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Old Traces

The bedrock in Møre og Romsdal is very old. The rock upon which you stand here at Prestaksla, is called migmatitic gneiss, and was originally formed more than 1650 million years ago. During the Caledonian mountain range folding 400 million years ago the bedrock was transformed deep down in the earth´s crust. High temperature made the original rock partly melt before it cooled and solidified into its present form. Processes through many million years have slowly led the rocks back to the surface.

The migmatitic gneiss is clearly visible on the bare rocks here at the top of Prestaksla. It consists of light quartz and feldspar, and grey mica.

In the south you can see Eresfjord, with high mountains and steep hills stretching down to the deep fjord. The rugged landscape is a result of a combination of the elevation of the landscape through dozens of million years, and the eroding powers of the glaciers which have shaped the valleys and fjords the last 1-2 million years. The mountain sides and the fjord reflect a big U- shaped valley, and the pointed pinnacles were formerly nunataks, mountains rising up from the previous ice cap.

On the flat rocky ground at the top of Prestaksla, there are several big boulders. These are so called "erratic blocks", glacial moving blocks, that have been frozen and transported inside the moving ice. When the ice melted, they were left, often miles away from the place they originally came.

Photos

Fog in Eresfjord. It might be a view not very different from a time when the glaciers once shaped the landscape here.

The gneiss here was formed 1650 million years ago.