Baltic Sea, The Baltic Sea is an inland sea on the northern continental shelf Europe. Connected with The North Sea through the Danish Straits (Little Belt, Great Belt, Sund, Kattegat, Skagerrak and Limfjord).
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The Baltic Sea is called the inland sea of northern Europe because it is bordered on all sides by land, and only a few shallow straits connect it to the North Sea. It is situated in the northern temperate climate zone. Both seas lie on the same continental shelf. Countries bordering the Baltic Sea: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Poland, Russia, Sweden.
The Baltic Sea is divided into 3 large swimming pools: Bothnian Basin with a maximum depth of 294 m, Gotland Basin with a maximum depth of 459 m, Bornholm Basin with a maximum depth of 105 m. The area of the Baltic Sea with the Kattegat is about 415,266 km². Without the Kattegat, the Baltic Sea covers 392,979 km². The catchment area is 1,721,233 km². The volume of the sea is 21,721 km³. The Baltic coast line, about 8,100 km long, is well developed and diversified.
The average depth of the Baltic Sea is 52.3 m, the maximum - 459 m (Landsort Deep northwest of Gotland).
Due to the low salinity, the Baltic Sea is classified as brackish (mesohaline) waters and is defined as the semi-salt sea. The average salinity is about 7 ‰. In general, it ranges from 2 to 12 ‰, although in winter in the Bay of Gdańsk the salinity does not exceed 7.8 ‰. The temperature of surface water, depending on the season, ranges from -0.5 to 20 ° C. The water temperature at the Polish coast is addicted to the winds. West winds warm the water, east winds it colder.
The Baltic Sea is one of the youngest seas in the Atlantic Ocean, about 12,000 years old.
The water level of the Baltic Sea is higher than in the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea and is due to its inland location. The reason is too poor water exchange through the narrow Danish Straits.
The Baltic Sea is a stormy sea and the waves are short and steep. The typical wave height is 5 m. During strong storms, the waves are violent, disordered, often reflected and coming from different directions, and their height reaches almost 10 m. On December 23, 2004, during a storm in the northern Baltic region, a single wave of height of almost 14 m. The distances between the crests of the waves are small, reaching only 50 m.
The tide, resulting from the attraction of sea waters by the Moon and the Sun, is insignificant in the Baltic Sea: 24 cm in Copenhagen, 8 cm in Świnoujście, 3 cm in Gdańsk Bay, and 4 cm in Klaipeda.
The Baltic Sea is one of the most polluted seas in the world. In 1973, the Gdańsk Convention on Fisheries and Protection of the Living Resources of the Baltic Sea and Belts was signed. Seven Baltic states signed the second International Baltic Convention in Helsinki in 1974, but it still remains one of the world's most polluted seas.
On the Polish coast of the Baltic Sea there are many historically interesting towns with numerous monuments, starting from Kołobrzeg and Koszalin, and many small recreational towns, e.g. Władysławowo, Hel, Jastarnia with Jurata, Rowy, Ustka, Dąbki, Łazy, Jarosławiec, Unieście, Mielno, Sarbinowo , Gąski, Dźwirzyno, Łeba, Ustronie Morskie, Mrzeżyno, Rewal, Pobierowo, Dziwnów, Międzywodzie, Międzyzdroje, Świnoujście.
You can spend time on the Polish coast in iconic resorts, as well as in quiet towns - Quiet towns on the Baltic Sea. Top 5 places in an idyllic style.