Hardangervidda
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Hardangervidda (Template:Langx)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> is a mountain plateau (Norwegian: vidde) in central southern Norway, covering parts of Vestland, Telemark, and Buskerud counties. It is the largest plateau of its kind in Europe, with a cold year-round alpine climate, and one of Norway's largest glaciers, Hardangerjøkulen, is situated here. Much of the plateau is protected as part of Hardangervidda National Park. Hardangervidda is a popular tourist and leisure destination, and it is ideal for many outdoor activities.<ref name="CRE">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref name="EB">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Geography and geologyEdit
Template:Further The plateau is the largest peneplain (eroded plain) in Europe, covering an area of about Template:Convert at an average elevation of Template:Convert. The highest point on the plateau is the Sandfloegga, which reaches a height of Template:Convert.<ref name="CRE" /><ref name="EB" />
The landscape of the Hardangervidda is characterised by barren, treeless moorland interrupted by numerous pools, lakes, rivers and streams. There are significant differences between the west side, which is dominated by rocky terrain and expanses of bare rock, and the east side, which is much flatter and more heavily vegetated. The climate also varies between the two sides: it is considerably wetter on the west side than on the east, with over Template:Convert per year recorded in some parts.<ref name="birks">"The Halne Area, Hardangervidda. Use of a High Mountain Area during 5000 Years – An Interdisciplinary Case Study", Dagfinn Moe, Svein Indrelid & Arthur Fasteland, in "The Cultural Landscape: Past, Present and Future", ed. Hilary H. Birks</ref> The prominent peak of Hårteigen Template:Convert is visible across much of the plateau.
Much of the Hardangervidda's geology is extremely ancient. The rolling fells of the Hardangervidda are the remnants of mountains that were worn down by the action of glaciers during the ice ages. The bedrock is mainly of Precambrian and Cambro-Silurian origin.<ref name="birks" />
The area of Hardangervidda was once part of the Sub-Cambrian peneplain before it was thrust over by the nappes of the Caledonian orogeny in Paleozoic times. Much later, in the Miocene epoch, the modern flatness of Hardangervidda took form as a peneplain formed at sea level. Then in Early Pliocene times Hardangervidda and the whole of southern Scandinavian Mountains were uplifted more than thousand meters.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Flora and faunaEdit
The whole of the Hardangervidda is above the tree line. Its alpine climate enables the presence of many species of arctic animals and plants further south than anywhere else in Europe. Its wild reindeer herds are among the largest in the world, with some 15,000 animals recorded in 1996 and about 8,000 in 2008. They migrate across the plateau during the year, moving from their winter grazing lands on the east side of the Hardangervidda, where they graze on lichen, to their breeding grounds in the more fertile west of the plateau. On 26 August 2016, 323 were killed by lightning, prompting a Norwegian Environment Agency discussion on whether to leave so many corpses in the open.<ref>"Lightning strike kills more than 300 reindeer in Norway", by Associated Press, via Global News</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The varying climate of the plateau has a marked effect on the flora, which is richer on the wetter west side than in the drier east; much of the plateau is covered by coarse grasses, mosses (especially sphagnum) and lichens.<ref name="birks" />
Ciclosporin, an immunosuppressant drug widely used in organ transplantation to prevent rejection was initially isolated from the fungus Tolypocladium inflatum (Beauveria nivea), found in a soil sample obtained in 1969 from Hardangervidda.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
In the Holocene climatic optimum (Stone Age) 9,000–5,000 years ago, the regional climate was warmer, and large parts of Hardangervidda were wooded; pine logs can still be found preserved in bogs well above today's treeline. With the predicted warming, Hardangervidda could again be largely wooded.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Visitor centresEdit
The national park has two visitor centres on the plateau: the Hardangervidda Natursenter (Nature Centre) in Eidfjord, and the Hardangervidda Nasjonalparksenter (National Park Centre) in Tinn at Skinnarbu, near the lake Møsvatnet, the town Rjukan and the mountain village Rauland.
Human settlementEdit
The Hardangervidda has been occupied for thousands of years; several hundred nomadic Stone Age settlements have been found in the area, most likely related to the migration of the reindeer. Ancient trails cross the plateau, linking western and eastern Norway. One example is the "Nordmannsslepa" linking Eidfjord and Veggli in the Numedal valley with Hol and Uvdal. It is still a key transit route between Oslo and Bergen. The Bergen Line and the main Norwegian National Road 7 cross the plateau.<ref name="CRE" />
National parkEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} In 1981, much of the Hardangervidda was designated a national park, Norway's largest at Template:Convert. The park's boundaries stretch from Numedal and Uvdal in the east and Røvelseggi and Ullensvang in the west. The Norwegian Mountain Touring Association (DNT) maintains a comprehensive network of huts and paths across the plateau. It is a popular destination for hiking, climbing and fishing, and in winter for cross-country skiing from hut to hut.<ref name="EB" />
In cultureEdit
Norwegian music projects Ildjarn and Nidhogg combined their talents to produce two ambient albums, one titled "Hardangervidda Part I" (2003) and the other "Hardangervidda Part II" (2003), inspired entirely by this zone.
The final two acts of the play When We Dead Awaken (Template:Langx) by Henrik Ibsen, are set in a mountain health resort in Hardangervidda.
Location shooting for the Hoth sequences in The Empire Strikes Back took place on the Hardangerjøkulen glacier.
The title theme of the Norwegian film O'Horten, by Norwegian composer Kaada, is titled "Across the Hardanger Mountain Plateau" and features a train crossing the area.
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
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- Hardangervidda national park route The perfect driving route to the fjords
- Norwegian Directorate for Nature, information on Hardangervidda National ParkTemplate:Dead link
- trekkingvisions Information about the Hardangervidda Trek
- Hardangervidda mountain plateau The official travel guide to Norway
- Map hiking