The Kattegat (Danish: [ˈkʰætəkæt]; Swedish: Kattegatt [ˈkâtːɛˌɡat]) is a 30,000 km 2 (12,000 sq mi) sea area bounded by the Jutlandic peninsula in the west, the Danish Straits islands of Denmark and the Baltic Sea to the south and the provinces of Västergötland, Skåne, Halland and Bohuslän in Sweden in the east. The Baltic Sea drains into the Kattegat through the Danish Straits.