Formerly a Hochsand (a sandbank rising above the ordinary high water mark, effectively an island), Tertius has been reduced in elevation by coastal erosion in recent decades. As a result, the sandbank is frequently submerged and devoid of terrestrial vegetation. Recent satellite images show that Tertius is often even awash at low tide. Like all unprotected islands, Hochsände, and sandbanks off the west coast of Schleswig-Holstein, Tertius is migrating steadily eastwards.
Tertius at low tide, with the city of Büsum in the background. Seals and seabirds can be seen dotting the exposed sandbank
Tertius lies about 10km west of the popular tourist destination of Büsum in the Meldorf Bay, bordering the tidal channelPiep, which serves as the access waterway to the port of Büsum. To the south lies the island of Trischen, and to the northeast lies the Hochsand of Blauort. According to the Schleswig-Holstein National Park Office in Tönning, Tertius, like Blauort, belongs to the parish of Hedwigenkoog in the district of Dithmarschen. However, the state government of Schleswig-Holstein has not yet officially confirmed and authorised this, so the sandbank technically remains an unorganised location.
Tertius, when not submerged, provides a resting ground for seabirds and seals. Sightseeing tours are sometimes organised from Büsum to observe these animals. Though the sandbank is not part of the highly protected Zone 1 of the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park, public access to Tertius is subject to restrictions.
The only man-made structure on the island is a daymark, which serves as an optical navigational aid for ships.
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig. Its capital city is Kiel; other notable cities are Lübeck and Flensburg.
Dithmarschen is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Nordfriesland, Schleswig-Flensburg, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, and Steinburg, by the state of Lower Saxony, and by the North Sea. From the 13th century up to 1559 Dithmarschen was an independent peasants' republic within the Holy Roman Empire and a member of the Hanseatic League.
The Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park is a national park in the Schleswig-Holstein area of the German Wadden Sea. It was founded by the Parliament of Schleswig-Holstein on 1 October 1985 by the National Park Act of 22 July 1985 and expanded significantly in 1999. Together with the Lower Saxon Wadden Sea National Park, the Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park and those parts of Elbe estuary which are not nature reserves, it forms the German part of the Wadden Sea.
Wesselburen is a small town in the district of Dithmarschen in the German Federal State of Schleswig-Holstein. It is situated near the North Sea coast, approximately 11 km west of Heide.
Büsum is a fishing and tourist town in the district of Dithmarschen, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the North Sea coast, approx. 18 km southwest of Heide.
Büsumer Deichhausen is a municipality belonging to the Amt Büsum-Wesselburen in the district Dithmarschen in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
Hedwigenkoog is a municipality belonging to the Amt Büsum-Wesselburen in the district Dithmarschen in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
Oesterdeichstrich is a municipality belonging to the Amt Büsum-Wesselburen in the district Dithmarschen in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
Warwerort is a municipality in the Amt Büsum-Wesselburen in the district Dithmarschen in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
Westerdeichstrich is a municipality belonging to the Amt Büsum-Wesselburen in the district Dithmarschen in Schleswig-Holstein on the West Coast of Germany. It consists of the parts Westerdeichstrich, Groven, Augustenhof and Stinteck.
Heide–Büsum Airport is an airport serving Heide, a town in the Dithmarschen district in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The airport is located 1.6 nautical miles (3 km) northeast of Büsum, a town located about 18 kilometres (11 mi) southwest of Heide.
The Heide-Itzehoe Geest is a division of a larger natural region in the west of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It belongs to the Hohe Geest and thus to the Schleswig-Holstein Geest natural region.
Blauort is one of Germany's uninhabited North Sea sandy islets off the coast of Dithmarschen, and measures about 1,200 m from north to south and 500 metres from east to west. It is surrounded by the sandbank of Blauortsand, which is bounded to the north by the creek of the Wesselburener Loch and to the south by the Piep.
Trischen (help·info) is an uninhabited island in the Meldorf Bay, about 14 kilometres off the North Sea coast of Dithmarschen in north Germany – about 12 kilometres from the Trischendamm embankment. The island belongs to the municipality of Friedrichskoog and is only occupied from March to October by a bird warden from the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union or NABU. Otherwise it is out-of-bounds. Trischen originated about 400 years ago and moves about 3 m per month towards Büsum on the mainland.
The Bay of Meldorf also called Meldorf Bay, is a bay on the coast of the North German state of Schleswig-Holstein, which forms part of the Heligoland Bight.
Tourism is an important economic factor for Germany's northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein.
Südfall is a small island in the Wadden Sea off the west coast of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, one of the ten German Hallig islands. It has a permanent population of two people. It covers an area of 0.56 square kilometres (0.22 sq mi) and is administratively part of Pellworm Municipality.
Heide (Holst) station is a junction station in the town of Heide in the district of Dithmarschen in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The Hamburg–Elmshorn–Heide–Westerland, the Neumünster–Heide and the Heide–Büsum lines cross here.
The Neumünster–Heide railway is a single-track, non-electrified railway line the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, connecting the city of Neumünster in central Holstein and Heide, the seat of the district of Dithmarschen.
The West Holstein Railway Company was founded in 1875 with the aim of connecting the west Holstein region in the present-day district of Dithmarschen in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein with the railway junction of Neumünster and beyond with the cities of Kiel and Lübeck. Its creation involved the Kingdom of Prussia, the Altona-Kiel Railway Company, neighbouring villages and towns and the town of Tonning.
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