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Water en land

Landforms   Coastal areas   Salt marshes   Biotope   Beaches   Biotope   Dune areas   Dunes (biotope)   Niedersachsen   Memmert   

Mens en Milieu

Memmert

The Niedersachsen island Memmert is particularly known as a bird island. It lies around one kilometer southwest of Juist and five kilometers east of Borkum, on the eastern side of the Oostereems. The island is uninhabited, with the exception of an island manager, who lives there fulltime. One must have a permit to visit.

  • Formation

    The name Memmert means something like 'sand' and refers to what Memmert was up to the beginning of the 20th century: a sandbank with no more than some young dunes. Erosion in the west and sand accumulation in the east kept the island in balance in those days. Since 1908, dune formation increased thanks to human help. Between 1891 and 1966, the island 'walked' 500 meters eastward. No point on the island is older than eighty years old.

  • NAture on Memmert

    The formation and erosion of dunes on Memmert are left to nature as much as possible. The island is an important sanctuary for shorebirds. Lots of gulls, terns and plovers nest here.