The Barents Sea is a shelf sea of the Arctic Ocean. It lies north of the Arctic Circle between the northern coast of Europe, Vaygach Island, Novaya Zemlya, Franz Josef Land and Spitsbergen. The southern edge of the Barents Sea is formed by the continental coast, mainly of Russia and partly of Norway, plus the sea’s boundary with the White Sea, running from Cape Svyatoy Nos to Cape Kanin Nos.
The sea’s area is 550,000 square miles. Its depth averages about 222 metres and reaches up to 600 m in the Bear Island Trough to the Southwest. Its floor is, for the most part, crisscrossed by alternating underwater hills and trenches.
The sea’s deepest parts, including its maximum depths, are in the West. Its largest island (except for those on its edge) is Kolguyev Island. Its smaller islands are usually grouped in archipelagos near the continental coast.
This distribution of islands is one of the sea’s geographical characteristics. Its complex coastline forms numerous capes, fjords, gulfs and bays captivating in their beauty.
The Pechora River flows into the Barents Sea, bearing 70% of the annual coastal drainage into it.
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