Märket
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Märket (Swedish), Market Reef, or Market Island[citation needed] is a small skerry in the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Finland (in the area of the autonomous Åland Islands), that since the Treaty of Fredrikshamn (Hamina) defines the border between Sweden and Finland. The westernmost land point of Finland is on Märket.
The 6 nautical mile (11 km) wide Understen–Märket Passage links the Bothnian Sea to the Baltic proper.
The area of the skerry, which measures roughly 350 m (1150 ft) long by 150 m (490 ft) wide, is said to be 3 hectares (30,000 m² or 320,000 sq ft) which is argued to make it the smallest "sea island" shared by two countries.[1] The smallest island shared by two countries, by comparison, is probably the unnamed western islet in Boundary Lake, between Manitoba, Canada, and North Dakota, United States, which measures a mere 150×60 m (490×190 ft), about six times smaller.
There is an unmanned lighthouse on the Finnish side of the island. However, when it was built in 1885 there were no clear maps of the island. After the completion of the lighthouse, it was discovered that it was built on the Swedish part of the island. As a result, the border was adjusted in 1985 so that the lighthouse is now located on Finnish territory.[2] However, the overall land area given to each country could not change, and neither could the coastline so as not to interfere with each country's fishing rights. This dilemma resulted in an unusual design of the border. Since the adjustment of the border, it takes the form of an 's', the lighthouse only connected to the rest of Finland by a short stretch of land.
The lighthouse is in immediate need of maintenance and a Finnish interest group is trying to raise funds for its preservation. The lighthouse has been automatic since 1976 and the surrounding buildings are no longer used.
Market Reef, as it is called in English among three million radio amateurs around the world, is a "separate country" for them since it is the only Finnish territory with another country's territory in between. The Swedish part of the island does not have this status and is therefore not a separate country among radio amateurs. Market Reef is one of the worlds most wanted "countries" among radio amateurs due to its special status and inaccessibility. Usually there are one or more amateur radio expeditions to the island every year, weather permitting. During this expeditions tens of thousands of radio contacts are made with the entire world. At high seas landing is only possible with a helicopter. Probably the best picture available over Märket is shown on a QSL card, a verification card sent out to verify a radio contact among radio amateurs. OJ0MA is the call sign of the station on Market Reef with OJ0 being the special call sign prefix for Market Reef. "Märkets Fyr" means Märket Lighthouse in Swedish.[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Configurable map centred on Märket from Citizen's Mapsite of Finland
- The Swedish Lighthouse Society's site on Märket
- Joint border survey between Finland and Sweden in progress from Helsingin Sanomat (International Edition), includes paragraph about Märket, with a small map.
[edit] References
- ^ World island superlatives
- ^ Märket - a remarkable island by Joakim Ekman, Lars-Gunnar Bråvander, Gabriel Ekmand, and Ebbe Zachrisson (Swedish) includes a map of the island
- ^ Radio Am Ham radio site
