Finland, Gulf Of

Gulf of Finland, Finnish Suomen Lahti, Russian Finsky Zaliv, easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea, between Finland (north) and Russia and Estonia (east and south). Covering an area of 11,600 square miles (30,000 square km), the gulf extends for 250 miles (400 km) from east to west but only 12 to 80 miles (19 to 130 km) from north to south. It has a maximum depth of 377 feet (115 m) at its western end. Of low salinity (six parts per thousand), the gulf freezes over for three to five months in winter. It receives the Neva and Narva rivers and the Saimaa Canal. Included within the gulf are the islands of Gogland (Sur-sari, or Högland), Lavansari (Moshchnyy), and Kotlin (Kronshtadt). The gulf is an important shipping route for its main ports: Porkkala, Helsinki, and Kotka in Finland; Vyborg, St. Petersburg, and Kronshtadt in Russia; and Tallinn in Estonia.