Styggforsen

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Styggforsen
Styggforsen waterfall
The upper cascade of Styggforsen waterfall
LocationDalarna, Sweden
Coordinates61°00′00″N 15°11′00″E / 61.00000°N 15.18333°E / 61.00000; 15.18333Coordinates: 61°00′00″N 15°11′00″E / 61.00000°N 15.18333°E / 61.00000; 15.18333
Total height36 metres (118 ft)
WatercourseStyggforsån

Styggforsen is a waterfall and a nature reserve in Dalarna County, Sweden. It is part of the European Union-wide Natura 2000 network.[1]

Geography[]

The waterfall is located in the village of Boda, 20 kilometres to the north of Rättvik. It lies at the eastern edge of the Siljan Ring,[2] a prehistoric impact crater which was formed 377 million years ago during the Devonian period when a meteorite struck the Earth's surface.[3] The bolide was estimated to be about 4 kilometres in diameter and was travelling at around 100,000 kilometres per hour, causing a vertical realignment of the horizontal rock strata and a depression of the bedrock upon collision. This had a profound effect upon the local environment, creating many of the geological features which exist to this day such as Lake Siljan to the south-west and Styggforsen.

The river is interrupted by the waterfall which is 36 meters high and composed of a column of Ordovician limestone. The base of the waterfall abuts a dike of brecciated quartz which is believed to predate the impact event.[4] The site is popular with tourists and it is encompassed by a circular path of about one kilometre that leads down to a cave called Troll Hole. A cafe is open during the summer time and there is also an information centre nearby.

Flora and fauna[]

In 1979, a nature reserve approximately 12 hectares in size was established around the waterfall, and in 2005 it was incorporated into the Natura 2000 network.[1] Its moist climate is favoured by many lichens, mosses and plants, such as the rare orchid Epipactis atrorubens which grows there.[5] It also provides a habitat for many species of insects which include Venusia cambrica, Hyloicus pinastri and Epirrhoe alternata.[6] Picking flowers and doing anything to affect the environment is forbidden within the confines of the nature reserve.

Trivia[]

Ingmar Bergman's film, The Virgin Spring, used Styggforsen as one of its locations.[7]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Styggforsen". www.natura2000.eea.europa.eu. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Lindström, Maurits; Schmitz, Birger (20 August 2008). "Palaeozoic impact craters" (PDF). www.iugs.org. pp. 22–23. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  5. ^ Bremer, Fredrika (1845). I Dalarna, Volume 7 (in Swedish). p. 149.
  6. ^ Tutt, James William; Burr, Malcolm (1998). "List of species". The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation. 110: 61, 63–64.
  7. ^ "The Virgin Spring". ingmarbergman.se. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
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