Baltic Sea

a shallow, irregular-shaped body of water, extending in a northeasterly direction from the North Sea. The name, it is thought, signifies white. The Baltic separates Germany and Russia from the lower extremity of the Scandinavian Peninsula. Denmark guards the entrance. In 1895 a ship canal was completed between the mouth of the Elbe near Hamburg and Kiel Bay on the Baltic. It lies entirely within German territory, and shortens the route from London to Baltic ports by several hundred miles. The waters of the Baltic are fresher than those of the ocean. Owing to the large number of rivers that empty into it, they contain only one-fifth as much salt as does seawater. They are also clearer, and freeze more readily. The arms and harbors of the Baltic are covered with ice during the winter season and the sea is closed to navigation. The coasts of the Baltic have long been famous for amber, still cast ashore. The open sea has a reputation for rough weather, but there are many safe ports. The tides rise and fall about a foot. With its arms, the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia, the area of the Baltic is about twice that of our Great Lakes. The area drained into the Baltic is a fifth of all Europe. The fauna is that of a body of fresh water. Whales seldom venture in. The water is too fresh to sustain the life of oysters, but salmon, salmon-trout, and small herring are abundant. The fishing season is cut short by winter. At this season fishermen are afraid of being surrounded by floating ice and frozen in. See Copenhagen; Stockholm; St. Petersburg; Neva; Gotland; Amber