Gotska Sandön (literally translated as "The

Gotland Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...

ic Sand Island") is an uninhabited Swedish island north of

in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

. It has been a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

since 1909.

Geography

Sandön is situated north of

Fårö Fårö () or in Gutnish is a Baltic Sea island just north of the island of Gotland, itself off mainland Sweden's southeastern coast. It is the second-largest island in the county and it is a popular summer resort. It has its own language, Fårö ...

in the

. Legally a part of

province, it is approximately long and wide, with a total area of approximately . The island is part of Fårö

socken Socken ( or ) is the name used for a part of a counties of Sweden, county in Sweden. In Denmark, similar areas are known as , in Norway or and in Finland or . A is a rural area formed around a church, typically in the Middle Ages. A socken ...

(not to be confused with

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

). It comprises the same area as the administrative Fårö District, established on 1January 2016. On the northwest tip of the island is a church, Gotska Sandön Chapel. , Gotska Sandön Chapel along with Fårö Church belong to Fårö

in Norra Gotlands pastorat. During the summer, there are regular boat tours from

Island and Nynäshamn on the mainland.

Nature of Gotska Sandön

The island consists mostly of sand and is dominated by beaches, dunes and especially pine forests. Aside from a colony of grey seals, the higher

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

is not very rich. Terrestrial or aerial mammals include

mountain hare The mountain hare (''Lepus timidus''), also known as blue hare, tundra hare, variable hare, white hare, snow hare, alpine hare, and Irish hare, is a species of Palearctic hare that is largely adapted to polar and mountainous habitats. Evolution ...

s and

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

s. However, the island is home to many rare insects and plants, including the Kashubian vetch and several species of

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

Climate

Despite its isolation from sizeable landmasses, Gotska Sandön's

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

is warm for its latitude. The Scandinavian Peninsula to the west,

to the south and the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

landmass to the east contribute to warmer summers and frequent winter frost, giving the island a far broader temperature range than, for example, the similarly isolated Fair Isle, which lies one degree further north some distance off the coast of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. In spite of this range, summer highs are cool by the standards of southern Sweden, and winter nights are among the mildest in the country. Gotska Sandön has significant

seasonal lag Seasonal lag is the phenomenon whereby the date of maximum average air temperature at a geographical location on a planet is delayed until some time after the date of maximum daylight (i.e. the summer solstice). This also applies to the minimum ...

: despite dwindling daylight hours, August is much warmer than June, while March days are both longer and colder than those in December.

Gallery

File:GotskaSandon SchipkaPass1.jpg, A track through the sand dunes, popularly called "Schipka Pass" File:GotskaSandon NorthEastCoast.jpg, The north-eastern coast

References

External links

Sweden's National Parks: Gotska Sandön National Park
from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency
Gotska Sandön
(in Swedish)
Gotska Sandön National Park
(in Swedish)
Gotska Sandön National Park
(English)
Birds on Gotska Sandön
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gotska Sandon 1909 establishments in Sweden Geography of Gotland County Gotland Islands of Gotland County National parks of Sweden Protected areas established in 1909 Swedish islands in the Baltic Tourist attractions in Gotland County Uninhabited islands of Sweden