View source for Gotska Sandön

{{Short description|Swedish island}}
{{Infobox protected area
| name = Gotska Sandön National Park
| alt_name = Gotska Sandöns nationalpark
| iucn_category = II
| photo = GotskaSandon EastSide.jpg
| photo_width = 288
| photo_caption = The eastern coast, as seen from the lighthouse
| map = Sweden Gotland#Sweden
| location = [[Gotland County]], Sweden
| nearest_city = [[Fårösund]], [[Gotland Municipality]]
| coords = {{Coord|58|22|N|19|15|E|region:SE-I_type:isle|display=inline,title}}
| area_km2 = 44.9
| area_ref = <ref name="naturvårdsverket">{{cite web | title=Gotska Sandön National Park | url=http://www.naturvardsverket.se/en/Enjoying-nature/Protected-areas/National-Parks/Gotska-Sandon/ | publisher=[[Environmental Protection Agency (Sweden)|Naturvårdsverket]] | access-date=26 February 2009 | archive-date=6 September 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906135324/http://www.naturvardsverket.se/en/Enjoying-nature/Protected-areas/National-Parks/Gotska-Sandon/ | url-status=dead }}</ref>
| established = 1909, extended in 1963 and 1988<ref name="naturvårdsverket" />
| visitation_num = 
| visitation_year = 
| governing_body = [[Environmental Protection Agency (Sweden)|Naturvårdsverket]]
| website = 
}}

'''Gotska Sandön''' (literally translated as "The [[Gotland]]ic Sand Island") is an uninhabited Swedish island north of [[Gotland]] in the [[Baltic Sea]]. It has been a [[List of national parks of Sweden|national park]] since 1909.

== Geography ==
{{Swedish National Parks}}

Sandön is situated {{convert|38|km|mi|abbr=on}} north of [[Fårö]] in the [[Baltic Sea]]. Legally a part of [[Gotland]] province, it is approximately {{convert|9|km|mi|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|6|km|mi|abbr=on}} wide, with a total area of approximately {{convert|36|sqkm|sqmi|abbr=on}}. The island is part of Fårö [[socken]] (not to be confused with [[Parishes of the Church of Sweden|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 [http://www.fmis.raa.se/cocoon/fornsok/search.html?parish=920&tab=2&page=1 this map] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830005037/http://www.fmis.raa.se/cocoon/fornsok/search.html?parish=920&tab=2&page=1 |date=2018-08-30 }} from the [[Swedish National Heritage Board]] database.</ref> It comprises the same area as the [[Registration districts in Sweden|administrative]] Fårö District, established on 1{{nbsp}}January 2016.<ref>{{cite web|title=Förordning om district|trans-title=Regulation of districts|url=http://rkrattsdb.gov.se/SFSdoc/15/150493.PDF|date=17 June 2015|publisher=[[Ministry of Finance (Sweden)|Ministry of Finance]]|access-date=24 May 2016}}</ref>

On the northwest tip of the island is a church, [[Gotska Sandön Chapel]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Gotska sandöns kapell |url=http://www.guteinfo.com/?id=179 |website=www.guteinfo.com |publisher=Guteinfo |access-date=11 January 2019}}</ref> {{As of|2019}}, Gotska Sandön Chapel along with [[Fårö Church]] belong to Fårö [[Parishes of the Church of Sweden|parish]] in Norra Gotlands [[pastorat]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Församlingar på Gotland |url=https://www.svenskakyrkan.se/visbystift/f |website=www.svenskakyrkan.se |publisher=[[Church of Sweden]] |access-date=11 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Visby stifts indelning 2018 |url=https://www.svenskakyrkan.se/default.aspx?id=1714164 |website=www.svenskakyrkan.se |publisher=[[Church of Sweden]] |access-date=11 January 2019}}</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 seal]]s on the north side of the island, the higher [[fauna]] is not very rich. Terrestrial or aerial mammals include [[mountain hare]]s and [[bat]]s. However, the island is home to many rare insects and plants, including the [[Kashubian vetch]] and several species of [[Orchidaceae|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 states|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.

