Pakri Islands
| Native name: Pakri saared | |
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| Geography | |
| Location | Baltic Sea |
| Coordinates | 59°20′N 23°57′E / 59.333°N 23.950°ECoordinates: 59°20′N 23°57′E / 59.333°N 23.950°E |
| Major islands | Väike-Pakri, Suur-Pakri |
| Area | 24.7 km2 (9.5 sq mi) 12.9 and 11.6 km2 |
| Coastline | 42 km (26.1 mi) 18.7 and 23.3 km |
| Highest elevation | 17 m (56 ft) |
| Administration | |
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Estonia
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| County | Harju County |
| Municipality | Paldiski |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 6 (2009) |
Pakri Islands (Estonian: Pakri saared, Swedish: Rågöarna) are two Estonian islands in the Finnish Gulf: Suur-Pakri and Väike-Pakri (Swedish: Stora Rågö and Lilla Rågö). Administratively they belong to the town of Paldiski. For centuries the islands had been inhabited by Estonian Swedes, until during the Second World War the entire population was forced to leave.
The Swedish name of the islands Rågöarna means Rye Islands - historically rye was the primary crop grown on the island. Thus Stora Rågö and Lilla Rågö mean Big Rye Island and Small Rye Island, respectively. Alternative names for the two islands are Västra Rågö/Västerö and Östra Rågö/Österö (West Island and East Island).
In terms of area Väike-Pakri (Small-Pakri) is actually somewhat larger than Suur-Pakri (Big-Pakri). The reason for this contradiction is probably that Suur-Pakri had more inhabitants and better farming lands and was reckoned as more important.
The islands lie a few kilometers off the Estonian coast. Väike-Pakri lies 3 km west of Paldiski, separated from it by Paldiski (Pakri) Bay (Swedish: Rågövik), over 20 m deep. The shallow 3 km wide Kurkse strait separates the islands from the mainland in south.
The area of Väike-Pakri, the eastern island, is 12.9 km2, Suur-Pakri covers 11.6 km2 (8th and 9th largest islands in Estonia). Väike-Pakri is also higher than Suur-Pakri (17 m and 8 m, respectively). Both islands are about 6 km long (in southeast-northwest direction) and 2-2.5 km wide.
A few islets are situated in the 1-1.5 km wide and shallow (2–4 m deep) strait between the two islands. In 1952, an embankment connecting the two islands over some of the islets was built by the Soviet army.
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Wikipedia