The development of northern Sylt during the Latest Holocene

Abstract

Former stages of the morphological development of northern Sylt are reconstructed to extend knowledge of the type and approximate time of the formation of a sandy bay (Königshafen) in the Wadden Sea. Apart from an analysis of historical maps and nautical charts, this paper includes the representation of the results of recent borings and sedimentological findings. The two ways of tracing back the development led to different conclusions, which are discussed. The cartographical conclusions cannot confirm the assumption that Königshafen was a deep bay. The input of dune sand from westerly directions and the formation of a sand spit system from the south have caused great morphological changes up to present times. Since the middle of the 17th century there has been an extension of the Königshafen area. On the other hand, geological investigations show that the Ellenbogen could have been formed between the middle of the 17th century and the end of the 18th century. Before that, Königshafen was sheltered by a large sandy spitly at the Lister Tief. It might have been the location of the famous sea battle of 1644 between the Danish fleet and a Swedish/Dutch fleet. The Königshafen area is possibly a young formation and is, at least since its separation from the Lister Tief by the Ellenbogen, an area of prevailing sedimentation.