Baltic Sea Gulf of Riga, and the Bay of Gdańsk. The Baltic Proper is bordered on its northern edge, at the latitude 60°N, by the Åland islands and the Gulf of Bothnia, on its northeastern edge by the Gulf of Finland, on its eastern edge by the Gulf of Riga, and in the west by the Swedish part of the southern Scandinavian Peninsula. The Baltic Sea is connected by artificial waterways to the White Sea via the White Sea Canal and to the German Bight of the North Sea via the Kiel Canal. Administration The Helsinki Convention on the Protection of the
North Sea Canal sod, and straw, where disease, fights, and alcohol abuse were rampant. On 1 November 1876, the North Sea Canal was officially opened by King William III of the Netherlands. Over the years the canal has been widened and deepened several times. The North Sea Canal and the IJ have 10 side canals (in Dutch: "Zijkanaal"), which connect to rivers and other canals which used to flow into the former IJ Bay before its reclamation. Vessels with a draft of more than 14 metres should use the IJgeul. To protect access to the channel jetties were built in the sea. In