World Heritage Identification Number: 898
World Heritage since: 2000
Category: Natural Heritage
Transboundary Heritage: Yes
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: Finland, Sweden
Continent: NA
UNESCO World Region: Europe and North America
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Understanding Post-Glacial Rebound: A Journey Through the High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago
The High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000, offers a captivating glimpse into the intricate processes that have shaped the Earth's surface over millennia. Situated in the Gulf of Bothnia, a northern extension of the Baltic Sea, this site encompasses two distinct regions: the High Coast in Sweden and the Kvarken Archipelago in Finland.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
The Kvarken Archipelago (Finland) and the High Coast (Sweden) are situated in the Gulf of Bothnia, a northern extension of the Baltic Sea. The 5,600 islands of the Kvarken Archipelago feature unusual ridged washboard moraines, ‘De Geer moraines’, formed by the melting of the continental ice sheet, 10,000 to 24,000 years ago. The Archipelago is continuously rising from the sea in a process of rapid glacio-isostatic uplift, whereby the land, previously weighed down under the weight of a glacier, lifts at rates that are among the highest in the world. As a consequence islands appear and unite, peninsulas expand, and lakes evolve from bays and develop into marshes and peat fens. The High Coast has also been largely shaped by the combined processes of glaciation, glacial retreat and the emergence of new land from the sea. Since the last retreat of the ice from the High Coast 9,600 years ago, the uplift has been in the order of 285 m which is the highest known ''rebound''. The site affords outstanding opportunities for the understanding of the important processes that formed the glaciated and land uplift areas of the Earth''s surface.
Encyclopedia Record: High Coast
The High Coast is a part of the coast of Sweden on the Gulf of Bothnia, in the Ångermanland province of northeast Sweden, centered in the area of the municipalities of Kramfors, Härnösand and Örnsköldsvik. It is notable as an area for research on post-glacial rebound and eustacy, in which the land rises as the covering glaciers melt, a phenomenon first recognised and studied there. Since the last ice age, the land has risen 300 meters, which accounts for the region's unusually tall cliffs. The High Coast and the Finnish Kvarken constitute the Swedish/Finnish High Coast/Kvarken Archipelago UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its exceptional geology and unique example of isostatic rebound.Additional Site Details
Area: 336,900 hectares
Coordinates: 63.3 , 21.3
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© Rialfver, CC BY-SA 3.0 Resized from original. (This derivative is under the same CC BY-SA license.)