Kvarken
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Kvarken ( (as opposed to
South Kvarken South Kvarken (, ) is the narrowest stretch of sea between Finnish Åland and Sweden, forming a strait connecting the Sea of Åland and the Bothnian Sea The Bothnian Sea (; ) links the Bothnian Bay (also called the Bay of Bothnia) with the B ...
); ) is the narrow region of the
Gulf of Bothnia The Gulf of Bothnia (; ; ) is divided into the Bothnian Bay and the Bothnian Sea, and it is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea, between Finland's west coast ( East Bothnia) and the northern part of Sweden's east coast ( West Bothnia an ...
separating the
Bothnian Bay The Bothnian Bay or Bay of Bothnia (; ) is the northernmost part of the Gulf of Bothnia, which is in turn the northern part of the Baltic Sea. The land holding the bay is still rising after the weight of ice-age glaciers has been removed, and ...
(the inner part of the gulf) from the
Bothnian Sea The Bothnian Sea (; ) links the Bothnian Bay (also called the Bay of Bothnia) with the Baltic Sea, Baltic proper. Kvarken is situated between the two. Together, the Bothnian Sea and Bay make up a larger geographical entity, the Gulf of Bothnia, ...
. The distance from the Swedish mainland to the Finnish mainland is around , while the distance between the outermost islands is only . The water depth in the Kvarken region is only around . The region also has an unusual rate of land rising at almost a year. Several attempts to cross the strait swimming have been made, but cold water and currents have usually been insurmountable obstacles. The first successful crossing was carried out by Lennart Flygare, Pavio Grzelewski and Tore Klingberg, who on 24 July, 2018, swam from Valassaaret (
Valsörarna Valsörarna (in Swedish language, Swedish) or Valassaaret (in Finnish language, Finnish) is a small archipelago in Korsholm, Finland, located in the Kvarken region of the Gulf of Bothnia. The islands are the last you see when going by boat or fer ...
) on the Finnish side to
Holmöarna Holmöarna ( Swedish, literally ''the islet islands'') is an island group in the Kvarken narrows of the Gulf of Bothnia between Sweden and Finland. The islands form part of Umeå Municipality in Västerbotten County. The islands have 75 year-round ...
in Sweden. It took them 12 hours 2 minutes to cross the strait.


Kvarken Archipelago

On the Finnish side of Kvarken, there is a large
archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...
, the Kvarken Archipelago, which includes the large islands Replot, Björkö and over 5,600 smaller islands. Most of it belongs to the municipality of
Korsholm Korsholm (; ) is a municipality in Finland, located on the west coast of the country. Korsholm is situated in Ostrobothnia (administrative region), Ostrobothnia, along the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Korsholm is approximately , while the Va ...
. Most of the small islands are inhabited. The archipelago is smaller on the Swedish side of the region, and the islands, part of
Umeå Municipality Umeå Municipality (, ) is a municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Västerbotten County in northern Sweden. Its administrative centre, seat is Umeå, which is also the county seat of Västerbotten County. Administration The municipality is a ...
, have much steeper shores. The Kvarken region was historically important also, because mail was delivered across Kvarken when the sea was completely frozen from the Swedish to the Finnish coast. This mail route was used frequently during the period when
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
was a part of
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
. During the
Ice Ages An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and Gre ...
, the Kvarken region was located underneath the Fennoscandian ice sheet. When the ice sheet retreated from the area around 9,600 years ago, the land, which had been compacted under the weight of the ice, rapidly expanded in a process known as
isostatic rebound Post-glacial rebound (also called isostatic rebound or crustal rebound) is the rise of land masses after the removal of the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, which had caused isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound ...
. The Kvarken region is known for having some of the fastest rates of this uplift on Earth, having risen 285 meters since glacial retreat. It continues to rise, demonstrating the effects of deglaciation on flat and shallow archipelagos. The Kvarken Archipelago is also notable for its unique
moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...
formations (called de Geer moraines), which form regular clusters that are parallel to the ice front. It is estimated that within about 2,000 years, the seafloor in this area will rise above water, splitting the Gulf of Bothnia into a southern gulf and northern lake. In 2006, parts of the Kvarken Archipelago were added as an extension to the
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
of the
High Coast The High Coast () is a part of the coast of Sweden on the Gulf of Bothnia, in the Ångermanland province of northeast Sweden, centered in the area of the municipalities of Kramfors, Härnösand and Örnsköldsvik. It is notable as an area for ...
(located on the western shore of the Gulf of Bothnia) in
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, because of its outstanding demonstration of isostatic uplift, and the influence of glacial retreat on the evolution of landforms and topography. The most Finnish parts of the High Coast/Kvarken Archipelago World Heritage Site are situated in the
Korsholm Korsholm (; ) is a municipality in Finland, located on the west coast of the country. Korsholm is situated in Ostrobothnia (administrative region), Ostrobothnia, along the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Korsholm is approximately , while the Va ...
municipality. In the group of islands in the “middle” of the Kvarken region, in Swedish called
Valsörarna Valsörarna (in Swedish language, Swedish) or Valassaaret (in Finnish language, Finnish) is a small archipelago in Korsholm, Finland, located in the Kvarken region of the Gulf of Bothnia. The islands are the last you see when going by boat or fer ...
– Finnish ''Valassaaret'', is a lighthouse designed by who worked for
Gustave Eiffel Alexandre Gustave Eiffel ( , ; Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway net ...
's engineering bureau. The structural similarity between the lighthouse (built in 1885) and the
Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...
(built in 1889) is quite obvious. The lighthouse is now automated as are most lighthouses in Finland.


Transportation

The ferry route between
Umeå Umeå ( , , , locally ; ; ; ; ) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, Umeå is the largest Urban areas in Sweden, locality in Norrland and the t ...
and
Vaasa Vaasa (; , ), formerly (1855-1917) known as Nikolaistad (; ),Wasaline.


Bridge

There have been proposals for a bridge across the strait, at a cost of about 1.5 to 2 billion 
euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
s. There are islands in the strait, and the sum of the lengths of the probably three bridge parts would be about . The Swedish minister of finance has said it is an interesting idea, but the idea is still decades from being brought to fruition. There is a debate in the coastal cities on both sides, like
Umeå Umeå ( , , , locally ; ; ; ; ) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, Umeå is the largest Urban areas in Sweden, locality in Norrland and the t ...
and
Vaasa Vaasa (; , ), formerly (1855-1917) known as Nikolaistad (; ),Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
and
Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...
between the Oresund fixed link. The natural values of the area also make a bridge dubious.


References


External links


High Coast/Kvarken Archipelago World Heritage Site's official websiteKvarken World Heritage SiteUNESCO World Heritage profile

The black islands rising from the sea
, ''BBC Travel'', 14 April 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2017. {{World Heritage Sites in Finland Straits of Finland Straits of Sweden World Heritage Sites in Finland Landmarks in Finland Finland–Sweden border International straits Landforms of Norrbotten County Landforms of Västerbotten County Landforms of Ostrobothnia (administrative region)