Lilla Värtan - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Lilla Värtan or simply Värtan is a strait

Strait

A strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...

in Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

. Separating mainland Stockholm from the island and municipality Lidingö

Lidingö

Lidingö is an island in the inner Stockholm archipelago, located north east of central Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. It is also the seat of Lidingö Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 44,000 inhabitants in 2011....

, it stretches from Blockhusudden in the south to Stora Värtan

Stora Värtan

Stora Värtan is an inlet of the Baltic Sea located in the Stockholm archipelago north of the city of Stockholm, Sweden. It is bordered to the west by the municipalities of Täby and Danderyd, to the south by the municipality of Lidingö, to the north by the municipality of Österåker and to the...

in the north. Two bridges, collectively called Lidingöbron

Lidingöbron

Lidingöbron is the name of two existing and two historical bridges across the strait of Lilla Värtan between the mainland Norra Djurgården at Ropsten, at the eastern part of Stockholm - and the island of Lidingö....

("Lidingö Bridge") stretch over the strait.

While most of the coasts surrounding the strait are occupied by industries and the ferry terminals and oil tanks in the harbour area of Värtahamnen, natural beaches are found in both the southern and the northern end of the strait and the strait forms part of the Nationstadsparken, the national park

National park

A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...

in central Stockholm popularly called Ekoparken

Ekoparken

The Royal National City Park is the world's first National City Park, established in 1995 in the municipalities of Stockholm, Solna and Lidingö in Sweden.1/ km²2/ Population per km²- Pictures :Some places in "The Eco Park"....

("The Eco Park").

Most common fish species are Baltic herring

Herring

Herring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...

, Sea trout, and Salmon

Salmon

Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...

. Stationary predator fishes, e.g. Northern pike

Northern Pike

The northern pike , is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox...

and Perch

Perch

Perch is a common name for fish of the genus Perca, freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which there are three species in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Perciformes, from the Greek perke meaning spotted, and the...

, are exposed to raised levels of mercury

Mercury (element)

Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...

.

The area is considered an important wintering location for several birds species, including Swan

Swan

Swans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae...

s, Eurasian Coot

Eurasian Coot

The Eurasian Coot, Fulica atra, also known as Coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. The Australian subspecies is known as the Australian Coot.-Distribution:...

, Pochard

Pochard

The Common Pochard, Aythya ferina, is a medium-sized diving duck.The adult male has a long dark bill with a grey band, a red head and neck, a black breast, red eyes and a grey back. The adult female has a brown head and body and a narrower grey bill band. The triangular head shape is distinctive...

, Tufted Duck

Tufted Duck

The Tufted Duck, Aythya fuligula, is a medium-sized diving duck with a population of close to one million birds.- Description :The adult male is all black except for white flanks and a blue-grey bill. It has an obvious head tuft that gives the species its name.The adult female is brown with paler...

, Black-headed Gull

Black-headed Gull

The Black-headed Gull is a small gull which breeds in much of Europe and Asia, and also in coastal eastern Canada. Most of the population is migratory, wintering further south, but some birds in the milder westernmost areas of Europe are resident...

, Lesser Black-backed Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

The Lesser Black-backed Gull is a large gull that breeds on the Atlantic coasts of Europe. It is migratory, wintering from the British Isles south to West Africa...

, Gadwall

Gadwall

The Gadwall is a common and widespread duck of the family Anatidae.- Description :The Gadwall is 46–56 cm long with a 78–90 cm wingspan. The male is slightly larger than the female, weighing on average 990 g against her 850 g...

, and Common Tern

Common Tern

The Common Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, breeding in temperate and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia and east and central North America. It is strongly migratory, wintering in coastal tropical and subtropical regions. It is sometimes...

. The strait constitutes an important locale, especially ice-free winters, besides the lake Isbladskärret

Isbladskärret

Isbladskärret is a small lake on Djurgården, an island in central Stockholm, Sweden. The lake is much appreciated among bird-watchers, and, being part of the National park in central Stockholm, Ekoparken, also carefully monitored by several organizations, including the World Wide Fund for Nature...

on Djurgården.

Vegetation on the shore lines of Lilla Värtan includes Alder

Alder

Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...

, Purple loosestrife

Purple loosestrife

Lythrum salicaria is a flowering plant belonging to the family Lythraceae, native to Europe, Asia, northwest Africa, and southeastern Australia. It should not be confused with other plants sharing the name loosestrife that are members of the family Primulaceae...

, Common Valerian, Yellow Loosestrife, Reed Canary-grass, Tall Fescue, Lesser Periwinkle, and Giant Knotweed.

Levels of heavy metals and organic waste are high in the bottom silt and nutrient levels high in the water. The level of phosphorus

Phosphorus

Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...

was 29 µg/l in 2005.

See also