Södertörn is a roughly triangular

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

and artificial island in eastern Södermanland,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, which is bordered by: *Lake

Mälaren Mälaren ( , , or ), historically referred to as Lake Malar in English, is the third-largest freshwater lake in Sweden (after Vänern and Vättern). Its area is 1,140 km2 and its greatest depth is 64 m. Mälaren spans 120 kilometers from e ...

and the inlet of

Saltsjön Saltsjön is a bay of the Baltic Sea that extends from Stockholm archipelago to the inner city of Stockholm. Its innermost part reaches the eastern shore of Gamla stan at Skeppsbrokajen. It is navigable for large craft and the major ferry lines ...

(a part of the Baltic Sea) to the north, *The Baltic Sea (the Stockholm Archipelago) to the east and the south, * Himmerfjärden and Hallsfjärden (parts of the Baltic Sea) to the west as well as *The Södertälje Canal to the northwest. The Södertälje Canal is man-made, so the area isn't fully separated from the mainland by nature. The area is classified as an island by

Statistics Sweden Statistics Sweden ( sv, Statistiska centralbyrån ; SCB) is the Swedish government agency operating under the Ministry of Finance and responsible for producing official statistics for decision-making, debate and research. The agency's responsib ...

, making it the third largest island in Sweden. Since 2005, the whole of Södertörn has been included in Metropolitan Stockholm. Before that, the southern parts of the island, which lie within Nynäshamn Municipality, and the western parts, which are in

Södertälje Municipality Södertälje Municipality (''Södertälje kommun'') is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Södertälje. It borders to Lake Mälaren in the north and the Baltic Sea in the south, and withi ...

, were – although in

Stockholm County Stockholm County ( sv, Stockholms län, link=no ) is a county or '' län'' (in Swedish) on the Baltic Sea coast of Sweden. It borders Uppsala County and Södermanland County. It also borders Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The city of Stockholm ...

– not included in the metropolitan area. The northern areas of Södertörn are to a large extent made up of rift-valley countryside (and urban areas) with high ground which is either pine forest or bare. The long valleys of the south become level ground. The waters surrounding the area are either freshwater or brackish water with poor salinity. The bedrock is almost entirely gneiss. The highest point on Södertörn is Tornberget in Haninge at

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. It is located in Hanveden, a large area of largely coniferous forest south of

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, whose eastern areas partially form the

Tyresta National Park Tyresta National Park ( sv, Tyresta nationalpark) is a national park with a surrounding nature reserve in Sweden, located in Haninge and Tyresö municipalities in Stockholm County. Geography About from central Stockholm are the Tyresta Na ...

. The southernmost parts of Södertörn were connected to Stockholm in 1901, when the

Nynäs Line The Nynäs Line ( sv, Nynäsbanan) is a long railway line between Älvsjö and Nynäshamn in Sweden. The line is electrified and is double track on the section from Älvsjö to Västerhaninge. The line is used by the Stockholm Commuter Rail ...

was opened. The railway runs between Nynäshamn in the south and Älvsjö in the north, where it joins with the main southern railway.

Etymology

Its name (''á'' ..''Taurinum'' in 1225, ''Tør'' in 1283, ''a Tørinne'' in 1383 and eventually ‘‘Södertörn’’ since 1645) derives from the Old Norse dialect word ''tor'', meaning "broken rocky beaches", which cut deep into the coast of Södertörn.

Municipalities of Södertörn

* Botkyrka * Haninge * Huddinge *

Nacka Nacka () is the municipal seat of Nacka Municipality and part of Stockholm urban area in Sweden. The municipality's name harks back to a 16th-century industrial operation established by the Crown at Nacka farmstead where conditions for water mil ...

(west of Skurusundet) * Nynäshamn *

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

(the Söderort, southern, part) * Södertälje (east of the Södertälje Canal) * Tyresö These municipalities are located both in

and the province of Södermanland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sodertorn Geography of Stockholm County Geography of Södermanland Peninsulas of Sweden

Etymology

Municipalities of Södertörn

See also

References