Lilla Karlsö is a small Swedish island in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

, situated about off the west coast of Gotland and from

Stora Karlsö Stora Karlsö is an island off the west coast of Gotland, Sweden; part of Eksta socken. It is mostly known for its rich birdlife with large colonies of common guillemot, and flora. Stora Karlsö is a nature reserve, the second oldest in the world ...

; it is part of Eksta socken. It has an area of about and is high. Most of the island consists of a limestone plateau. Parts of the shoreline is bordered by steep cliffs. The island is mostly covered by

alvar An alvar is a biological environment based on a limestone plain with thin or no soil and, as a result, sparse grassland vegetation. Often flooded in the spring, and affected by drought in midsummer, alvars support a distinctive group of prairie ...

. There is also some very old broadleaf forest, which is unique for Gotland. There are several caves and up to high limestone pillars. The island is mostly known for its rich birdlife and flora. There are colonies of several thousands pairs of

guillemot Guillemot is the common name for several species of seabird in the Alcidae or auk family (part of the order Charadriiformes). In British use, the term comprises two genera: ''Uria'' and ''Cepphus''. In North America the ''Uria'' species are ...

and

razorbill The razorbill, razor-billed auk, or lesser auk (''Alca torda'') is a colonial seabird and the only extant member of the genus '' Alca'' of the family Alcidae, the auks. It is the closest living relative of the extinct great auk (''Pinguinis im ...

. There are also several very rare plants for Sweden such as '' Lactuca quercina'' (called 'Karlsösallat' in Swedish),

hart's-tongue fern ''Asplenium scolopendrium'', commonly known as the hart's-tongue fern, is an evergreen fern in the genus ''Asplenium'' native to the Northern Hemisphere. Description The most striking and unusual feature of the fern is its simple, undivided f ...

and '' Petrorhagia prolifera''. Since 1954, the island has been owned by the

Swedish Society for Nature Conservation Sveriges Natur. The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation ( sv, Naturskyddsföreningen, previously known as , ''SNF'') is a non-profit, non-partisan, Swedish environmental organization. It is the largest and oldest environmental society in Swed ...

and it is now a nature reserve. During summer there are tour boats from Djupvik south of

Klintehamn Klintehamn () is a locality in Klinte on the Swedish island of Gotland with 1,350 inhabitants in 2010. Transportation Klintehamn is a shipping port on the west coast of Gotland where timber and agricultural products are shipped to mainland Sw ...

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lilla Karlso Gotland Swedish islands in the Baltic Islands of Gotland County Tourist attractions in Gotland County Nature reserves in Sweden

See also

External links