Torne-Furö 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 wit ...

, in the Haparanda archipelago.

Location

Torne-Furö lies in the Haparanda archipelago, the part of the Norrbotten archipelago 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 Hapara ...

. All of 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 ...

following the last ice age. The island is about from the port of Nikkala and southwest of Haparanda.

Description

The north-eastern tip of the island is surrounded by beautiful beaches. Bathing from these beaches can be dangerous, since in places the sea suddenly becomes deep, and several drownings have occurred. The southern and eastern sides of the island are dominated by boulder beaches. The island is a popular destination for excursions to the islands of the region. There are fireplaces in the northern cape, and a year-round cabin provides shelter. The woodshed contains firewood. Visitors can camp and make fires in designated areas, hike and pick berries and mushrooms. They are not allowed to harm plant or animal life.

Environment

The Torne-Furö nature reserve consists of the island of Torne Furö and the small islet of Vassika. Torne-Furö is thinly wooded, mostly with

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...

s, although vegetation is richer in the wetter southwest of the island. The forest is fringed with deciduous species such as

alder Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...

, rowan,

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

and

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains ...

. There are many birds including the

common tern The common tern (''Sterna hirundo'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, its four subspecies breeding in temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migrator ...

tern Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated as a subgroup of the family Laridae which includes gulls and skimmers and consists of e ...

, black woodpecker,

Eurasian three-toed woodpecker The Eurasian three-toed woodpecker (''Picoides tridactylus'') is a medium-sized woodpecker that is found from northern Europe across northern Asia to Japan. Taxonomy The Eurasian three-toed woodpecker was formally described in 1758 by the Swedi ...

, pygmy owl,

boreal owl The boreal owl or Tengmalm's owl (''Aegolius funereus'') is a small owl in the "true owl" family Strigidae. It is known as the boreal owl in North America and as Tengmalm's owl in Europe after Swedish naturalist Peter Gustaf Tengmalm or, more ...

and

black grouse The black grouse (''Lyrurus tetrix''), also known as northern black grouse, Eurasian black grouse, blackgame or blackcock, is a large game bird in the grouse family. It is a sedentary species, spanning across the Palearctic in moorland and step ...

. Torne-Furö is included in the European Union's Natura 2000 network of protected areas. The western cape forms a peninsula with lush and biologically diverse meadows and deciduous brushwood.

References

Sources * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Torne-Furo Swedish islands in the Baltic Islands of Norrbotten County