Szczecin Lagoon

An ambiguous historical German name was Frisches Haff, which later exclusively referred to the Vistula Lagoon.

[2] In the North, the lagoon is connected to the Baltic Sea's Bay of Pomerania with the three straits Peenestrom, Świna and Dziwna, which divide the mainland and the islands of Usedom and Wolin.

[4] The Oder river and its confluences are responsible for 94% of the water loads discharged into the lagoon, amounting to an average annual 17 km3 or 540 m3 per second.

[7] The average salinity is between 0.5 and 2 grams of salt per kilogram of water (approximately equivalent to 0.5 and 2 parts per thousand [ppt]).

In 1880, the Kaiserfahrt ("Emperor's passage") channel on Usedom was opened, a water route with a depth of 10 metres connecting the lagoon with the Baltic Sea by bypassing the eastern part of the Swine, allowing large ships to enter the lagoon and the seaport of Stettin quicker and safer.

The canal, approximately 12 km long and 10 metres deep, was dug by the German Empire between 1874 and 1880, during the reign of the first Kaiser Wilhelm (1797–1888) after whom it was named.