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THE ICE OF THE BALTIC. ^
the currents and the dashing of the waves, where the sea is not frozen,
gives the most varied directions to the crevasses ; in some places they
are parallel, while in others they intersect one another irregularly, or radiate toward all points of the horizon.
Ice very rarely covers the surface of the sea while the water is much
agitated. Tempests or rapid currents retard, or even completely prevent, the formation of the ice-sheet. Thus, while on the east, where the
sea is calm, the island of Oesel is, on an average, united to the main-land
during 130 days of the year by a layer of ice sometimes attaining a
thickness of more than three feet, and serving as a high-road for sledges,
the western cliffs, against which the surges strike, are, on the contrary,
only bordered by a narrow.fringe of ice. On the promontory of Muhha
Ninna the waves always break with fury, and this extreme agitation of
the water lasts during the whole winter, preventing the appearance of
the least particle of ice; indeed the peasants of the island say that they
have never seen any near this point.*
Every year a considerable part of the Baltic is covered with ice. Almost all the Gulf of Bothnia and the entire coast-line of the Gulf of Finland is changed into a white and immovable surface, the islands and
islets are encircled by a zone of ice-floes, more or less wide, while the
straits of a slight depth are similarly obstructed. Every winter Finland
is reunited to Sweden by a bridge of ice, pierced here and there by the
innumerable rocks of the Oeland Archipelago. This solid crust then becomes for many months the highway between Sweden and Russia. The
Baltic, like the Polar ice-fields, has its piled-up masses of ice, resembling
turrets, pyramids, and obelisks built upon the sea ; from these fields, also,
broad masses are detached from their edges to float toward the south
with the current, then, breaking with a loud crash, are similarly reduced
into scattered pieces; and in a few days after the commencement of the
thaw only thin fragments remain, tossed here and there by the waves.
During the last few centuries the Baltic Sea has never been entirely
covered with a field of ice. But the chronicles inform us that in 1323
the southern part of the basin was completely frozen over, and during six
weeks travelers from Copenhagen repaired .on horseback to Liibeck and
Dantzic; and temporary hamlets were even erected on the ice at the intersection of the roads. During the winters of 1333, 1349, 1399, and
1402, the same phenomena of general congelation occurred in the southern Baltic, and the icy bed served as a road for commerce between Pom-
erania, Mecklenburg, Denmark, and the islands. In 1408 the ice-field
completely closed the entrance of the Baltic between Norway and Jutland, and extended through the Categat, the straits of the Sea of Scania,
into the Baltic, as far as the large island of Gothland. It is said even
that the wolves of Norway, driven from their native forests by hunger,
crossed the Skagerrack to invade the villages of Jutland. Since this
epoch, several parts of the Southern Baltic have been frozen over again;
* Von Sass, Bulletin de VAcademie de Saint Petersbourg, t. ix., p. 166, etc.
| Title | The ocean, atmosphere, and life |
| Creator | Reclus, Elisée |
| Publisher | Harper |
| Place of Publication | New York |
| Date | 1873 |
| Language | eng |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Title | 00000066 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | THE ICE OF THE BALTIC. ^ the currents and the dashing of the waves, where the sea is not frozen, gives the most varied directions to the crevasses ; in some places they are parallel, while in others they intersect one another irregularly, or radiate toward all points of the horizon. Ice very rarely covers the surface of the sea while the water is much agitated. Tempests or rapid currents retard, or even completely prevent, the formation of the ice-sheet. Thus, while on the east, where the sea is calm, the island of Oesel is, on an average, united to the main-land during 130 days of the year by a layer of ice sometimes attaining a thickness of more than three feet, and serving as a high-road for sledges, the western cliffs, against which the surges strike, are, on the contrary, only bordered by a narrow.fringe of ice. On the promontory of Muhha Ninna the waves always break with fury, and this extreme agitation of the water lasts during the whole winter, preventing the appearance of the least particle of ice; indeed the peasants of the island say that they have never seen any near this point.* Every year a considerable part of the Baltic is covered with ice. Almost all the Gulf of Bothnia and the entire coast-line of the Gulf of Finland is changed into a white and immovable surface, the islands and islets are encircled by a zone of ice-floes, more or less wide, while the straits of a slight depth are similarly obstructed. Every winter Finland is reunited to Sweden by a bridge of ice, pierced here and there by the innumerable rocks of the Oeland Archipelago. This solid crust then becomes for many months the highway between Sweden and Russia. The Baltic, like the Polar ice-fields, has its piled-up masses of ice, resembling turrets, pyramids, and obelisks built upon the sea ; from these fields, also, broad masses are detached from their edges to float toward the south with the current, then, breaking with a loud crash, are similarly reduced into scattered pieces; and in a few days after the commencement of the thaw only thin fragments remain, tossed here and there by the waves. During the last few centuries the Baltic Sea has never been entirely covered with a field of ice. But the chronicles inform us that in 1323 the southern part of the basin was completely frozen over, and during six weeks travelers from Copenhagen repaired .on horseback to Liibeck and Dantzic; and temporary hamlets were even erected on the ice at the intersection of the roads. During the winters of 1333, 1349, 1399, and 1402, the same phenomena of general congelation occurred in the southern Baltic, and the icy bed served as a road for commerce between Pom- erania, Mecklenburg, Denmark, and the islands. In 1408 the ice-field completely closed the entrance of the Baltic between Norway and Jutland, and extended through the Categat, the straits of the Sea of Scania, into the Baltic, as far as the large island of Gothland. It is said even that the wolves of Norway, driven from their native forests by hunger, crossed the Skagerrack to invade the villages of Jutland. Since this epoch, several parts of the Southern Baltic have been frozen over again; * Von Sass, Bulletin de VAcademie de Saint Petersbourg, t. ix., p. 166, etc. |
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