Oskarshamn archipelago is a cluster of island and islets 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 ...
, located in the south-east of
Sweden in
Oskarshamn Municipality
Oskarshamn Municipality (''Oskarshamns kommun'') is a Municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Kalmar County in south-eastern Sweden, where the city Oskarshamn is seat.
The amalgamations in the present municipality took place in 1967 when three ...
.
General description
The
archipelago
An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...
extends roughly 55 kilometers in a north–south direction, with a chain of islands along the coastline of
Småland. The archipelago consists of approximately 5,500 islands and islets.
Most of the islands consist of
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 ...
rock. The bedrock has been shaped and smoothed by the
glaciers at the end of the last
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 ...
, about 11,000 years ago. The largest island named Runnö is located in the south part of the archipelago. Other larger islands are
Blå Jungfrun
Blå Jungfrun, also known as "Blåkulla", in English sometimes rendered literally as The Blue Maiden is a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea. It is situated in the Kalmar Strait, between the mainland province of Småland and the island province o ...
(national park),
Furö, Storö, Ekö and Vinö.
Boat travelling
There are tourist boats which cruise the waters of Oskarshamn archipelago. There are also five guest harbours for leisure boating, for example in
Oskarshamn
Oskarshamn is a coastal city and the seat of Oskarshamn Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 17,258 inhabitants in 2010.
History
Etymology
Döderhultsvik was the original name before a town charter was granted in 1856. The name was then chang ...
and in
Figeholm as well as natural harbours on many of the islands.
Gallery
File:Oskarshamns skärgård.jpg, ''Island outside Oskarshamn
Oskarshamn is a coastal city and the seat of Oskarshamn Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 17,258 inhabitants in 2010.
History
Etymology
Döderhultsvik was the original name before a town charter was granted in 1856. The name was then chang ...
''.
File:Blå Jungfrun.jpg, ''Blå Jungfrun
Blå Jungfrun, also known as "Blåkulla", in English sometimes rendered literally as The Blue Maiden is a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea. It is situated in the Kalmar Strait, between the mainland province of Småland and the island province o ...
National Park''.
File:Furon.JPG, '' Furö''.
File:Gunnarso Oskarshamn.jpg, '' Gunnarsö''
File:Finnrevet.jpg, Lighthouse outside '' Furön''.
File:Storö Oskarshamn Sweden.jpg, Isle of ''Storö''.
Archipelagoes of the Baltic Sea
Archipelagoes of Sweden
Tourist attractions in Kalmar County
Landforms of Uppsala County
{{Sweden-geo-stub