Kinnekulle is a flat-topped mountain in the county of Västergötland,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, on the eastern shore of lake Vänern. Its highest point is above sea level. The mountain is long and wide at the top.

Geology

Despite its enormous size, Kinnekulle is actually the smaller remnant of a much larger plateau, long ago worn down to a flat plain. Some 550 million years ago, in the

Neoproterozoic Era The Neoproterozoic Era is the unit of geologic time from 1 billion to 538.8 million years ago. It is the last era of the Precambrian Supereon and the Proterozoic Eon; it is subdivided into the Tonian, Cryogenian, and Ediacaran periods. It is prec ...

, the bottom-most rock of the plateau was under the sea. Layers of sedimentary rock formed over that layer from sand, mud, and sea animal remains. About 200 million years ago, during the

Mesozoic era The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last Era (geology), era of Earth's Geologic time scale, geological history, lasting from about , comprising ...

, the area was uplifted above the sea. Tectonic activity forced molten lava through the sedimentary rock, creating sheetlike layers of

diabase Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro, is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-graine ...

. These layers, when present, protected the softer sedimentary rock beneath them from erosion, resulting in mesa-like mountains such as Kinnekulle and its neighbours.

History

The historic town and church of Husaby are located on the south side of the Kinnekulle. Tradition says that

Olof Skötkonung Olof Skötkonung, (Old Norse: ''Óláfr skautkonungr'') sometimes stylized as ''Olaf the Swede'' (c. 980–1022), was King of Sweden, son of Eric the Victorious and, according to Icelandic sources, Sigrid the Haughty. He succeeded his father in ...

, the first Christian King of Sweden, was baptized here in 1008 at a well located just north of the church. The mountain of Kinnefjellet at

Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norw ...

Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...

, is named after Kinnekulle.

References

External links

{{commons category
Kinnekulle - Turistportal

Sweden travel guide
Hills of Sweden Landforms of Västra Götaland County