Archipelago Sea

The Archipelago Sea (Saaristomeri, Skärgårdshavet) is a part of the Baltic Sea between the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland and the Sea of Åland, within Finnish territorial waters. By some definitions it contains the largest archipelago in the world by the number of islands, although many of the islands are very small and tightly clustered. The larger islands are inhabited and connected by ferries and bridges. Åland, including the largest islands of the region, forms an autonomous region within Finland. The rest of the islands are part of the region of Southwest Finland. The Archipelago Sea is a significant tourist destination. The Guardians journalist Tristan Parker wrote an article praising the Turku Archipelago on July 29, 2021, mentioning that "nowhere has the gentle magic of the smaller islands – or their wildlife." The Archipelago Sea covers a roughly triangular area with the cities of Mariehamn, Uusikaupunki, and Hanko at the corners. The archipelago can be divided into inner and outer archipelagos, with the outer archipelago consisting mainly of smaller, uninhabited islands. The total surface area is , of which is land. The archipelago has a very large number of islands. The exact number depends on the definition of the term "island", as the size of the patches of dry land in the area varies from small rocks peeking out of the water to large islands with several villages or even small towns. The number of the larger islands of over within the Archipelago Sea (in provinces of Åland Isles and Southwest Finland) is 257, whilst the number of smaller isles of over is about 17,700. If the number of smallest uninhabitable rocks and skerries is accounted, 50,000 is probably a good estimate. In comparison, the number of islands in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago is 36,563. Indonesia has 17,508 islands, according to the Indonesian Naval Hydro-Oceanographic Office. The Philippines has 7,107 islands. The islands began emerging from the sea shortly after the last ice age.