The island is made up of a sandy core of geestland and features an extended beach all along its west coast, facing the open North Sea. The east coast instead borders to mud flats and tidal creeks of the Wadden Sea. Sand dunes are a characteristical part of Amrum’s landscape, resulting in a vegetation that is largely made up of heath and shrubs. The island’s only forest was planted in 1948. Amrum is a refuge for many species of birds and a number of marine mammals like grey seal or harbour porpoise.
Amrum’s population amounts to about 2,300 and the island is divided into three municipalities: Norddorf, Nebel and Wittdün. They adhere to the Amt Föhr-Amrum. Amrum’s main branch of economy is tourism. In 2007 the island could provide 12,000 beds. In 2008 approximately 135,000 tourists and 1.3 million lodgings were registered. Agriculture is also being practised on Amrum and the port hosts a single fisherman. The isle is connected to Föhr and to the mainland harbour of Dagebüll on the one hand and to the Halligen and the mainland terminal of Schlüttsiel on the other hand by two ferry routes.
The northernmost settlement is the seaside resort of Norddorf with a decoy pond and a sector light. Amrum’s largest village, Nebel, is located near the eastern coastline. Notable sights there include the church of St. Clement, the Öömrang Hüs – a museum of local history, a wind mill and the Cemetery of the Homeless. Süddorf, today a district of Nebel, is the island’s oldest hamlet. The Amrum Lighthouse is located there. Steenodde, also a neighbourhood of Nebel, had long been Amrum’s only port until Wittdün, founded 1890, had taken over as the island’s major ferry terminal. Of the three municipalities, Wittdün is most clearly influenced by tourism.
With the island hosting many endangered species of plants and animals, its soil being largely unfavourable for agriculture and as a popular seaside resort in general, Amrum’s population today almost exclusively lives from the tourism industry.
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