The Ice Age created the uniqueness of Kvarken Archipelago
The Ice Age has made Kvarken Achipelago one of the most unique nature sites in the world. The rocky and beautifully bare sea nature changes every year due to the land uplift phenomenon. This is why the Kvarken Archipelago, together with Sweden’s High Coast, has been selected as a World Heritage Site by Unesco.
A tree kilometre-thick layer of ice covered all of Kvarken
During the Ice Age, roughly 20 000 years ago, the heavy and thick ice sheet pressed the Earth’s crust down. When the ice finally began to melt, the Earth’s crust started to rise back up. 10 000 years ago, when the ice was completely gone, Kvarken was still 250 metres below sea level. This means that the entire Vaasa area was covered in water and the sea reached about 130–150 km of the Finnish inland.
It wasn’t until the beginning of our common era that the first land, small skerries, could be seen in Kvarken. These small skerries are nowadays the highest elevation of land in the Kvarken archipelago, Södra Vallgrund and Replot. And they are still only 20 metres above sea level.
A yearly uplift of nearly one centimetre
The land uplift phenomenon adds about eight millimetres to Kvarken every year. Due to this uplift, new islets and islands rise from the sea. A land uplift this fast is a globally unique phenomenon. The Kvarken archipelago is the only nature site on the international World Heritage Site list by Unesco.
Explore the World Heritage Site in different ways
By walking around Kalle’s Inn Resort, you will be able to concretely see how the Ice Age has shaped the surrounding nature. The thick ice contained lots of rocks and soil. When the ice started to melt, it left a massive trace of different stones and big boulders. This is why there are rocks everywhere in Kvarken. Every resident knows how well acquainted with the sea you must be to be able to travel by boat without running aground. Even the forest and the fields are full of rocks. Turning this land into fields has been hard work, since all rocks must be removed from the agricultural land.
