Alnö ("the aln-ey") is an island in the

Gulf of Bothnia The Gulf of Bothnia (; fi, Pohjanlahti; sv, Bottniska viken) is divided into the Bothnian Bay and Bothnian Sea, and it is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea, between Finland's west coast ( East Bothnia) and the Sweden's east coast (West ...

just outside

Sundsvall Sundsvall () is a city and the seat of Sundsvall Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. It has a population of 58,807 as of 2020; more than 95,000 live in the municipal area. It is Sweden's 21st largest city by population. History Th ...

in Medelpad, Sweden. It has an area of 67.79 km² and a permanent population of 8,417 (as of 31 December 2010), although its summertime inhabitants are about twice that number. Most of the island's inhabitants work in Sundsvall and other towns on the mainland. The island is 15 km long and 6 km wide on the widest spot. It is connected to the mainland by a bridge, which was the longest bridge in Sweden when it was opened in 1964. Evidences of habitation on the island predate the Viking Age, and there are several tumuli on the island from that period. The old stone church near the modern bridge was built in the 12th century. The island saw a population boom in the second half of the 19th century, due to the development of steam-driven sawmills. In 1850 the island had 950 inhabitants, mainly farmers and fishermen, but by 1900 the population had grown to almost 7,000, following the establishment of 18 sawmills between 1860 and 1897. As result of decreased foreign trade during World War II

apatite Apatite is a group of phosphate minerals, usually hydroxyapatite, fluorapatite and chlorapatite, with high concentrations of OH−, F− and Cl− ions, respectively, in the crystal. The formula of the admixture of the three most common e ...

was mined in Alnön from 1943 to 1945. Aparite was separated by flotation but results were meagers. While the separation process had improved in 1945 the end of the war the same year ment also apatite mining became unproffitable.

Geology

Alnö was affected some 570 million years ago by a massive volcanic eruption. The northeastern part of the island is rich in carbonate minerals, and it is one of few areas in the world with a carbonatite volcanic complex. Its chemistry is very different from the ordinary granitic rock that form the rest of the island, resulting in a number of unusual minerals, such as

baryte Baryte, barite or barytes ( or ) is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate ( Ba S O4). Baryte is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of the element barium. The ''baryte group'' consists of baryte, celestine (strontium sulfate), ...

and aegirine. The most famous of the rocks of Alnön is the ''alnoite'', named from the Island, which is a lamprophyre chiefly composed of

biotite Biotite is a common group of phyllosilicate minerals within the mica group, with the approximate chemical formula . It is primarily a solid-solution series between the iron-endmember annite, and the magnesium-endmember phlogopite; more alumino ...

or phlogopite and melilite as essential minerals, commonly with olivine,

calcite Calcite is a Carbonate minerals, carbonate mineral and the most stable Polymorphism (materials science), polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on ...

and clinopyroxene. Perovskite,

, nepheline and garnet may also be present. Diamonds have also been found on Alnön, but only in very small amounts. Alnöbron

Sport

* Alnö IF

Notable citizens

Vilma Abrahamsson Vilma Louise Abrahamsson (born 22 February 1999) is a Swedish football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of fo ...

, Football player *

Gunnar Hellström Gunnar Hellström (6 December 1928 – 28 November 2001) was a Swedish actor and director. Partial filmography * '' While the City Sleeps'' (1950) - Young Man in Restaurant * ''U-Boat 39'' (1952) - Harriet's Escort * ''She Came Like the Win ...

, Director * Tina Nordlund, Football player * Hjördis Schymberg, Opera singer *

Andreas Yngvesson Leif Mikael Andreas Yngvesson (born 18 August 1974) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Spor ...

, Football player * Helen Sjöholm, Singer and actress

References

External links

Rock samples from Alnön
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alnon Sundsvall Municipality Islands of Västernorrland County