Styggforsen
| Styggforsen | |
|---|---|
 The upper cascade of Styggforsen waterfall | |
 | |
| Location | Dalarna, Sweden |
| Coordinates | 61°00′00″N 15°11′00″E / 61.00000°N 15.18333°E |
| Total height | 36 metres (118 ft) |
| Watercourse | Styggforsån |
Styggforsen is a waterfall and a nature reserve located in Dalarna County, Sweden. It is part of the European Union-wide Natura 2000 network.[1]
Geography
[edit]The waterfall is located in the village of Boda, 20 kilometres north of Rättvik. It lies at the eastern edge of the Siljan Ring,[2] a prehistoric impact crater formed 377 million years ago during the Devonian period. This crater was created when a bolide, estimated to be about 4 kilometres in diameter and traveling at around 100,000 kilometres per hour, struck the Earth's surface.[3] The impact caused a significant vertical realignment of the horizontal rock strata and created a bedrock depression, resulting in many of the geological features present today, such as Lake Siljan to the southwest and Styggforsen itself.
The Styggforsån river is interrupted by the 36-meter-high Styggforsen waterfall, which is composed of a column of Ordovician limestone. The waterfall's base meets a dike of brecciated quartz believed to predate the impact event.[4] This site is popular with tourists and features a circular path about one kilometre long that leads to a cave called Troll Hole. During the summer, a cafe is open, and there is an information centre nearby.
Flora and fauna
[edit]In 1979, a nature reserve of approximately 12 hectares was established around the waterfall, and in 2005, it was incorporated into the Natura 2000 network.[1] The area's moist climate supports a diverse range of lichens, mosses, and plants, including the rare orchid Epipactis atrorubens,[5] Additionally, it provides a habitat for many insect species, including Venusia cambrica, Hyloicus pinastri, and Epirrhoe alternata.[6] Within the nature reserve, picking flowers and any activities that could affect the environment are strictly prohibited.
Trivia
[edit]Ingmar Bergman's film, The Virgin Spring, used Styggforsen as one of its locations.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Styggforsen (SE0620088)". Natura 2000. European Environment Agency. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
- ^ Juhlin, Christopher; Sturkell, Erik; Ebbestad, Jan Ove R. (December 2012). "A new interpretation of the sedimentary cover in the western Siljan Ring area, central Sweden, based on seismic data". Tectonophysics. 580: 88–99. doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2012.08.040. hdl:10037/4985.
- ^ Reimold, Wolf U.; Kelley, Simon P.; Sherlock, Sarah C. (April 2005). "Laser argon dating of melt breccias from the Siljan impact structure, Sweden: Implications for a possible relationship to Late Devonian extinction events". Meteoritics & Planetary Science. 40 (4): 591–607. doi:10.1111/j.1945-5100.2005.tb00965.x.
- ^ Lindström, Maurits; Schmitz, Birger (20 August 2008). "Palaeozoic impact craters" (PDF). www.iugs.org. pp. 22–23. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
- ^ Bremer, Fredrika (1845). I Dalarna, Volume 7 (in Swedish). p. 149.
- ^ Tutt, James William; Burr, Malcolm (1998). "List of species". The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation. 110: 61, 63–64.
- ^ "The Virgin Spring". ingmarbergman.se. Retrieved 4 July 2015.