Zuiderduintjes (; en, Little Southern Dunes) is an

uninhabited island A desert island, deserted island, or uninhabited island, is an island, islet or atoll that is not permanently populated by humans. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereotype ...

in the Wadden Sea in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. It is situated south of

Rottumeroog Rottumeroog () is an uninhabited island in the Wadden Sea and is part of the Netherlands. The island is one of three West Frisian Islands in the province of Groningen. It is situated between the islands of Rottumerplaat and Borkum. The islan ...

, east of Rottumerplaat, and west of Borkum. The island is one of the three West Frisian Islands in the municipality of Het Hogeland and in the province of Groningen. Zuiderduintjes is part of the nature reserve Rottum and access to the island is prohibited.

Geography

Zuiderduintjes is one of the West Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea. It is located at in the municipality of

Eemsmond Eemsmond (; en, Ems Mouth) is a former municipality with a population of 15,864 in the north of the province of Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. On 1 January 2019 it merged with the municipalities of Bedum, De Marne and Winsum t ...

in the province of Groningen in the

. It is situated off the coast of Groningen's mainland, south of the island of

, east of the island of Rottumerplaat, and southwest of the East Frisian island of Borkum. It had a surface area of in 1995 and in 2007.

History

Zuiderduintjes was part of the island of Rottumeroog, but has separated from it around 1930 and has since moved further southeast. Ton de Meulmeester & John Janssen,
Ontwikkelingen in flora en vegetatie van Rottumeroog en Rottumerplaat sinds 1916
, ''Levende natuur'', 1996. Retrieved on 24 October 2014. Hans Steketee,
Misschien lost het eiland op een dag wel op
, '' NRC Handelsblad'', 2013. Retrieved on 24 October 2014.

Natural reserve

Zuiderduintjes is part of the nature reserve Rottum. Access to the island is prohibited since it is a resting and foraging area for birds and seals.Beheerregeling Rottum

Rijkswaterstaat Rijkswaterstaat, founded in 1798 as the ''Bureau voor den Waterstaat'' and formerly translated to Directorate General for Public Works and Water Management, is a Directorate-General of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Net ...

, 2010. Retrieved on 3 May 2014. The island has a dune and

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is domin ...

vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plant species and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characte ...

, and its plants include '' Elytrigia juncea subsp. boreoatlantica'', ''

Sonchus arvensis ''Sonchus arvensis'', the field milk thistle, field sowthistle, perennial sow-thistle, corn sow thistle, dindle, gutweed, swine thistle, or tree sow thistle, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. ''S. arvensis'' often occurs i ...

var. maritimus'', ''

Chenopodium album ''Chenopodium album'' is a fast-growing weedy annual plant in the genus ''Chenopodium''. Though cultivated in some regions, the plant is elsewhere considered a weed. Common names include lamb's quarters, melde, goosefoot, wild spinach and fat-h ...

'', '' Chenopodium rubrum'', '' Matricaria maritima'', ''

Atriplex littoralis ''Atriplex littoralis'', the grassleaf orache or grass-leaved orache (; also spelled orach) is a species of shrub in the family Amaranthaceae Amaranthaceae is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in reference t ...

'', ''

Descurainia sophia ''Descurainia sophia'' is a member of the family Brassicaceae. Common names include flixweed, herb-Sophia and tansy mustard. It reproduces by seeds. It is a dominant weed in dark brown prairie and black prairie soils of southern Alberta. Its s ...

'', ''

Artemisia maritima ''Artemisia maritima'' is a European species of wormwood known as sea wormwood and old woman. It is native to France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Bulgaria and Russia. In its many variations of form it has an ...

'', ''

Festuca rubra ''Festuca rubra'' is a species of grass known by the common name red fescue or creeping red fescue. It is widespread across much of the Northern Hemisphere and can tolerate many habitats and climates. It is best adapted to well-drained soils in c ...

'', '' Elytrigia maritima'', '' Salicornia procumbens'', and '' Suaeda maritima''.

References

External links

* {{Frisian Islands Het Hogeland Islands of Groningen (province) Uninhabited islands of the Netherlands West Frisian Islands