World Heritage Photos

High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago: Nowhere else in the world has the land uplift been so extensive after the latest Ice Age as here. During the Ice Age, the High Coast and the Kvarken Archipelago were pressed down by glaciers. As the ice began to melt, the land slowly began to rise. Since the ice sheet retreated from the High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago about 9,600 years ago the land has risen 285 meters above the present sea level. The current land uplift is 8 mm per year. The 5,600 islands of the Kvarken Archipelago features unusual ridged washboard moraines, also called De Geer Moraines, formed by the melting of the continental ice sheet 10,000 to 24,000 years ago. Due to the land uplift, the High Coast and the Kvarken Archipelago are continuously rising from the sea. No one knows how much more the land is going to rise before the High Coast and the Kvarken Archipelago have returned to their original position. Everywhere you can see the special geological formations carved by the ice sheet that once covered the region. People have been living in the High Coast and Kvarken Archipelago ever since the ice melted, supporting themselves through fishing, hunting and agriculture. The High Coast is part of the east coast of Sweden on the Gulf of Bothnia, the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea, the Kvarken Archipelago is part of the west coast of Finland on the Gulf of Bothnia. The Swedish High Coast was declared a UNESCO World Heritage in 2000. The UNESCO World Heritage was extended to include the Finnish Kvarken Archipelago in 2006. This fascinating area is a natural World Heritage Site. 

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   High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago: The Högakustenbron, the High Coast Bridge is part of the High Coast Trail, which leads through the impressive landscape of the High Coast in Sweden. The High Coast Bridge is a suspension bridge across the 1400 metres wide Ängermanálven River. The bridge was constructed in the period 1993-1997 and is made of concrete and steel, the height of the pillars is 180 metres, the total length of the bridge is 1876 metres. The High Coast Bridge is part of the UNESCO World Heritage: High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago.

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   The High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago has the largest land uplift in the world. Since the ice sheet retreated from the High Coast and the Kvarken Archipelago about 9,600 years ago the land has risen 285 metres above the present sea level, the process of rising land is still taken place today, the current land uplift is 8 mm per year. No one knows how much more the land is going to rise before the High Coast and Kvarken Archipelago have returned to their original position.

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   High Coast Kvarken / Archipelago: A field of flowering rosebay willowherb in the High Coast. During the Latest Ice Age, Scandinavia was covered by a thick layer of ice. The ice cover over the High Coast was three kilometres thick and pressed down the land underneath. Much later when the weather became warmer, the ice began to melt and the land slowly started to rise. The High Coast was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000.

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   High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago: The striking landscape of the High Coast nearby Nordingrå. The coastline is continuously rising out of the Gulf of Bothnia, a geological process known as post glacial rebound. The High Coast and the Kvarken Archipelago area was pressed down by glaciers, as the ice sheet began to melt, the land slowly began to rise. The highest points in the landscape are the wooded hilltops.

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   High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago: A small arm of the Gulf of Bothnia and new land from the sea in the Swedish High Coast. The landscape is continuously changing shape due to the post glacial rebound about 9,600 years ago. New islands rise out of the Baltic Sea, bays become separated from the sea and become lakes and wetlands. The ice sheet that once covered Scandinavia has transformed the landscape of the High Coast and Kvarken Archipelago for ever.

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   The High Coast and the Kvarken Archipelago are the best places in the world to observe and understand the concept of the post glacial rebound, also called glacial isostatic adjustment or crustal rebound, which means that the crust of the earth is returning to its original position after having been pressed down by heavy glaciers over a series of glacial periods. When the ice sheet melted the earth began to rise upwards to its original position.

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   High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago: The church of Ullånger is a medieval building, it was built of gray stone, the church houses a medieval reliquary, known as the Ullånger shrine. Ullånger is one of the tiny villages in the High Coast region in Sweden along the High Coast Trail. The trail passes through the High Coast area from the south border nearby Hornöberget to the north border of the High Coast area nearby the Högakustenbron, the High Coast Bridge.

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   High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago: The 17th century pittoresque fishing village of Bönhamn in Sweden. Bönhamn is an isolated hamlet on the southern edge of the High Coast. Almost every house has its own pier. Bönhamn lies enclosed by wooded hillsides on a small peninsula in the Gulf of Bothnia. People have been living in the High Coast and Kvarken Archipelago ever since the ice melted, supporting themselves through fishing, hunting and agriculture.

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   High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago: The Nora Church is situated in Kramfors, a small village in the stunning landscape of the High Coast in Sweden. The Nora Church was built in 1786, some parts of the inventory are older, including an image of the Virgin Mary and the remains of a font. The High Coast is part of the Swedish east coast on the Gulf of Bothnia and the Kvarken Archipelago is part of the Finnish west coast on the Gulf of Bothnia.

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    High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago: An idyllic place on the Gulf of Bothnia in Finland. The High Coast became a UNESCO World Heritage in 2000 and was extended to include the Kvarken Archipelago in 2006. The Kvarken Archipelago is situated in Finland, the High Coast in Sweden, both on the Gulf of Bothnia. Nowhere else in the world has the land uplift been so extensive after the latest Ice Age as in the High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago.  

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    The High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago is a natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Gulf of Bothnia is an extension of the Baltic Sea, it is bordered in the west by the High Coast in Sweden and in the east by the Kvarken Archipelago in Finland. The High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago is a transboundary UNESCO World Heritage. The High Coast gained the status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000 and was extended in 2006 to include the Kvarken Archipelago in Finland.

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    High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago: The 295 metres high Skuleberget, the Skule Mountain. The Skuleberget, Skule Mountain, offers beautiful views of the shoreline of the Swedish High Coast. The unique landscape of the High Coast is characterized by steep granite cliffs, hillsides covered by woodland, wooded valleys with grassy meadow, deep bays and rocky islands rising out of the Gulf of Bothnia, a northern extension of the Baltic Sea.

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    High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago: The 5600 islands of the Finnish Kvarken Archipelago features unusual ridged washboard moraines, known as De Geer Moraines, formed by the melting of the continental ice sheet 10,000 to 24,000 years ago. Every year a square kilometre new land rises in the Kvarken Archipelago. The Kvarken Archipelago is situated in Finland, the archipelago is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site: High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago.

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    The High Coast in Sweden and the Kvarken Archipelago in Finland show how the glacial periods, the glacial rebound and the forces of the sea has affected the landscape and its flora and fauna, it makes the High Coast and the Kvarken Archipelago unique in the world. The High Coast and Kvarken Archipelago has the largest land uplift in the world. Together, the High Coast and the Kvarken Archipelago form a transboundary UNESCO World Heritage.