Kalix archipelago

The Kalix archipelago (Swedish: Kalix skärgård) is a group of 792 Swedish islands in the north part of the Bay of Bothnia. The largest island in the Kalix archipelago is Rånön. A few of the islands have small permanent populations, but most are used only for recreation in the summer months. They are icebound during the winter.

Kalix archipelago
Kalix archipelago is located in Sweden
Kalix archipelago
Kalix archipelago
Geography
Coordinates65.656°N 23.053°E / 65.656; 23.053
Adjacent toBay of Bothnia
Administration
ProvinceNorrbotten

Location

The north of the bay of Bothnia contains a large archipelago area.[1] The islands in the Swedish sector make up the Norrbotten archipelago.[2] It is divided into the archipelagos of Piteå (550 islands), Luleå (1,312 islands), Kalix (792 islands) and Haparanda (652 islands).[3] Due to post-glacial rebound the land is rising at from 0.8 to 1 centimetre (0.31 to 0.39 in) annually, so the shoreline can retreat by as much as 100 metres (330 ft) in one person's lifetime. As a result, the islands are growing in size but the waters and harbors are becoming shallower.[4]

The largest island in the Kalix archipelago, and in the Norbotten archipelago as a whole, is Rånön.[5] It is the only island in Kalix that once had a resident population, who lived from forestry, fishing and farming. Traces can still be seen. Stora Huvön is said to be one of the most beautiful islands in Sweden, with cliffs that rise from the sea, a sandy beach, and deep tree-filled valleys. Malören, in the outer archipelago, has a chapel that dates to the 1770s.[6] Some of other islands include Bergön, Berghamn, Björn, Getskär-Renskär, Halsön, Granön, Likskär and Stora Trutskär.[7]

Climate

The archipelago is only 100 kilometres (62 mi) south of the Arctic Circle, so there is daylight for 24 hours in the summer, and full moon all day in the winter.[8] The waters around the archipelago are brackish, with less the 10% of the salt content of the Atlantic.[9] The sea freezes in January and remain frozen until March–April.[10]

See also

References

Citations

  1. Leppäranta & Myrberg 2009, p. 55.
  2. Ankre 2005, p. 8.
  3. About the Bay ... Bottenvikens skärgård.
  4. Nilsson & Ankre 2006, p. 149.
  5. Index: bottenviken.se.
  6. Kalix archipelago: Heart of Lapland.
  7. Bottenviken skoterleder 2011.
  8. Nilsson & Ankre 2006, p. 145.
  9. Sweden: Rough Guides 2003, p. 403.
  10. Nilsson & Ankre 2006, p. 152.

Sources

  • "About the Bay of Bothnia". Bottenvikens skärgård. Archived from the original on 2013-10-05. Retrieved 2013-09-30.
  • Ankre, Rosemarie (2005). "A Case Study of the Luleå archipelago, Sweden" (PDF). Mid-Sweden University. Retrieved 2013-10-04.
  • "Bottenviken skoterleder 2011" (PDF). Luleå Kommun. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
  • "Index". bottenviken.se. Retrieved 2013-10-02.
  • "Kalix archipelago". Heart of Lapland. Archived from the original on 2013-10-04. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
  • Leppäranta, Matti; Myrberg, Kai (2009-03-20). Physical Oceanography of the Baltic Sea. Springer. p. 55. ISBN 978-3-540-79703-6. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  • Nilsson, Per-Åke; Ankre, Rosemarie (2006). "The Lulea Archipelago, Sweden". Extreme Tourism: Lessons from the World's Cold Water Islands. Elsevier. ISBN 978-0-08-044656-1. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  • Sweden. Rough Guides. 2003. ISBN 978-1-84353-066-4. Retrieved 2013-10-02.
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