Bothnian Sea

The Bothnian Sea links the Bothnian Bay (called also Bay of Bothnia) with the Baltic proper. Together the Bothnian Sea and Bay make up a larger geographical identity, Gulf of Bothnia. Bothnian Sea, as well as the whole Gulf of Bothnia, is situated between Sweden, to the west, and Finland, to the east.

The surface area of Bothnian Sea is approximately 79 000 square kilometers. Largest coastal towns, from south to north, are Rauma and Pori in Finland, and Gävle and Sundsvall in Sweden. Umeå (Sweden) and Vaasa (Finland) lie in the extreme north, near Bothnian Bay.

It might be noted that in the local languages — in Swedish and especially in Finnish — the terms referring to Bothnian Sea, Bay and Gulf are linguistically much more distinct and different words.