of uncertain derivation by which most geographers designate the great gulf of the North Sea known to those who dwell on its shores as the Ost See or East Sea. It extends in a north-westerly direction between Germany and Russia on the one side and the Scandinavian Peninsula on the other, being cut off from the North Sea by Denmark, except where the narrow passages of the Sound and the Great and Little Belt provide outlets. The northern portion beyond the Aland Isles is called the Gulf of Bothnia, and large indentations on the Russian coast form the Gulfs of Riga and Finland. The total length is 900 miles, and the breadth varies from 100 to 200 miles, and the area about 160,000 square miles. It is on the whole a shallow sea, shelving up from the northern shores, which are in places rocky and precipitous, to the flat, sandy coasts of Russia and Germany. The water is brackish, owing to the number of rivers, such as the Vistula, Neva, Oder, Dwina, Tornea, etc., that flow into it, Many islands dot its surface, the largest of them being Funen and Zealand, at the entrance; Oeland, off the Swedish coast; Gothland, almost in the middle, opposite the Gulf of Riga; and the Aland group, just beyond the opening of the Gulf of Finland. From the middle of December to the beginning of April it is practically closed to navigation, owing to the ice that blocks the gulfs and harbours. St, Petersburg is situated at the head of the Gulf of Finland, and is protected by the strong fortresses of Sveaborg, Viborg, and Kronstadt. Kiel, the S.W. angle, is the chief station of the German navy; and Stralsund and Rugen afford excellent harbours. Dantzig, Riga, Memel, Karlskrona, Umea, Lulea, and Tornea export large quantities of corn, hemp, tallow, and timber. Amber is a characteristic product of the southern coasts.