Stora Karlsö is an island off the west coast of

Gotland Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the ...

, Sweden; part of

Eksta Eksta is a populated area, a socken (not to be confused with parish), on the Swedish island of Gotland. It comprises the same area as the administrative Eksta District, established on 1January 2016. Geography Eksta is situated on the southwest ...

socken. It is mostly known for its rich birdlife with large colonies of common guillemot, and flora. Stora Karlsö is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

, the second oldest in the world after

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

Geography

Stora 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 west of the island of Gotland. It has an area of about and is up to high. Most of the island consists of a

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

plateau, bordered by steep cliffs along the shore. It is mostly covered with alvar, with many

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

bushes and some small groves of deciduous trees.

Birds and plants

The island is mostly known for its rich birdlife and flora. It has large colonies of common guillemot (about 7500 breeding pairs) 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 impe ...

(4500 pairs). In spring, there is an extraordinary number of orchids, mostly elder-flowered orchid and

early purple orchid ''Orchis mascula'', the early-purple orchid, early spring orchis, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Description ''Orchis mascula'' is a perennial herbaceous plant with stems up to high, green at the base and ...

. There are also several very rare plants for Sweden such as ''

Adonis vernalis ''Adonis vernalis'', known variously as pheasant's eye, spring pheasant's eye, yellow pheasant's eye and false hellebore, is a perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It is found in dry meadows and steppes in Eurasia. Mor ...

'', '' 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 fron ...

and '' Corydalis gotlandica'' (the only

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

plant on Gotland).

History

There is evidence that Stora Karlsö has been inhabited since the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...

. During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

there was a

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

quarry, which gave the material for many of Gotland's churches. The island is a

, and after Yellowstone National Park is the oldest established protected nature area in the world. From May to August there are tour boats from the village

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 Swede ...

. The

Stora Karlsö Lighthouse Stora Karlsö Lighthouse ( sv, Stora Karlsö fyr), is a Swedish lighthouse on Stora Karlsö island off Gotland in the Baltic Sea. It was built in 1887 and resulted in the first permanent settlement on the island in modern times. A house for the li ...

was built in 1887. A house for the lighthouse keeper was added in the 1930s, which resulted in the island getting its first permanent residents in modern times. Since 1974, the lighthouse is automated and there are no permanent residents on the island. The lighthouse and the surrounded buildings are now listed.

Gallery

File:Stora Förvar Stora Karlsö.jpg, ''Stora Förvar'', Stora Karlsö File:Stora Karlso and Lilla Karlso.jpg, Stora Karlsö and Lilla Karlsö File:Razorbills.jpg, Razorbills

References

External links