Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea Artificially Linked

The Baltic Sea is interesting because it is artificially linked to the White Sea through the White Sea Canal and the Baltic Sea is also linked to the North Sea by the Kiel Canal. In addition, the Baltic Sea is also surrounded by gulfs, such as the Gulf of Bothnia to the north, the Gulf of Finland to the northeast, and the Gulf of Riga to the east. The Baltic Sea drains, though other sources, into both the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

Baltic Sea Origin of the Name

The name Baltic Sea was given to the Baltic Sea waters in the eleventh century by a man named Adam of Bremen. There is not any concise meaning known, but many speculate that the Baltic Sea was named such after the German word for belt, or the Latin word balteus, which means belt. What is known is that Adam of Bremen likened the Baltic Sea to a belt because of the way the Baltic Sea stretched through the land. There is a lot of speculation about the basis of the Baltic Sea name, with many different languages contributing to the speculation.

Baltic Sea Largest Body of Salt Water on the Globe

The Baltic Sea is known by many names such as the East Sea, the West Sea, or the Baltic Sea, with the Baltic Sea being the most used and the most understood. The Baltic Sea will be called by many different names depending where in the world you are from, but when you look at a map the Baltic Sea is usually labeled as the Baltic Sea, regardless of what it is called locally. 
Interestingly, the Baltic Sea is thought to the largest body of salt water in the world.

Baltic Sea and Glacial Erosion

The basin that the Baltic Sea sits in was created by glacial erosion and today the Baltic Sea is about 1,000miles long and 120 miles wide and the Baltic Sea has an average depth of about 180 feet deep. The deepest point of the Baltic Sea is about 1,506 feet deep. The surface areas of the Baltic Sea is an impressive 145,522 square miles and the Baltic Sea has a volume of 5,040 cubic miles.  

Baltic Sea Ice Coverage

The Baltic Sea is interesting .because 45% of its surface area is covered with ice. While 45% of the Baltic Sea is covered in ice, the remaining areas never freeze, even during the winters, with the exception of shallow or sheltered bays. The Baltic Sea experiences the most ice coverage during the moths of February and March and on average the ice is about 70 centimeters thick with the ice becoming thicker on the Baltic Sea the further south that you go. Interestingly, in recent years the Baltic Sea has seen a lot less ice coverage, with very little of the Baltic Sea surface being frozen in the winter of 2007. Many people explain the lack of ice on the Baltic Sea in recent years with global warming.