Sea · Norway, Russia
Barents Sea
The Barents Sea is a cold sea of the Arctic Ocean, north of Norway and Russia. Even so, its southern half stays free of ice all year, because warm water flows in from the Atlantic.
Picture credit: Юрочкин Роман (CC BY-SA 4.0) · JIP (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Barents Sea?
Part of: Arctic Ocean.
Countries on its coasts: Norway, Russia.
The story behind it
The sea is named after Willem Barentsz, a Dutch sailor and explorer. It is about 1 300 km long and 1 050 km wide, but not very deep: on average about 230 m. A warm current, a branch of the Gulf Stream, keeps ports such as Murmansk in Russia and Vardø in Norway open for ships even in winter. By September, almost the whole sea is free of ice. Around its edges lie cold island groups: Svalbard in the north-west, Franz Josef Land in the north-east and Novaya Zemlya in the east. The Barents Sea has the largest cod population left in the world, as well as haddock and capelin, so fishing is very important for Norway and Russia. Polar bears roam the ice, and seabirds such as guillemots nest here. Red king crabs were brought here by people and are now spreading.
Find it on the globe
Barents Sea is there as a name written across its water — tap the water and its card opens. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.
Questions children ask
How big is the Barents Sea?
The Barents Sea covers about 1.4 million km². It is about 1 300 km long and 1 050 km wide.
Why doesn't all of the Barents Sea freeze?
Warm water from the Atlantic, a branch of the Gulf Stream, flows into the sea. It keeps the southern half, with the port of Murmansk, free of ice all year.
Who is the Barents Sea named after?
It is named after Willem Barentsz, a sailor and explorer from the Netherlands. In Norwegian the sea is called Barentshavet, and in Russian Barentsevo More.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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