Gloppedalsura is the largest stone scree in Northern Europe. It consists of enormous landslide rocks scattered over a moraine. An end moraine is a flat area of loose material located at the bottom of a glacier during a period when the glacier retreats.
Frost blasting set enormous forces in motion
More than 10,000 years ago the glaciers in the area melted, and a large end moraine dammed up the Hunnedalselva River towards Veen and Vikeså, and thus a lake formed in Byrkjedalsgryta. The next period of freezing caused an avalanche of enormous blocks of stone on the southern side of the mountain. We can only imagine the forces at work when this took place. The gigantic rocks that fell during this massive avalanche came to rest in the valley, forming a 100-metre-thick stone scree on top of the moraine. Hunnedalselva river and the water in Byrkjedalsgryta now had to find a new outlet and dug a ravine from Byrkjedal towards Gilja and Giljajuvet.
How to get to Gloppedalsura
Follow signs from FV503 to the car park. Accessibility: viewpoint directly from the car park.
