Page 434 - (DK) Ocean - The Definitive Visual Guide

432 THE ATLANTIC OCEAN A B C

20˚W Arctic Circle 10˚W
The North Sea and

Baltic Sea 1

a number of shallow seas cover the continental shelf off the
northwest coast of Europe, the largest of which is the North Sea.
The North Atlantic Drift brings warmer water into the region,
ICELAND Aegir Ridge
producing the mild climate enjoyed by adjacent coastal areas. 94m
(308ft) Viking Trough
Sea (see p.427) as the Norwegian
ATLANTIC OCEAN D1
Atlantic Current. This relatively warm 2 231m
3,300m
Norwegian Sea water is the reason for the Norwegian (824ft) (10,827ft)
port of Bergen’s reputation as the
AREA 534,000 square miles (1.4 million square km) wettest place in Europe, with rain Faeroe–Iceland Ridge
MAXIMUM DEPTH 13,020 ft (3,970 m) expected at least 275
days a year.
INFLOWS Central North Atlantic, numerous
Norwegian fjords
The Norwegian Sea lies between
Norway and Iceland, separated from Iceland Faeroe
the main part of the north Atlantic by Basin Shelf
FAEROE
the submarine Faeroe–Iceland Ridge. 3 ISLANDS Tórshavn
Although situated at high latitude, this
60˚N 174m Faeroe Gap
sea is kept free of ice by the warm, salty (871ft) 68m
North Atlantic Drift, which flows from Bill Baileys Faeroe (223ft)
Outer Bank
the southwest between Scotland and Bailey Bank Faeroe–Shetland
Iceland and continues into the Barents
PULPIT ROCK AT LYSEFJORD Wyville Thomson Ridge
Fjords cut into the Atlantic coast of Norway, George Bligh 53m
showing where ice-age glaciers scoured deep Bank Rosemary (174ft)
valleys below today’s sea level. 4 Bank Orkney

Cape Kirkwall
winter. A large influx of river water 10m (13ft) b r i d e a n S h e l f Islands
ATLANTIC OCEAN G5 Wrath
gives the Baltic a low salinity—it is the (33ft) 5m
The Minch
Baltic Sea largest area of brackish water in the
world. Its only outflow is to the North Rockall H e Stornoway
AREA 149,000 square miles (386,000 square km) Sea via the Danish Straits (three Rockall Bank Moray
MAXIMUM DEPTH 1,473 ft (449 m) channels linking the Baltic to the Outer Hebrides Isle Firth
Kattegat), Kattegat Bay, and the of Skye
INFLOWS Vistula, Oder, Western Divina rivers Inverness
Skagerrak Strait. There is a weak influx 5 Hebrides
The Baltic is a shallow, virtually of dense salt water at depth that isolates Seamount
enclosed inland sea with little tide. the basin floor from the surface waters, Inner Hebrides
It does not benefit from the warmth of producing an oxygen-depleted dead Rockall Trough 30m
the North Atlantic Drift, and its zone. Without significant out- flows, (98ft)
northern branches, the Gulf of Bothnia the Baltic Sea is vulnerable to pollution Glasgow
and the Gulf of Finland, ice over in the carried in by rivers and from large Ireland Trough Malin Head Edinburgh
population centers on its coasts.
Although there is a sea route to the 2,932m North Channel
North Sea, there is also a shorter, more (9,620ft) Donegal Bay
sheltered route through the Kiel Canal. 6 Belfast
90m
(295ft) Isle
ACROSS THE ORESUND STRAIT of Man
Porcupine Bank Shannon Anglesey
The 10-mile- (16-km-) long Oresund Bridge links Irish Sea
the Danish capital Copenhagen with Malmo in Galway Bay IRELAND
Sweden. Dublin Liverpool
and Fisher banks, are terminal moraines Severn
ATLANTIC OCEAN D6 marking the southern edge of the ice 7 Cork St. George’s Channel Cardigan KINGDOM
UNITED
ATLAS OF THE OCEANS MAXIMUM DEPTH 2,300 ft (700 m) buried under thick sediments that 8 50˚N Goban Celtic Isles of Land’s Plymouth Channel Wight
Bay
North Sea
sheet during the last ice age, when the
bottom of the sea was exposed by
AREA 220,000 square miles (570,000 square km)
lower sea levels. A trough located to
Cardiff
Thames
the west of the Norwegian Trench is
Bristol Channel
Celtic Sea
INFLOWS North Atlantic; Elbe, Weser, Ems, Rhine,
contain oil and gas deposits.
Southampton
Scheldt, Thames, Humber rivers
38m
Spur
Water from the Atlantic enters
Isle of
(125ft)
the North Sea between the Shetland
and Orkney Islands, flowing south
Scilly
End
English Channel
down the Scottish and English coasts.
Cherbourg
Shelf
Warmer Atlantic water also enters
from the English Channel and flows
Islands
east along the Dutch coast, resulting in
99m
St-Malo
a counterclockwise circulation. The
largest sand banks on the North Sea
floor, including the Dogger, Jutland,
OIL RIG IN THE NORTH SEA
A 10˚W B (325ft) Golfe de
C