The

Åland Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an autonomous and demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1,580 km2, and a populat ...

archipelago consists of several thousands of islands, skerries and desolate rocks. About 60-80 islands are inhabited.Statistical Yearbook of Finland 2016, p.505. Accessed 2017-02-07. http://www.stat.fi/tup/julkaisut/tiedostot/julkaisuluettelo/yyti_stv_201600_2016_16179_net.pdf In the east, the archipelago is connected to Turku archipelago (Finnish: Turunmaan saaristo, Swedish: Åbolands skärgård) — the archipelago adjacent to the southwest coast of

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. The islands' landmass occupies a total land area of , and a total area, including inland water and sea areas, of . Its highest point is Orrdalsklint in

Saltvik Saltvik is a municipality of Åland, an autonomous territory of Finland. The total area is 1 161,8 km2, of which 150,7 km2 is land, 4,7 km2 lakes and 1006,4 km2 sea. The archipelago north of Saltvik is perhaps the most beauti ...

at 129.1 m above sea level. Åland has nearly 400 lakes of over 0.25 hectare. The surface of the islands is generally rocky, with red and pink

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

peppered with quartz crystals predominating. The soil is thin, stripped away by retreating glaciers at the end of the most recent

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

. Despite this, the presence of shell beds on many of the islands has noticeably increased the fertility of the soil. The coast of Åland is deeply indented by bays and fjords, which form excellent sheltered harbours for vessels of draught not exceeding 19 ft. The large islands of

Eckerö Eckerö is a municipality of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Swedish and ...

, Lemland, and Lumparland are separated from Åland and each other by narrow shallow straits. Ninety per cent of the population live on

Fasta Åland Fasta Åland ( fi, Manner-Ahvenanmaa or , meaning mainland Åland) is the largest and most populous island of Åland, an autonomous province of Finland. The island is home to the provincial capital Mariehamn. About ninety percent of the archipel ...

(the Main Island), also the site of the capital town of Mariehamn. Fasta Åland is the largest island in the archipelago, although its exact size is in some dispute owing to its irregular shape and coastline. Eckerö, Lemland and Lumparland are connected to the main island with bridges and dikes, and mostly they are regarded as parts of the main island. Estimates range from 740 square kilometres to 879 square kilometres to over 1,010 square kilometres, depending on what is included or excluded.

Flora and fauna

The mildness of the climate tends to the growth of a more luxuriant vegetation than on the mainland of Finland. Pines and firs, birch, aspen, elm, ash, and lime grow, and oaks occur in small woods all over Åland. Traditionally, timber was exported for shipbuilding, and local clay was used in the tile and brickworks on Åland. Flocks of seabirds live on the rocky islets. Traditionally, migratory birds were hunted by the inhabitants, but the native sea-birds were protected, and their eggs used as food. The islets of Lågskär and Signilskär were the traditional home to colonies of

eider Eiders () are large seaducks in the genus ''Somateria''. The three extant species all breed in the cooler latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. The down feathers of eider ducks, and some other ducks and geese, are used to fill pillows and quil ...

-duck, whose down was collected from the nests after the young had left, for export.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Geography Of Aland

Flora and fauna

See also

References