Danish straits

The Danish straits are the connected waterways between Denmark and Sweden that link the Baltic Sea to the North Sea through the Kattegat and Skagerrak.

Øresund: The strait separating the Danish island of Zealand from southern Sweden, connecting the Baltic Sea with the Kattegat. This eastern passage is the narrowest major route through the straits.
Baltic Ice Lake: A freshwater lake formed at the edge of the retreating Scandinavian ice sheet near the end of the last Ice Age. Its changing outlets preceded the modern connection through the straits.
Baltic Sea trade: Commercial exchange carried by sea among Baltic ports and between the Baltic region and other markets. The straits provide the main maritime gateway for this trade.
Kiel Canal: An artificial waterway in northern Germany connecting the North Sea with the Baltic Sea. It offers a canal route between the same seas without passing through the Danish straits.
Great Belt: The strait between the Danish islands of Funen and Zealand, linking the Baltic Sea to the Kattegat. It is the central and deepest major passage for ships entering or leaving the Baltic.
Ancylus Lake: A freshwater stage in the Baltic basin after the Baltic Ice Lake, named for the freshwater snail Ancylus. Its changing shorelines record the basin’s transition toward the present sea connection.
Danish Sound Dues: Tolls Denmark charged ships passing through the Øresund from the fifteenth century until 1857. The tolls turned control of a key passage into a major source of Danish revenue.
Limfjord: A shallow sound in northern Denmark connecting the North Sea with the Kattegat. It is a separate Danish passage, not part of the Baltic–Kattegat route.
Little Belt: The strait between the Danish mainland and the island of Funen, connecting the Kattegat with the Baltic Sea. It forms the western passage among the channels linking the Baltic and Kattegat.
Littorina Sea: A brackish stage of the Baltic basin that developed after marine water entered following the last Ice Age. Its formation established a marine connection across the region of the straits.

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