Manilaid is a

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

islet An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanen ...

in the

Gulf of Riga The Gulf of Riga, Bay of Riga, or Gulf of Livonia ( lv, Rīgas līcis, et, Liivi laht) is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. The island of Saaremaa (Estonia) partially separates it from the rest of the Baltic Sea. The main c ...

, located between the island of

Kihnu Kihnu is an island in the Baltic Sea. With an area of it is the largest island in the Gulf of Riga and the seventh largest island of Estonia. The length of the island is and width , the highest point is at above sea level. The island belongs ...

and the mainland's Tõstamaa peninsula. Together with the neighbouring smaller uninhabited islets Sorgu and Annilaid, Manilaid forms the village of Manija. Administratively the village belongs to

Tõstamaa Parish Tõstamaa Parish ( et, Tõstamaa vald) was a rural municipality in southwestern Estonia. It was a part of Pärnu County. The municipality had a population of 1,572 (as of 1 January 2009) and covered an area of 261.01 km2. Tõstamaa Parish ...

in Pärnu County. The island was unpoplulated until 1933, when about 80 residents moved to Manilaid from the neighbouring

. At its peak, there were about 150 residents on the island. During the Soviet era, the population decreased. On January 1, 2011, Manilaid's population was 47. Manilaid has a ferry connection with the Munalaiu harbour on the mainland. In the winter, when the

is covered with ice, the island is reachable by

ice bridge An ice bridge is a frozen natural structure formed over seas, bays, rivers or lake surfaces. They facilitate migration of animals or people over a water body that was previously uncrossable by terrestrial animals, including humans. The most sig ...

Gallery

File:Map of manilaid.png, Map of Manilaid File:Manija külakeskus.jpg, Village centre File:Manilaiu tulepaak.JPG, Lighthouse File:Kokkõkivi.JPG, ''Kokkõkivi'', the largest

glacial erratic A glacial erratic is glacially deposited rock differing from the type of rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word ' ("to wander"), are carried by glacial ice, often over distances of hundre ...

in Pärnu County.

References

Estonian islands in the Baltic {{pärnu-geo-stub

Gallery

See also

References