Uthörn

Uthörn is a small German island adjacent to Sylt in the district of Nordfriesland, and as such it is Germany's northernmost isle right after Sylt proper. It belongs to the List municipality.

Geography

The island is situated in the so-called "Königshafen" (King's Harbour), a bay on the eastern shore of Sylt which is facing the shallow tidal flats of the Wadden Sea in that area. Uthörn is located north of the town of List, only a kilometre away from the "Ellbogen" (Elbow) peninsula of Sylt, which is in fact Germany's northernmost area.

Uthörn is almost one kilometre long and up to 170 m wide, its area amounts to about 13 ha. The island is relatively young, as it developed out of a sand bar, which due to wind drift of sand from Sylt has now grown to a height of approximately 4.10 m above sea level and is no longer submerged during high tide. It is thought that the growth of Uthörn is likely to continue in the future.

Up to now (2008), the island is merely overgrown by pioneer species of plants and the common dune vegetation like marram grass.

Protection

Uthörn is located just a few metres off the shore of Sylt and can be reached on foot through the shallow sea. But as it provides space for the hatching and resting of rare and endangered seabirds and is situated inside the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park, it may only be entered with special permission.

Note