Stora Alvaret

Stora Alvaret

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Stora Alvaret on southeast of Öland with Eketorp Fortress in background.
Location	Öland, Mörbylånga Municipality, Sweden
Part of	Agricultural Landscape of Southern Öland
Criteria	Cultural: iv, v
Reference	968
Inscription	2000 (24th Session)
Coordinates	56°28′00″N 16°33′00″E / 56.466666666668°N 16.55°E / 56.466666666668; 16.55
Location of Stora Alvaret in Sweden

Stora Alvaret (Swedish: [ˈstûːra ˈâlːvarɛt]; "the Great Alvar") is an alvar, a barren limestone terrace, in the southern half of the island of Öland, Sweden. Stora Alvaret is a dagger shaped expanse almost 40 kilometres (25 mi) long and about 10 kilometres (6 mi) at the widest north end. The area of this formation exceeds 260 square kilometres (100 sq mi), making it the largest such expanse in Europe and comprising over one fourth of the land area of the island.

Because of the thin soil mantle and high pH levels, a great assortment of vegetation is found including numerous rare species. Stora Alvaret is not devoid of trees, contrary to a common misconception; in fact, it holds a variety of sparse stunted trees akin to a pygmy forest.^[1]

Stora Alvaret falls within UNESCO's Agricultural Landscape of Southern Öland, 56,323 hectares (217.46 sq mi), which was designated World Heritage Site due to its extraordinary prehistory.