Hanhinkari is an island in the northeast of the Swedish sector of the

Bothnian Bay The Bothnian Bay or Bay of Bothnia (; ) is the northernmost part of the Gulf of Bothnia, which is in turn the northern part of the Baltic Sea. The land holding the bay is still rising after the weight of ice-age glaciers has been removed, and w ...

, in the

Haparanda archipelago The Haparanda archipelago ( sv, Haparanda skärgård) is a group of 792 Swedish islands in the north part of the Bay of Bothnia. The islands are used for recreation in the summer months. They are icebound during the winter. Location The north of ...

Location

Hanhinkari lies in the Haparanda archipelago, the part of the

Norrbotten archipelago The Norrbotten archipelago ( sv, Norrbotten skärgård) is a group of Swedish islands in the north part of the Bay of Bothnia. A few of the islands have small permanent populations, but most are used only for recreation in the summer months. They a ...

that is included in the

Haparanda Municipality Haparanda Municipality (), () is a municipality in Norrbotten County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Haparanda (). In 1967 the "City of Haparanda" was merged with the rural municipalities Karl Gustav and Nedertorneå. Since 1971 Hapar ...

. All the islands in the Haparanda archipelago have emerged in the last 1,500 years or so, as the bed of the bay has risen due to

post-glacial rebound Post-glacial rebound (also called isostatic rebound or crustal rebound) is the rise of land masses after the removal of the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, which had caused isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound a ...

following the last ice age. Hanhinkari lies offshore from the mouth of the

Torne River The Torne, also known as the Tornio ( fi, Tornionjoki, sv, Torne älv, , se, Duortneseatnu, fit, Tornionväylä), is a river in northern Sweden and Finland. For approximately half of its length, it defines the border between these two countr ...

, which forms the boundary between Sweden and Finland. It is about from

Haparanda Haparanda (; fi, Haaparanta, , aspen shore or bank) is a locality and the seat of Haparanda Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden. It is adjacent to Tornio, Finland. Haparanda had a population of 4,856 in 2010, out of a municipal total of 10,2 ...

and from the mainland. The major shipping lane leading to

Kemi Kemi (; sme, Giepma ; smn, Kiemâ; sms, Ǩeeʹmm; Swedish (historically): ''Kiemi'') is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located very near the city of Tornio and the Swedish border. The distance to Oulu is to the south and to Rovani ...

, Finland, passes Hanhinkari. It is northwest of the island of Katajavuori, the easternmost point in Sweden.

Visitor facilities

Hanhinkari is the most visited of the islands in the archipelago, with about 50 summer houses. The harbor is deep. There is a walking trail that leads around the island. The Haparanda boat club has its clubhouse on the island, open to all visitors in the summer, as is the sauna. There are two barbecue areas beside the clubhouse. There is a floating dock by the clubhouse and another, larger, dock nearby. Wells provide water. There are two stone labyrinths.

References

Sources * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanhinkari Swedish islands in the Baltic Islands of Norrbotten County