Mellum is an uninhabited
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
lying southeast of
Wangerooge
Wangerooge is one of the 32 Frisian Islands in the North Sea located close to the coasts of the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. It is also a municipality in the district of Friesland in Lower Saxony in Germany.
Wangerooge is one of the East F ...
, off the coastal settlements of
Horumersiel and
Schillig
Schillig is a village in the Friesland district of Lower Saxony in Germany. It is situated on the west coast of Jade Bay and is north of the town of Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'' ...
.
Mellum formed as an island off the end of the
Butjadingen
Butjadingen is a peninsula and municipality in the Wesermarsch district, in Lower Saxony, Germany.
Geography
Butjadingen is situated on the German North Sea coast. It is bordered on the west and southwest by the Jade River and the east by the ...
peninsula—which divides the outflows into the
Wadden Sea of the
Jade and
Weser
The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports o ...
rivers—only at the end of the nineteenth century.
It is chiefly composed of
dunes
A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...
and
tidal marsh
A tidal marsh (also known as a type of "tidal wetland") is a marsh found along rivers, coasts and estuaries which floods and drains by the tidal movement of the adjacent estuary, sea or ocean. Tidal marshes are commonly zoned into lower marshes ( ...
es. The influence of sea currents and winds is constantly altering the shape and position of the island, which in 2006 had a total surface area of approximately 750 hectares (1853 acres).
An important
breeding and feeding ground for wild birds, Mellum is part of the
Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park
The Lower Saxon Wadden Sea National Park (german: Nationalpark Niedersächsisches Wattenmeer) was established in 1986 and embraces the East Frisian Islands, mudflats and salt marshes between the Bay of Dollart on the border with the Netherlands ...
and a nature protection zone.
The island's only house is today used during the summer months for wildlife observation and scientific research purposes only.
References
East Frisian Islands
Islands of Lower Saxony
Uninhabited islands of Germany
{{germany-island-stub