Bohuslän

Bohuslän (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈbûːhʉːsˌlɛːn] ^ⓘ) is a Swedish province in Götaland, on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea to the west, and the county of Østfold, in Norway, to the north. In English it literally means Bohus County, although it shared counties with the city of Gothenburg prior to the 1998 county merger and thus was not an administrative unit in its own right.

Bohuslän is named after the medieval Norwegian castle of Bohus (Norwegian: Båhus). Under the name Båhuslen (Bohuslen in Danish), it was a Norwegian county from the Norwegian conquest of the region from the Geats and subsequent unification of the country in the 870s until the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658, when the union of Denmark–Norway was forced to cede this county, as well as Skåneland (part of Denmark proper), to Sweden.

As of 31 December 2016^[update], the number of inhabitants was 299,087, giving a population density of 68 inhabitants per square kilometre (180/sq mi).

The provinces of Sweden serve no administrative function. That function is served by the counties of Sweden instead. For centuries, the administrative county for Bohuslän was Gothenburg and Bohus County, and, as its name implies, it consisted of the entire Bohuslän province together with the city Gothenburg. In 1998, some Swedish counties were merged to reduce administration costs. Gothenburg and Bohus County were merged into the new, much larger Västra Götaland County.

Bohuslän was granted its arms at the time of the funeral for Charles X Gustav of Sweden in 1660. It was identical to the arms of the Town of Kungälv. In 1962 the higher claim of the town was established and a variation for the arms of the county was introduced. The coat of arms is surmounted by a ducal coronet. Blazon: 'Argent, a Castle embattled Gules with one embattled Tower of the same and two doors Or hinged Sable between a Sword point upwards and Lion rampant holding the Tower both Azure langued and armed Or."

Bohuslän is distinguished by its rocky coast bordering an archipelago: there are about 3,000 islands and 5,000 islets (skerries). These make up the northern part of the Gothenburg archipelago, Sweden's second largest after Stockholm archipelago. In the past, the seascape was renowned for its many reefs and sunken rocks which caused many shipwrecks. Two of the largest islands, Orust and Tjörn, are their own municipalities. Both islands have a distinct culture and history. The highest point is Björnepiken at 222 meters.

Sweden's only threshold fjord, Gullmarn or Gullmarsfjorden, is located near Lysekil. It is 25 kilometres (16 mi) long and 1 to 3 kilometres (0.62 to 1.86 mi) wide with a maximum depth of 118.5 metres (389 ft). The fjord is home to unique marine life.

Bohuslän's coastline was ranked 7th among the world's last great wilderness areas by CNN Travel.