Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume II.djvu/271

 BALTIC SEA 251 arts. He directed many court festivals, re- ' stored some of the principal churches of Paris, built the church of St. Augustine, which was ' opened in 1868, and was the architect of the i central halls in Paris. He has continued the publication of the Grands prix d' architecture, I which had been begun by his father ; prepared under the patronage of the duke de Luynes the plates for a work on Norman and Swabian monuments in Italy ; and published the text and designs of the Villa Medicis (1847-'8), and other works. One of his earlier produc- tions, Le theatre de Pompei, executed in Italy in 1837, gained him a medal at the Paris exposi- tion of 1855 ; and his Projet de restauration de Saint Eustache was greatly admired at that of 1859. He was chosen a member of the academy of fine arts in 1863. III. Prosper, brother of the preceding, born in Paris, Nov. 1, 1796, is also an excellent architect, and be- came in 1850 inspector of the new Louvre buildings. IV. Jules, a third brother, born in Paris, June 3, 1807, is a portrait painter. BALTIC SEA (anc. Pelagus Seythicum or Mare Suevicvm ; Ger. Ostsee, eastern sea), an inland sea of N. Europe, nearly enclosed by Sweden, Russia, Germany, and Denmark, and communi- cating with the Oattegat and the North sea by the Sound and the Great and Little Belt. Its extremes of latitude are Wismar, in Mecklen- burg, 53 53' N., and Tornea, on the gulf of Bothnia, 65 51' N. Its greatest length be- tween these points is 900 m. Its width varies from 200 to 75 m. Its area, including the gulfs of Bothnia, Riga, and Finland, is estimated at about 150,000 sq. m. This is exclusive of the Cattegat and the Skager Rack, for which a further addition of 18,000 to 19,000 sq. m. must be made. The direction in which the Baltic penetrates inland is extremely tortuous. From its straits it runs first E. to Memel, about 300 m., then N. as far as the latitude of Stockholm, 59 21', a further distance of 260 m. It is to these portions that the term Baltic sea is in its limited sense restricted ; for at this point it separates into two great gulfs. Of these the gulf of Finland runs nearly due E. between Finland and Esthonia, while the gulf of Both- nia runs a little E. of N. between Finland and Sweden. The gulf of Finland is 250 m. long, with a mean breadth of 60 to 70 m. That of Bothnia is about 400 m. long, with 120 m. of average width, although at its narrowest part it is not above 40 m. wide. Another im- portant inlet is the gulf of Riga or Livonia, S. of the gulf of Finland, and extending be- tween Livonia and Oourland, 70 m. from E. to W., and about 90 m. from N. to S. The Baltic is shallow. The greatest depth, be- tween Gothland and Windau, was found in 1871 to be 720 ft. At a depth of 600 to 700 ft., at the latter end of July, the tempera- ture was 33 to 36-5 F. No marine plants were found in this cold area, and only a few an- nelida. Life was very abundant to the depth of about 300 ft., while plants were seldom found at a depth of more than 30 ft. The en- trance to the sea is crowded with islands and shoals, and as the Baltic itself has no regular tides, the varying currents, depending upon prevailing winds and changing temperature, add to the difficulties of the navigator. The western portions of the sea have a depth of not more than 16 fathoms. Toward the east it deepens, and midway between Memel and Oeland there is found from 60 to 100 fathoms water. The gulf of Finland suddenly shoals from 50 to from 4 to 16 fathoms. The gulf of Bothnia has no greater average depth, but its navigation is less obstructed by shoals and sand banks. The basin of the Baltic is difficult to determine accurately, as, with the excep- tion of the mountains of Sweden and Norway on the north and northwest, all its other bor- ders stretch away in vast plains, occupying a large part of Europe. This great district is exceedingly well watered ; upward of 200 rivers flow into the Baltic ; the lakes in its neighborhood, with many of which it is con- nected by rivers, are almost innumerable ; and altogether this sea receives the drainage of nearly one fifth of Europe. The most peculiar part of this basin is in its S. W. corner. Here, although the nearest mountains are those of the Hartz, yet the basin of the Baltic is not above 20 or 25 m. wide. The Elbe, which runs within 50 m. of the Baltic, flows into the North sea ; so also the Eider, which rises close to its shores. These and their tributaries belong to another system ; yet so flat is the country that the different waters continually unite, and a canal 3 m. long has served to connect the Baltic with the Elbe, by joining a small affluent of the latter with the Steck- nitz and Trave, between Llibeck and Lauen- burg. The Baltic receives, among others, the waters of the lakes of Ladoga, Onega, and Maelar, and of the rivers Duna, Niemen, Vis- tula, and Oder. The rivers which flow from the south and southeast are the longest. The great amount of mud and sand carried down into the sea has considerably changed its soundings in various parts, filling up the mouths of many of the rivers and harbors, and gener- ally raising the bed of the entire sea, creating many small islets and shoals, and rendering navigation, particularly along the Danish shores, difficult and dangerous. Being a close sea, with its entrance protected from the approach of the tidal wave, the Baltic has no tides. There is, however, observed at irregular periods a rise in the water, equal sometimes to 3 ft. This occurs at all seasons of the year, but chiefly in autumn or winter, or at a time ol heavy rain, or during lowering weather. The water maintains its height for days, and some- times weeks, and often overflows its usual limits. Dr. Sen ul ten, a Swede, in 1804, by a series of close observations, ascertained that this rise was occasioned, not by heavy rains, winds, melting snow, or ice, to all of which it had been ascribed, but by the unequal pressure