Richel (; ), or rather ''De Richel'' (The Ridge), is a permanently dry sandbank in the

Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea ( ; ; or ; ; ; ) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the range of low-lying Frisian Islands, forming a shallow body of water with tida ...

, in the gap between the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

islands of

Vlieland (; ) is a municipality and island in the northern Netherlands. The municipality of Vlieland is the second most sparsely populated municipality in the Netherlands, after Schiermonnikoog. Vlieland is one of the West Frisian Islands, lying in t ...

and

Terschelling Terschelling (; ; Terschelling dialect: ''Schylge'') is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and an island in the northern Netherlands, one of the West Frisian Islands. It is situated between the islands of Vlieland and Ameland. ...

. It is located about 1 kilometer east of the northernmost point of Vlieland and is administered by the municipality of Vlieland. The sandbank has an average surface area of 116 hectares. It is completely flooded only during extremely high tides. The island is primarily known as the most important breeding place in the Wadden Sea for

grey seal The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or "earless seals". The only species classified in the genus ''Halichoerus'', it is found on both shores of the Nort ...

s. More than 300 pups are born on Richel in winter. In summer seals seem to prefer areas more sheltered from human contact. The sandbank is also important as a breeding and feeding area for

ringed plover The common ringed plover or ringed plover (''Charadrius hiaticula'') is a species of bird in the family Charadriidae. It breeds across much of northern Eurasia, as well as Greenland. Taxonomy The common ringed plover was Species description, f ...

Kentish plover The Kentish plover (''Anarhynchus alexandrinus'') is a small wader () of the family Charadriidae that breeds on the shores of saline lakes, lagoons, and coasts, populating sand dunes, marshes, semi-arid desert, and tundra.Székely, T., A. Argüel ...

little tern The little tern (''Sternula albifrons'') is a seabird of the family Laridae. It was first described by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 and given the binomial name ''Sterna albifrons''. It was moved to the genus '' Sternula'' whe ...

s and other bird species. Richel is uninhabited and virtually barren. It is too low to support any permanent vegetation. The sandbank is only able to support some temporary colonisation by the

grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...

species sand couch (''Elytrigia juncea''). The ferry between Harlingen and Vlieland passes by Richel, making a detour around the sandbank. During low tide, it is possible to walk to the sandbank from Vlieland (see

mudflat hiking Mudflat hiking (, , West Frisian: ''Waadrinnen'', ) is a recreation enjoyed in the Netherlands, northwest Germany, Denmark, England and France. Mudflat hikers are people who, with the aid of a tide table, use a period of low water to walk and wad ...

) although Richel is off-limits to humans due to its importance as a nature area. Boat trips from Vlieland used to be organised daily during the summer tourist season to observe the seal population on Richel.

References

External links

* {{Frisian Islands Vlieland West Frisian Islands Islands of Friesland Sandbanks of the North Sea Uninhabited islands of the Netherlands Shoals of the Netherlands