Döviken – Zorbcenter

Ancient shorelines

Here you can see obvious shorelines, a legacy from the last ice age. 20,000 years ago the inland ice, a sheet of ice several kilometres thick covered all the land nowadays defined as Sweden. The heavy ice weighted down the earth’s crust as much as 1,000 metres. As the climate grew milder and the ice melted the pressure on the crust was lessened and the land started rising again. As the ice melted the water level and the coastline moved down to the present coast in the Baltic Sea.

The ice pressed down Earth’s crust

För 20 000 år sedan låg inlandsisen flera kilometer tjock ovanpå det som i dag är Sverige. Isens tyngd tryckte ner jordskorpan ända upp till 1 000 meter. När klimatet blev varmare och isen smälte reste sig jordskorpan igen. Geologerna vet inte säkert men förmodligen hade isen försvunnit här i Ragunda för ungefär 10 000 år sedan.

An idea of how an inland ice appears. West-Antarctica inland ice. Photo: Professor Martin Jakobsson, Stockholm University.

Melting water formed new land areas

At the time when the inland ice melted the fastest, large masses of melting water flushed at full force through the landscape on the way towards the Baltic Sea. The water carried along sand and gravel together with lighter material. Eventually the masses of water slowed down and it was no longer possible to transport that much material. Sand and gravel were deposited on the bottom where they formed ridges and large sand-covered landscapes like here in Döviken - Zorbcenter.

Plateau of sandy ice river material. Photo: Peter Ladan.

Visible shorelines

At its peak the water level here was at 240 metres. The level is called the highest coastline. As the ice melted the water level and the coastline moved down to the present coast in the Baltic Sea. In Döviken three shorelines are clearly visible. The uppermost one is 8,000 years old at an altitude of 147 metres above sea level. The terrace below it is 7,000 years old at 139 metres a.s.l. The lowest line by the River Indalsälven is the shoreline from 1928. At that time the hydroelectric power station Hammarforsens kraftverk was inaugurated, 11 kilometres downstream. What you see here is the upper section of a large regulating dam. The next power station, Gammelänge, is 1.5 kilometres upstream.

Two out of three shorelines. Photo: William Sigurdsson.

More information

Theme Ice Age

Sites to visit on Theme Ice Age


More site photos

Indalsälvens strand vid Döviken. Foto: Souleiko Abdi Olade.
Indalsälvens strandkant i Döviken. Foto: Katarina Söderlund.
Sandig sluttning ned mot Indalsälven. Foto: Katarina Söderlund.

Places to visit nearby


Practicalities

Accessibility

See Accessibility.

Activities

Zorbcenter offers various activities at the site. See also Activities in Ragunda.

Eating and drinking

There are no permanent facilities at the site, but may on request be organised by Zorbcenter at the time of activities and events. See also Eating and drinking in Ragunda.

Accommodation

Zorbcenter offers the possibility to rent fully equipped cabins at the site. See also Accommodation in Ragunda.

Getting here

SWEREF 99 TM N: 7 002 340 E: 559 874
WGS84 N: 63,145371° E: 16,188014°

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