Outer archipelago

The outer archipelago is the most extraordinary out of all the municipalities in our archipelago city

Besides Pargas, Nagu, Korpo, Houtskär and Iniö so does also the outer archipelago belong to the city of Pargas.

The outer archipelago is the most extraordinary out of all the municipalities in our archipelago city: it has bare cliffs, but it also has areas that have leafy areas that consists of small island, islets and skerries. Some of these small islands are inhabited all year round for example the island Jurmo where about 10 people live all year round. The amount of people who lives out in the outer archipelago multiplies during the summer months because of all the summer guests and tourists. The climate is mild and the outer archipelago is the region in Finland where the sun shines the most. The island Utö is in average the sunniest place in Finland during the period May-August!

The outer archipelago is a part of the Archipelago Sea National Park and also a part of the Archipelago Biosphere Reserve.

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Archipelago Sea National Park

In the Archipelago Sea there are more islets and skerries than anywhere else. The National Park was founded to protect the nature and culture of the Archipelago Sea, and the park is located east of Åland and south of Korpo, Nagu, Pargas and Kimito main islands. The park is 50 000 hectare and that makes it the largest of the four sea national parks in Finland. Most of the park consists of the barren outer archipelago but there are also some lush places where the vegetation is very diverse.

You can visit the park either by your own boat or you can travel around with the ferries that traffic in the archipelago. There might be some places that you are not allowed to visit during some periods, that is to protect the nature and the wildlife, and places you are not allowed to visit at all no matter the time. In the park you can camp and make fire but only on places that are marked for just that purpose. You are also allowed to pick berries and mushrooms. For more information about the park and practical things about it, click on this link.

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Archipelago Biosphere Reserve

The Archipelago Biosphere Reserve is a part of an international program called MaB (Man and the Biosphere), this program started in the 1970s by UNESCO and in the year 1994 was the Archipelago Biosphere Reserve established. A biosphere reserve is an area that has a valuable nature and culture and functions as a model for how humans interact with nature. The purpose of the reserve is to preserve and protect the nature and its culture and also to support projects that contributes to sustainable development on both local and international levels.

The Archipelago Biosphere Reserve consists of The Archipelago Sea National Park and the areas surrounding that. From an international point of view the Archipelago Sea is one of Finland most valuable areas, because here can you find more endangered plants and animals than on any other area in Finland. The biosphere reserve is about 5400 km² of which 4580 km² is water, although most of the area is water about 3800 people and about 3000 summer cottages lives and exists within this area. For more information about the Archipelago Biosphere Reserve click on this link.