{{Weather box
|location = Gotska Sandön (2002–2018; extremes since 1901)
|collapsed = 
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|Jan record high C = 8.6
|Feb record high C = 9.6
|Mar record high C = 13.8
|Apr record high C = 21.8
|May record high C = 27.0
|Jun record high C = 29.0
|Jul record high C = 31.6
|Aug record high C = 31.1
|Sep record high C = 27.0
|Oct record high C = 18.6
|Nov record high C = 11.9
|Dec record high C = 9.8
|year record high C = 31.6
|Jan avg record high C = 5.4
|Feb avg record high C = 5.0
|Mar avg record high C = 8.3
|Apr avg record high C = 14.3
|May avg record high C = 20.5
|Jun avg record high C = 23.3
|Jul avg record high C = 26.6
|Aug avg record high C = 26.1
|Sep avg record high C = 20.9
|Oct avg record high C = 15.3
|Nov avg record high C = 10.1
|Dec avg record high C = 7.0
|year avg record high C = 27.5
|Jan high C = 1.7
|Feb high C = 1.4
|Mar high C = 3.6
|Apr high C = 8.1
|May high C = 13.6
|Jun high C = 18.1
|Jul high C = 21.9
|Aug high C = 21.4
|Sep high C = 16.8
|Oct high C = 10.6
|Nov high C = 6.7
|Dec high C = 3.8
|year high C = 
|Jan mean C = 0.3
|Feb mean C = -0.2
|Mar mean C = 1.3
|Apr mean C = 4.9
|May mean C = 10.0
|Jun mean C = 14.4
|Jul mean C = 18.4
|Aug mean C = 18.1
|Sep mean C = 14.2
|Oct mean C = 8.7
|Nov mean C = 5.1
|Dec mean C = 2.3
|year mean C = 
|Jan low C = -1.2
|Feb low C = -1.8
|Mar low C = -1.1
|Apr low C = 1.7
|May low C = 6.3
|Jun low C = 10.7
|Jul low C = 14.8
|Aug low C = 14.7
|Sep low C = 11.5
|Oct low C = 6.7
|Nov low C = 3.5
|Dec low C = 0.8
|year low C = 
|Jan avg record low C = -7.7
|Feb avg record low C = -7.4
|Mar avg record low C = -6.7
|Apr avg record low C = -3.1
|May avg record low C = 0.4
|Jun avg record low C = 5.5
|Jul avg record low C = 9.7
|Aug avg record low C = 9.4
|Sep avg record low C = 5.7
|Oct avg record low C = 0.5
|Nov avg record low C = -1.9
|Dec avg record low C = -4.3
|year avg record low C = -9.9
|Jan record low C = -22.0
|Feb record low C = -25.0
|Mar record low C = -23.2
|Apr record low C = -16.0
|May record low C = -6.0
|Jun record low C = -2.0
|Jul record low C = 3.1
|Aug record low C = 3.1
|Sep record low C = -1.5
|Oct record low C = -5.2
|Nov record low C = -9.2
|Dec record low C = -13.8
|year record low C = -25.0
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 43.9
|Feb precipitation mm = 35.4
|Mar precipitation mm = 27.1
|Apr precipitation mm = 24.0
|May precipitation mm = 27.1
|Jun precipitation mm = 43.0
|Jul precipitation mm = 50.0
|Aug precipitation mm = 62.5
|Sep precipitation mm = 42.9
|Oct precipitation mm = 51.6
|Nov precipitation mm = 58.0
|Dec precipitation mm = 50.9
|year precipitation mm = 
|source 1 = SMHI Open Data<ref>{{cite web
| url = https://www.smhi.se/data/meteorologi/ladda-ner-meteorologiska-observationer/#param=precipitationMonthlySum,stations=all,stationid=89230
| title = SMHI öppen data för Gotska Sandön
| publisher = [[Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute]]| language = sv}}</ref>
|source 2 = SMHI Monthly Data 2002–2018<ref>{{cite web
 |url          = http://www.smhi.se/klimatdata/meteorologi/temperatur/2.1240
 |title        = Monthly and Yearly Statistics
 |language     = sv
 |publisher    = [[Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute]]
 |date         = 1 July 2019
 |access-date  = 7 April 2015
 |archive-date = 22 December 2013
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20131222021222/http://www.smhi.se/klimatdata/meteorologi/temperatur/2.1240
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref>
|date=July 2019}}

== Gallery ==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="160">
File:GotskaSandon SchipkaPass1.jpg|A track through the sand dunes, popularly called "Schipka Pass"
File:GotskaSandon NorthEastCoast.jpg|The north-eastern coast
</gallery>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Gotska Sandön}}
{{Wikivoyage}}
* [http://sverigesnationalparker.se/en/choose-park---list/gotska-sandon-national-park/ Sweden's National Parks: Gotska Sandön National Park] from the [[Swedish Environmental Protection Agency]]
* [http://www.gotskasandon.com/ Gotska Sandön] (in Swedish)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080110033058/http://www.naturvardsverket.se/sv/Att-vara-ute-i-naturen/Nationalparker-och-andra-fina-platser/Nationalparker/Gotska-Sandon/ Gotska Sandön National Park] (in Swedish)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071219231045/http://www.naturvardsverket.se/en/In-English/Menu/Enjoying-nature/National-parks-and-other-places-worth-visiting/National-Parks-in-Sweden/Gotska-Sandon-National-Park/ Gotska Sandön National Park] (English)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080111050328/http://gotska.info/en/ Birds on Gotska Sandön]

{{National parks of Sweden}}
{{Gotland County}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gotska Sandon}}
[[Category:1909 establishments in Sweden]]
[[Category:Geography of Gotland County]]
[[Category:Gotland]]
[[Category:Islands of Gotland County]]
[[Category:National parks of Sweden]]
[[Category:Protected areas established in 1909]]
[[Category:Swedish islands in the Baltic]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Gotland County]]
[[Category:Uninhabited islands of Sweden]]