High Coast

Template:Short description Template:More citations needed Template:Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site The High Coast (Template:Langx) 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,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> which accounts for the region's unusually tall cliffs. The High Coast and the Finnish Kvarken constitute the Swedish/Finnish Template:Ill UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its exceptional geology and unique example of isostatic rebound.<ref name = "unesco">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

GeologyEdit

The relief of the High Coast is that of a large scale joint valley terrain that dissects uplifted remnants of the Sub-Cambrian peneplain.<ref name=Karna>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=Lidmar-BergstromOlvmo2015>Template:Cite report</ref>

During the Ice Ages of the past 2-3 million years, the High Coast was repeatedly covered by continental ice sheet, including the Fennoscandian ice sheet until roughly 9600 years ago.<ref name = "unesco"/><ref name = "iucn">Template:Cite report</ref> When the glaciers retreated from the High Coast, the ground, which had been compacted by the weight of the ice sheet, went through rapid uplift, a process known as isostatic rebound. This rebound caused an uplift of roughly 285 meters, the highest known isostatic rebound on Earth.<ref name = "unesco"/> The region is still rising, on the order of 8 mm per year.<ref name = "nominate">Template:Cite report</ref> Remains of the former shorelines can be seen along the High Coast.<ref name = "iucn"/>

Some of the fish species found in the High Coast are relict species from the most recent ice age, including the Fourhorn sculpin.<ref name = "nominate"/> Other animal species resident to the high coast include brown bears, lynx, and moose.<ref name = "iucn"/>

HistoryEdit

The area known today as Höga Kusten has historically been known as the Ångermanland Coast.<ref>Johan Nordlander 1853-1934 Gävlebornas fiskefärder till Ångermanlands kust 1924 (Trips to the Ångermanland coast by fishermen from Gävle)</ref><ref>Lars Silén. Några ryggradslösa havsdjur från Ångermanlands kust (utanför Ulvön); Svensk faunistisk revy; 1955(17):4, s. 110-114Marine invertebrates from the Ångermanland coast (outside Ulvön). Included in the Swedish Revue of Fauna 1955 (17):4 pp 110-114</ref> In 1974, the term High Coast (Template:Langx) was coined in connection with a report on the area.<ref>Höga Kustenutredningen. Huvudrapport Höga Kusten-kommittén. Härnösand: Kommittén, 1974 (Swedish) 329 s., 5 maps (Main report from the High Coast Committee. Härnösand 1974.</ref>

In 2000, UNESCO put the area on the World Heritage List:

"The High Coast site affords outstanding opportunities for the understanding of the important processes that formed the glaciated and land uplift areas of the Earth's surface."<ref name = "unesco"/>

In 2006, the High Coast was joined with the Finnish Kvarken areas.<ref name = "unesco"/> The World Heritage Site ranges from the High Coast Bridge (Swedish: Högakustenbron) in the South to Skagsudde in the North.

ReferencesEdit

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BibliographyEdit

Bergström, Lars (1975). Höga kusten: natur, människor och tradition längs kusten från Sundsvall till Örnsköldsvik - ett av Sveriges vackraste och mest särpräglade landskap Template:ISBN Stockholm : Bonniers 1975 80pp (The High Coast: the landscape, people and traditions along the coast from Sundsvall to Örnsköldsvik - one of Sweden's most beautiful and distinctive landscapes) (Swedish)

External linksEdit

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