Piteå archipelago


The Piteå archipelago is a group of Swedish islands in the north part of the Bay of Bothnia, at Piteå in the southeast of Norrbotten County. A few of the islands have small permanent populations, but most are used only for recreation in the summer months. They are icebound during the winter.

Location

The north of the bay of Bothnia contains a large archipelago area.
The islands in the Swedish sector make up the Norrbotten archipelago.
It is divided into the archipelagos of Piteå, Luleå, Kalix and Haparanda.
Due to post-glacial rebound the land is rising at from annually, so the shoreline can retreat by as much as in one person's lifetime.
As a result, the islands are growing in size and the waters and harbors are becoming shallower.

Climate

The archipelago is only south of the Arctic Circle, so there is daylight for up to 24 hours in the summer, and moonshine may be visible all day in the winter.
The waters around the archipelago are brackish, with less the 10% of the salt content of the Atlantic.
The sea freezes in January and remain frozen until March–April.

Islands

Baggen is one of the larger islands, with an open-air chapel and rental cabins.
Fingermanholmen is almost in the center of Piteå, accessible by boat or kayak in summer, and by ski in winter.
Mellerstön has the only permanent residents of the archipelago.
Pite-Rönnskär, with a chapel and a lighthouse, is located across the county boundary, in Västerbotten.
Other islands include Inre Mörögrund, Mosesholmen, Hällskäret, Stenskär, Stor-Räbben, Svinöra and Vargön.

Nature reserves

There are several nature reserves, including islands and large areas of water. The Bondöfjärden nature reserve is about to the southeast of Piteå town. Bondöfjärden, Stor-Räbben and Vargön are state nature reserves, but Piteå Municipality owns the land and manages the reserves.
The former Patta Peken reserve, with Pite-Kluntarna and other islands, is since 2018 part of the larger Kallfjärden reserve.
The Döman reserve is about south of Piteå town, covering the islands of Gråsjälen and Döman to the south of Jävre-Sandön.