Sylt

 island, district

Sylt (Danish: Sild; Söl'ring North Frisian: Söl' ) is an island in northern Germany, part of Nordfrieslanddistrict, Schleswig-Holstein and well known for the distinct shape of its shoreline. It belongs to the North Frisian Islands. Sylt's area is 99 km². The distance from north to south is 35 km and from west to east 13 km. At its most narrow point, the island is less than 400 meters in breadth. The highest point is 52 meters. The island was once part of the mainland, and is still shrinking owing to erosion by the North Sea, which is common for most islands and shorelines in the region, which are slowly but constantly changing. The return of sand, that has been washed away from the beaches, costs several million euros every year and is only of limited effect, and significant loss of land is expected over the next decades. The island has 21,000 inhabitants.