The Curonian Spit is a unique, original piece of land and the second largest dune of Europe. The length of it is 97km with 52km belonging to Lithuania and 47km belonging to Königsberg/ Russia. The western peninsula's shore is washed by the Baltic Sea and the eastern one by the Curonian Lagoon. At the end of the year 2000, the Curonian Spit was included into UNESCO world heritage list as a cultural object. Since 2001, the Blue Flag was granted to the Nida beach by the decision of the European Blue Flag Council. In 2004, this flag was granted to Juokrante beach as well. The beaches meet the international requirements given for these resort zones.
The Curonian Spit is the second largest dune formation in Europe and separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea. It is an outstanding example of a landscape of sand dunes that is under constant threat from natural forces (wind and tide). Therefore it is in constant motion. The coast has been formed by hydrological processes, i.e. a streaming parallel to the coastline forming an underwater channel which transports much of the sand to Nida and building up two to three small sand hills there. Winds from the southwest transporting sediments during the Atlantic period are responsible for the present shape of the Curonian Spit. This can be seen by the form of the dune and the composition of the sediments found today (glauconite and phosphorite). These sediments are typical for this period and have been washed out of the paleogenetic layers of the Sambian-Isle. 300,000 to 1,000,000 cubic meters of sand are transported per year. The main reason for this is the coastal erosion. It has its climax during storms near the Sambian-Isle at 5 to 6 meters under water.
Please stick strickly to the rules given to you when going there by ferry and keep the nature intact.
To log the waymark please post a photo of you or your GPS at the dune.