Gotska Sandön

Gotska Sandön (literally translated as "The Gotlandic Sand Island") is an uninhabited Swedish island north of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. It has been a national park since 1909.

Geography

Sandön is situated Template:Convert north of Fårö in the Baltic Sea. Legally a part of Gotland province, it is approximately Template:Convert long and Template:Convert wide, with a total area of approximately Template:Convert. The island is part of Fårö socken (not to be confused with parish).<ref>The exact extent of the socken, now district, can be obtained by clicking on Kartinställningar and check the Socken box in the menu of this map Template:Webarchive from the Swedish National Heritage Board database.</ref> It comprises the same area as the administrative Fårö District, established on 1Template:NbspJanuary 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On the northwest tip of the island is a church, Gotska Sandön Chapel.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:As of, Gotska Sandön Chapel along with Fårö Church belong to Fårö parish in Norra Gotlands pastorat.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

During the summer, there are regular boat tours from Fårö Island and Nynäshamn on the mainland.

Nature of Gotska Sandön

The island consists mostly of sand and is dominated by beaches, dunes and especially pine forests. Aside from a colony of grey seals on the north side of the island, the higher fauna is not very rich. Terrestrial or aerial mammals include mountain hares and bats. However, the island is home to many rare insects and plants, including the Kashubian vetch and several species of orchid.

Climate

Despite its isolation from sizeable landmasses, Gotska Sandön's oceanic climate is warm for its latitude. The Scandinavian Peninsula to the west, Gotland to the south and the Baltic landmass to the east contribute to warmer summers and frequent winter frost, giving the island a far broader temperature range than, for example, the similarly isolated Fair Isle, which lies one degree further north some distance off the coast of Scotland. In spite of this range, summer highs are cool by the standards of southern Sweden, and winter nights are among the mildest in the country.

Gotska Sandön has significant seasonal lag: despite dwindling daylight hours, August is much warmer than June, while March days are both longer and colder than those in December.

Gallery

• 
  A track through the sand dunes, popularly called "Schipka Pass"
• 
  The north-eastern coast

External links

• Sweden's National Parks: Gotska Sandön National Park from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency
• Gotska Sandön (in Swedish)
• Gotska Sandön National Park (in Swedish)
• Gotska Sandön National Park (English)
• Birds on Gotska Sandön