Fasta Ã…land ( or , meaning mainland Ã…land) is the largest and most populous island of
Ã…land
Ã…land ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...
, an
autonomous
In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be defi ...
province of
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
. The island is home to the provincial capital
Mariehamn
Mariehamn ( , ; ; ) is the capital of Ã…land, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Ã…land, and 40% of the population of Ã…land live in the city. It is mostly surrounded b ...
. About ninety percent of the archipelago's population lives on Fasta Ã…land.
[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 ] Its area is difficult to estimate due to its irregular shape and coastline, but estimates range from
to to over , depending on what is included or excluded. Even at the minimum estimate, Fasta Ã…land is Finland's largest and most populous island, with about 27,000 people. Its highest point is 129 metres (423 feet).
On the east side of Fasta Ã…land is a large bay,
Lumparn, which is now believed to be the
impact crater
An impact crater is a depression (geology), depression in the surface of a solid astronomical body formed by the hypervelocity impact event, impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal c ...
from a meteorite impact about one billion years ago.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fasta Aland
Islands of Ã…land
Aland, Fasta