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East Frisian Islands
Native name: Ostfriesische Inseln
Geography
Location	Wadden Sea
Total islands	12
Major islands	Borkum, Norderney
Country
	Germany
State	Lower Saxony
Districts	Leer; Aurich; Wittmund; Friesland
Demographics
Ethnic groups	Germans, Frisians

The East Frisian Islands (German: Ostfriesische Inseln) are a chain of islands in the North Sea, off the coast of East Frisia in Lower Saxony, Germany.

The seven inhabited islands are, from west to east:

Borkum belongs to the district of Leer; Juist, Norderney and Baltrum are parts of Aurich; Langeoog and Spiekeroog belong to Wittmund (in the near of Dose); and Wangerooge is part of Friesland. Norderney is the remaining part of Buise, which was almost entirely engulfed by the sea in the 17th century.

There are five uninhabited islands:

Kachelotplate
Lütje Hörn
Memmert
Minsener Oog (artificial island)
Mellum (east of the mouth of the Jade river, by some sources therefore not considered part of the East Frisian Islands anymore)
Großer Knechtsand (further east, not part of the East Frisian Islands anymore)

Two more islands, Memmert south of Juist, and Mellum east of Wangerooge are uninhabited. Another very small island, Lütje Hörn east of Borkum is in constant danger of being washed away. In 2003 the German Coastal Defence (NLWK) announced that the sandbank Kachelotplate can now be called an island too, because it is no longer regularly flooded by high tide. However, it is not larger than 2 km² and will of course remain unsettled. Kachelotplate is located north of the mouth of the Ems river.

Most of the islands do not allow cars. The exceptions are Borkum and Norderney, which are also the most crowded islands. There are no bridges connecting the mainland with the islands. Each island is accessible by ferry.

Borkum and Norderney, the Nazi labour camps on Alderney were named after the islands.

The islands and the surrounding sea are part of the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park.

[edit] Effects of storms and currents

Even though today they are established islands, some of them continue to be in motion. On the East Frisian island of Juist for example, since the year 1650 there are five different proven sites for the church, as the spot for rebuilding the church had to keep pace with the ever-moving island. At times, Juist even consisted of two islands, which eventually grew back together. The neighboring island of Wangerooge in the last 300 years has moved a distance equivalent to its own length to the east, its church tower, destroyed at the outbreak of World War I apparently moving from east to west.^[1]

In this process, land is slowly eroded on the western coasts, while sediments are deposited on the eastern coasts. As a result, western coasts are increasingly protected by human action. The canals between the islands serve as passages for the tides, so that in these places the scouring action of current prevents the islands gradually joining one to another.