Tõstamaa Parish is a rural municipality

Municipalities of Estonia

A Municipality is the smallest administrative subdivision of Estonia. Each municipality is a unit of self-government with its representative and executive bodies. The municipalities in Estonia cover the entire territory of the country....

 in southwestern Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

. It is a part of Pärnu County

Pärnu County

Pärnu County , or Pärnumaa , is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in south-western part of the country, on the coast of Gulf of Riga, and borders Lääne and Rapla counties to the north, Järva and Viljandi counties to the east, and Latvia to the south...

. The municipality has a population of 1,572 (as of 1 January 2009) and covers an area of 261.01 km².

Tõstamaa Parish covers part of the flat seashore of western Pärnu County, a low, swampy coastal area bordered by an elevated chain of sand dune

Dune

In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind...

s. Behind the dunes spreads a slightly wavy drumlin

Drumlin

A drumlin, from the Irish word droimnín , first recorded in 1833, is an elongated whale-shaped hill formed by glacial ice acting on underlying unconsolidated till or ground moraine.-Drumlin formation:...

, where higher places have been reclaimed, but lower ones have remained swamp

Swamp

A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...

y or meadow

Meadow

A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...

land and covered with scattered foliage. And, although Tõstamaa should mean "high land", its populace have long lived not off the land, but off the sea.

Several islands and islets in the Gulf of Riga

Gulf of Riga

The Gulf of Riga, or Bay of Riga, is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. According to C.Michael Hogan, a saline stratification layer is found at a depth of approximately seventy metres....

, including Sorgu

Sorgu

Sorgu is a uninhabited Estonian islet in the Gulf of Riga. It's located about southeast of the island of Manilaid. Administratively Sorgu belongs to the Manija village in Tõstamaa Parish, Pärnu County....

 and Manilaid

Manilaid

Manilaid is a Estonian islet in the Gulf of Riga, located between the island of Kihnu and the mainland's Tõstamaa peninsula. Together with the neighbouring smaller uninhabited islets Sorgu and Anilaid, Manilaid forms the village of Manija...

, belong to Tõstamaa Parish.

Tõstamaa is home to the historic Tõstamaa Keskkool

Tõstamaa Keskkool

Tõstamaa Secondary School is a secondary school in Tõstamaa, Estonia. It's located in a manor house since the 1921-1922 academic year. The children of Tõstamaa have been schooled for more than three centuries....

.

Settlements

Small borough:
Tõstamaa

Tõstamaa

Tõstamaa is a small borough in Pärnu County, southwestern Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Tõstamaa Parish. Tõstamaa has a population of 572 ....

Villages:
Alu

Alu, Pärnu County

Alu is a village in Tõstamaa Parish, Pärnu County, in southwestern Estonia. It has a population of 18 .-External links:*...

 - Ermistu

Ermistu

Ermistu is a village in Tõstamaa Parish, Pärnu County, in southwestern Estonia. It has a population of 55 .Lake Ermistu is located on the western side of the village....

 - Kastna

Kastna, Pärnu County

Kastna is a village in Tõstamaa Parish, Pärnu County, in southwestern Estonia, on the coast of Gulf of Riga. It has a population of 51 .Kastna Manor was first mentioned in 1228.Kastna St. Arsenius Orthodox church was built in 1904....

 - Kavaru

Kavaru

Kavaru is a village in Tõstamaa Parish, Pärnu County, in southwestern Estonia, on the coast of the Gulf of Riga. It has a population of 48 .Kavaru was first mentioned in 1624 as Kawer....

 - Kiraste

Kiraste

Kiraste is a village in Tõstamaa Parish, Pärnu County, in southwestern Estonia. It has a population of 19 .-External links:*...

 - Kõpu

Kõpu, Pärnu County

Kõpu is a village in Tõstamaa Parish, Pärnu County, in southwestern Estonia. It has a population of 11 .In 1873 the Pootsi-Kõpu Holy Trinity Apostolic Orthodox church was built....

 - Lao

Lao, Estonia

Lao is a village in Tõstamaa Parish, Pärnu County, in southwestern Estonia. It's located on the top of the Tõstamaa peninsula, on the coast of the Gulf of Riga. Lao has a population of 31 ....

 - Lõuka

Lõuka

Lõuka is a village in Tõstamaa Parish, Pärnu County, in southwestern Estonia. It's located just east of Tõstamaa, the administrative centre of the municipality. Lõuka has a population of 50 ....

 - Manija

Manilaid

Manilaid is a Estonian islet in the Gulf of Riga, located between the island of Kihnu and the mainland's Tõstamaa peninsula. Together with the neighbouring smaller uninhabited islets Sorgu and Anilaid, Manilaid forms the village of Manija...

 - Männikuste

Männikuste

Männikuste is a village in Tõstamaa Parish, Pärnu County, in southwestern Estonia. It has a population of 103 .Lake Tõhela is located on the western side of the village.-External links:*...

 - Päraküla

Päraküla, Pärnu County

Päraküla is a village in Tõstamaa Parish, Pärnu County, in southwestern Estonia. It has a population of 11 ....

 - Peerni

Peerni

Peerni is a village in Tõstamaa Parish, Pärnu County, in southwestern Estonia, on the coast of the Gulf of Riga. It has a population of 22 ....

 - Pootsi

Pootsi

Pootsi is a village in Tõstamaa Parish, Pärnu County, in southwestern Estonia. It has a population of 79 .-Notable people:*Platon , Orthodox bishop and saint...

 - Rammuka

Rammuka, Pärnu County

Rammuka is a village in Tõstamaa Parish, Pärnu County, in southwestern Estonia. It has a population of 29 .Rammuka is bordered by Lake Ermistu to the east and Lake Tõhela to the northeast, Tõhela bog is located between the lakes....

 - Ranniku

Ranniku

Ranniku is a village in Tõstamaa Parish, Pärnu County, in southwestern Estonia. It's located just west of Tõstamaa, the administrative centre of the municipality, on the coast of Gulf of Riga. It has a population of 28 .-External links:...

 - Seliste

Seliste

Seliste is a village in Tõstamaa Parish, Pärnu County, in southwestern Estonia. It's located on the southwestern side of Tõstamaa Peninsula on the coast of Gulf of Riga. Seliste has a population of 157 ....

 - Tõhela

Tõhela

Tõhela is a village in Tõstamaa Parish, Pärnu County, in southwestern Estonia. It has a population of 51 .Tõhela was first mentioned in 1518 as Toegel and Toigel...

 - Tõlli

Tõlli, Pärnu County

Tõlli is a village in Tõstamaa Parish, Pärnu County, in southwestern Estonia. It's located just southeast of Tõstamaa, the administrative centre of the municipality, on the coast of the Gulf of Riga. Tõlli has a population of 44 ....

 - Värati

Värati

Värati is a village in Tõstamaa Parish, Pärnu County, in southwestern Estonia. It's located just south of Tõstamaa, the administrative centre of the municipality. Värati has a population of 41 ....

External links

• Official website