The Baltic Klint (Clint, Glint; et, Balti klint, sv, Baltiska klinten, russian: Балтийско-Ладожский уступ, Глинт) is an erosional

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...

and

cuesta A cuesta (from Spanish ''cuesta'' "slope") is a hill or ridge with a gentle slope on one side, and a steep slope on the other. In geology the term is more specifically applied to a ridge where a harder sedimentary rock overlies a softer layer ...

on several islands of the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

, in

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

, in

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast ( rus, Ленинградская область, Leningradskaya oblast’, lʲɪnʲɪnˈgratskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, , ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It was established on 1 August 1927, a ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and in the islands of

Gotland Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the ...

and

Öland Öland (, ; ; sometimes written ''Øland'' in other Scandinavian languages, and often ''Oland'' internationally; la, Oelandia) is the second-largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. It was featured on the reverse of the 50 krooni note of 1928 and on the 100 krooni note of 1992. The Baltic Klint is active landform showing some retreat in the present. However it is not known to which degree the Baltic Klint originated in

postglacial The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...

time or if it evolved from cliff-like forms sculpted by the

Fennoscandian Ice Sheet The Weichselian glaciation was the last glacial period and its associated glaciation in northern parts of Europe. In the Alpine region it corresponds to the Würm glaciation. It was characterized by a large ice sheet (the Fenno-Scandian ice sheet) ...

. In Gotland 20th century cliff retreat rates have been estimated at 0.15 to 0.78 cm/year. Retreat of the Baltic Klint in

has widened shore platforms.

Geography

The Baltic Klint extends approximately 1200 km from the island of

through the continental shelf and the Estonian islands of

Osmussaar Osmussaar ( sv, Odensholm, german: Odinsholm) is an Estonian island situated in the mouth of the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea, 7.5 km off the Estonian mainland. Administratively the island is part of Lääne-Nigula Parish in Lääne ...

and

Suur-Pakri , image_name = , image_caption = , image_size = , map_image = Pakri location map.svg , map_caption = , native_name = Pakri saared , native_name_link = , sobriquet = , location = Baltic Sea , ...

Paldiski Paldiski is a town and Baltic Sea port situated on the Pakri Peninsula of northwestern Estonia. Since 2017, it's the administrative centre of Lääne-Harju Parish of Harju County. Previously a village of Estonia-Swedes known by the historical ...

, then along the southern shore of the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...

and

Neva River The Neva (russian: Нева́, ) is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast (historical region of Ingria) to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of , it i ...

to the area south of

Lake Ladoga Lake Ladoga (; rus, Ла́дожское о́зеро, r=Ladozhskoye ozero, p=ˈladəʂskəjə ˈozʲɪrə or rus, Ла́дога, r=Ladoga, p=ˈladəɡə, fi, Laatokka arlier in Finnish ''Nevajärvi'' ; vep, Ladog, Ladoganjärv) is a fresh ...

in Russia, where it disappears under younger sedimentary deposits. The cliff reaches 55.6 m

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

at its highest at Ontika,

Kohtla Parish Kohtla Parish ( et, Kohtla vald) was an Estonian municipality located in Ida-Viru County. It has a population of 1640 (2014) and an area of 101 km². Villages Amula, Järve, Kaasikaia, Kaasikvälja, Kabelimetsa, Kohtla, Kukruse, Mõis ...

, Ida-Viru County of Estonia. It is cut by numerous rivers (including the

Narva Narva, russian: Нарва is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru County, Ida-Viru county, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which ...

, Luga,

Izhora The Izhora (, ), also known as the Inger, is a left tributary of the Neva on its run through Ingria in northwestern Russia from Lake Ladoga to Gulf of Finland. The Izhora flows through Gatchinsky District, Gatchinsky and Tosnensky Districts of Len ...

and the

Tosna The Tosna () is a northward river in Luzhsky, Tosnensky, and Kirovsky Districts of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, as well as in the city of Saint Petersburg. It is a left tributary of the Neva. The towns of Tosno, Nikolskoye, and Otradnoye, as wel ...

), many of which form waterfalls and rapids. The

Valaste Waterfall Valaste Waterfall ( et, Valaste juga) is the highest waterfall in Estonia and neighboring regions (30.5 m) situated between Ontika and Valaste in the Toila Parish of the Ida-Viru County and formed by a stream, as it flows over the Baltic Klint n ...

(in Kohtla Parish) with a drop of 25 m is the highest. In

and

a series of sea stacks known as

rauk A rauk is a column-like landform in Sweden and Norway, often equivalent to a stack. Rauks often occur in groups called "raukfält" or "rauk fields". The limestone rauks of Gotland in the Baltic Sea are among the best known examples. Sweden R ...

s exist along the klint. In the case of Gotland, rauks are formed in limestone representing

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...

s that existed in the

Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleozo ...

epoch. As waves batter against limestone cliffs, pre-existing vertical fractures begin to erode and widen. Eventually this leads to the formation of caves that merge with the remaining central rockmass, becoming a rauk. Areas with particularly high concentrations of rauks are

Fårö Fårö () or Fåre in Gutnish is a Baltic Sea island just north of the island of Gotland, itself off mainland Sweden's southeastern coast. It is the second-largest island in the province and it is a popular summer resort. It has its own language, ...

in northern Gotland and Byrum in northwestern Öland. While some rauks occur next to, or as part of cliffs, some have a more tenuous relation to the cliff and some lack a relation altogether.

References

External links

{{Commons category
Overview of the North Estonian Klint
Escarpments of Europe Landforms of Leningrad Oblast Landforms of Estonia Landforms of Russia Landforms of Sweden Baltic Sea

Geography

See also

References

External links