Editing Hardangervidda (section)

==Geography and geology==
{{further|Paleic surface}}
The plateau is the largest [[peneplain]] (eroded plain) in [[Europe]], covering an area of about {{convert|6500|km2|sqmi|-2|abbr=on}} at an average elevation of {{convert|1100|m}}. The highest point on the plateau is the [[Sandfloegga]], which reaches a height of {{convert|1721|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}.<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 {{convert|1000|mm}} 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]] {{convert|1690|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} 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 [[Cambrian|Cambro]]-[[Silurian]] origin.<ref name="birks" />

The area of Hardangervidda was once part of the [[Sub-Cambrian peneplain]] before it was [[fold and thrust belt|thrust over]] by the [[nappe]]s 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 [[Pliocene|Early Pliocene]] times Hardangervidda and the whole of southern [[Scandinavian Mountains]] were uplifted more than thousand meters.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Japsen |first1=Peter |last2=Green |first2=Paul F. |last3=Chalmers |first3=James A.|last4=Bonow |first4=Johan M.|date=17 May 2018 |title=Mountains of southernmost Norway: uplifted Miocene peneplains and re-exposed Mesozoic surfaces |url=https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Mountains_of_southernmost_Norway_uplifted_Miocene_peneplains_and_re-exposed_Mesozoic_surfaces/6205187/1/files/11279537.pdf |journal=Journal of the Geological Society |volume=175 |issue=5 |pages=721–741 |doi=10.1144/jgs2017-157 |bibcode=2018JGSoc.175..721J |s2cid=134575021 }}</ref>

[[File:Harteigen.jpg|thumb|160px|left|[[Hårteigen]], a characteristic mountain on Hardangervidda]]
[[File:Hardangerviddaflora.jpg|thumb|160px|right|Hardangervidda landscape]]
[[File:Hardangervidda-Flechten.JPG|thumb|160px|right|[[Map lichen]] on a rock of the Hardangervidda]]