Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BIGGEST & HIGHEST
Jostedalsbreen
(
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) is continental Europe's largest icecap.
Sognefjorden
(
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), Norway's longest fjord at 203km (second only in the
world to Greenland's Scoresby Sund), is 1308m deep, making it the world's second-
deepest fjord (after Skelton Inlet in Antarctica). Hardangerfjord (
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) is
800m deep and is, at 179km, the second-longest fjord network in Norway and the
third-longest in the world.
Galdhøpiggen
(
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; 2469m) is the highest mountain in northern Europe.
Hardangervidda
(
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), at 900m above sea level, is Europe's largest and
highest plateau.
Utigårdsfossen
, a glacial stream that flows into Nesdalen and Lovatnet from Joste-
dalsbreen (not readily accessible to tourists), is placed by some authorities as the
third-highest waterfall in the world at 800m, including a single vertical drop of
600m. Other Norwegian waterfalls among the 10 highest in the world are Espe-
landsfossen (703m; Hardangerfjord); Mardalsfossen (655m; Eikesdal); and
Tyssestrengene (646m in multiple cascades;
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), near Odda. Vøringsfossen (
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) is one of Norway's most visited natural landmarks.
Norway's fjords are a relatively recent phenomenon in geological terms. Although Nor-
wegian geological history stretches back 1.8 billion years, the fjords were not carved out
until much later. During the glacial periods over this time, the elevated highland plateaus
that ranged across central Norway subsided at least 700m due to an ice sheet up to 2km
thick. The movement of this ice, driven by gravity down former river courses, gouged out
the fjords and valleys and created the surrounding mountains by sharpening peaks and ex-
posing high cliffs of bare rock. The fjords took on their present form when sea levels rose
as the climate warmed following the last Ice Age (which ended around 10,000 years ago),
flooding into the new valleys left behind by melting and retreating glaciers. Sea levels are
thought to have risen by as much as 100m, creating fjords whose waters can seem impos-
sibly deep.
Not surprisingly Norway's fjords have many admirers. In 2005, Unesco inscribed Geir-
angerfjord andNærøyfjord ontheir WorldHeritage List because they 'are classic, superbly
developed fjords', which are 'among the most scenically outstanding fjord areas on the
planet'. And then there are travellers who are drawn again and again to the water's edge or
alonganarrowtrailhundredsofmetresabovetheshoreline,tomarvelatthesilent,pristine
drama of these remarkable cathedrals of ice and rock.
