Estonian SSR

Abstract

The Estonian coastal zone developed over the last 10,000 years by the progradation and accretion of sediments caused by various transgressions and regressions of the Baltic Sea. The length of the Estonian coastline is about 3,780 km, of which 1,240 km of the shoreline is continental, and 2,540 km is insular. Its boundaries include the West-Estonian Archipelago (Vainameri), and a number of islands in the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Riga. In all there are approximately 1,500 islands and islets near the shore and the whole coast is deeply indented with many bays, inlets, and straits. Since the late-glacial period the shoreline of Estonia has changed continuously because of eustatic changes in sea level and the neotectonic uplift of the earth’s crust. Geomorhological data indicate that in the postglacial period northwest Estonia has risen about 100 m, and it continues to rise 2 to 3 mm/yr (Vallner et al. 1975). This has exercised a great influence on the structure and development of Estonian coasts.