A geopark is an area with a geology of international importance – something unique which you will not find anywhere else in the world. The landscape around Platåbergen contains several geological phenomena which are very special and deserve international attention. (The Swedish name Platåbergen literally means “the Plateau Mountains”.)
All around the globe, the continents of the earth are in constant movement. Our planet’s surface is made up of moving tectonic plates which can collide or slide underneath each other, resulting in volcanic eruptions. This is how oceans are born and die, how mountain ranges are built up and break down. It all takes very long time, of course – millions of years. In West Sweden, tectonic plates have collided and joined with an older plate to the east several times. The various rocks found in Platåbergens Geopark have formed deep within the earth but also at shallow depths, in connection to volcanic eruptions. There are also rocks here formed from sediment, which have become pressed together under high pressure and high temperatures, transforming them into stone.
Earth’s continents are in constant movement around the globe. Our planet’s outer layer consists of plates that move and can collide or slide beneath each other, resulting in earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. This is how oceans are born and die, how mountain ranges are created and worn down. Of course, this all happens across very long periods of time – millions of years. West Sweden has seen several plate collisions where plates have merged with an older continental crust to the east. Some of the rocks in Platåbergens Geopark have formed deep down inside the earth, and some have formed closer to the earth’s crust. But we can also find rocks formed from sediment, which became exposed to high pressure and temperatures and thus turned to stone.
Platåbergens Geopark contains geological phenomena and sites that are unique to this area or can only be found in few places around the world. Its geological history stretches 1,700 million years into the past! The following phenomena are of special international interest:
- The peneplain
- The table mountains
- Quaternary geology and ice age deposits.