We have characterized dilute and semidilute kappa-carrageenan solutions in the coil conformation (0.1 M NaCl, 20 degrees C) using static and dynamic light scattering, and viscometry. We have determined the power law concentration dependence of the osmotic compressibility, the correlation length, and the viscosity in the semidilute regime. The results show that kappa-carrageenan in the coil conformation behaves like swollen flexible polymers. The power law exponents are close to the theoretical predictions even if the correlation length is less than the persistence length.