Stora Hepokari is an island in the northeast of the Swedish sector of 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 wi ...

, in the

Haparanda archipelago The Haparanda archipelago ( sv, Haparanda skärgård) is a group of 792 Swedish islands in the north part of the Bay of Bothnia. The islands are used for recreation in the summer months. They are icebound during the winter. Location The north of ...

Location

Stora Hepokari lies in the Haparanda archipelago, the part of the

Norrbotten archipelago The Norrbotten archipelago ( sv, Norrbotten skärgård) is a group of Swedish islands in the north part of the Bay of Bothnia. A few of the islands have small permanent populations, but most are used only for recreation in the summer months. They ...

that is included in the

Haparanda Municipality Haparanda Municipality (), () is a municipality in Norrbotten County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Haparanda (). In 1967 the "City of Haparanda" was merged with the rural municipalities Karl Gustav and Nedertorneå. Since 1971 Hapar ...

. Stora Hepokari is in the outer part of the archipelago, about from the border with

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

. All of the islands in the Haparanda archipelago have emerged in the last 1,500 years or so, as the bed of the bay has risen due to

post-glacial 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 ...

following the last ice age.

Description

Stora Hepokari is about in size. The island is rich in archaeological remains, including the ruins of a fishing village, with mounds for drying nets and a maze. The island contains rocky areas and open meadows as well as deciduous trees and bushes.

Siberian Primrose

The island has been chosen for inclusion in

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

because it is abundant in Siberian Primrose (''

Primula nutans ''Primula nutans'', also known as the sleepy primrose, is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Primulaceae. Description ''Primula nutans'' is a perennial plant species. Plants possess green, sub-orbicular leaf blades. Leaves are ...

''), a species listed in the Habitats directive. The goal is to maintain at least 60,000 specimens of the plant. The main danger facing the plants is exploitation of the beaches by humans. The Siberian Primrose is red-listed in the

Near Threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

category in Sweden. The plant grows in meadows and boulder beaches. The environment on Stora Hepokari is unstable, because uplift eliminates suitable terrain while new areas appear. The plant's seeds are wind-dispersed, but may also be carried by water.

References

Sources * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stora Hepokari Swedish islands in the Baltic Islands of Norrbotten County