Baltic Sea

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The Baltic Sea, the North Sea, and the English Channel.

Chalk cliffs at Stubbenkammer promontory on the island of Rügen, Ger.

Ostseebad Ahrenshoop, Ger., on the Baltic Sea.

The Kiel Canal, running from the mouth of the Elbe River to the Baltic Sea, Kiel, Ger.

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Baltic Sea summary

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Geography & Travel

Baltic Sea

sea, Europe

Also known as: Østersøen, Östersjön, Baltiyskoye More, Itämeri, Morze Bałtyckie, Ostsee

Written by Alice F.A. Mutton, Alastair Dougal CouperSee All

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Mar 11, 2024 • Article History

Category: Geography & Travel

German:: Ostsee

Swedish:: Östersjön

Russian:: Baltiyskoye More

Finnish:: Itämeri

Polish:: Morze Bałtyckie

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Recent News

Mar. 9, 2024, 7:06 AM ET (Yahoo Movies Canada)

Two missing after ships collide in Baltic Sea

Mar. 8, 2024, 2:38 AM ET (Yahoo News)

Sweden won't reopen an investigation into 1994 Baltic Sea ferry disaster

Baltic Sea, arm of the North Atlantic Ocean, extending northward from the latitude of southern Denmark almost to the Arctic Circle and separating the Scandinavian Peninsula from the rest of continental Europe. The largest expanse of brackish water in the world, the semienclosed and relatively shallow Baltic Sea is of great interest to scientists, while to historians it represents the economic core of the Hanseatic League, the great medieval trading group of northern European ports. The many names for the sea attest to its strategic position as a meeting place of many countries. The Baltic Sea covers about 149,000 square ...(100 of 2824 words)

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