Uthörn (; ) is a small German island adjacent to the Sylt island in the district of Nordfriesland, and as such it is Germany's northernmost isle right after Sylt proper. It belongs to the

List A list is a Set (mathematics), set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of t ...

municipality.

Geography

The island is situated in the so-called Königshafen (King's Harbour), a bay on the eastern shore of Sylt which is facing the shallow tidal flats of the

Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea ( ; ; or ; ; ; ) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the range of low-lying Frisian Islands, forming a shallow body of water with tida ...

in that area. Uthörn is located north of the town of List, only a kilometre away from the ''Ellbogen'' (Elbow) peninsula of Sylt, which is Germany's northernmost area. Uthörn is almost 800 meters long and up to 240 meters wide, its area amounts to about 13 ha. The island is relatively young, as it developed out of a sand bar, which due to wind drift of sand from Sylt has now grown to a height of approximately 4.10 m above sea level and is no longer submerged during high

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

. It is thought that the growth of Uthörn is likely to continue in the future. The island is overgrown by pioneer species of plants and the common dune vegetation like marram grass.

Protection

Uthörn is located just a few metres off the shore of Sylt and can be reached on foot through the shallow sea. But as it provides space for the hatching and resting of rare and endangered

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...

s and is situated inside the

Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park The Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park () is a national park in the Schleswig-Holstein area of the German Wadden Sea. It was founded by the Parliament of Schleswig-Holstein on 1 October 1985 by the National Park Act of 22 July 1985 and ...

, it may only be entered with special permission.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uthorn North Frisian Islands Islands of Schleswig-Holstein