The paleic surface or palaeic surface ( no, paleiske overflaten, ) is an

erosion surface In geology and geomorphology, an erosion surface is a surface of rock or regolith that was formed by erosion and not by construction (e.g. lava flows, sediment deposition) nor fault displacement. Erosional surfaces within the stratigraphic record ...

of gentle slopes that exist in

South Norway South Norway (, ) is the southern and by far most populous half of Norway, consisting of the regions of Western Norway, Eastern Norway, Southern Norway (Agder) and Trøndelag (Central Norway). In English, South Norway was historically also known ...

. Parts of it are a continuation of the

Sub-Cambrian peneplain The sub-Cambrian peneplain is an ancient, extremely flat, erosion surface (peneplain) that has been exhumed and exposed by erosion from under Cambrian strata over large swathes of Fennoscandia. Eastward, where this peneplain dips below Cambrian an ...

and Muddus Plains found further east or equivalent to the

strandflat Strandflat ( no , strandflate) is a landform typical of the Norwegian coast consisting of a flattish erosion surface on the coast and near-coast seabed. In Norway, strandflats provide room for settlements and agriculture, constituting important ...

coastal plains of Norway.

Hardangervidda Hardangervidda ( en, Hardanger Plateau) is a mountain plateau ( Norwegian: ''vidde'') in central southern Norway, covering parts of Vestland, Vestfold og Telemark, and Viken counties. It is the largest plateau of its kind in Europe, with a cold ...

, a particularly flat and elevated part of the Paleic surface formed in the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" ...

at sea level. Although the tilted plateau-like topography of south Norway had been noted since the early 1800s, the first formal description was by

Hans Reusch Hans Henrik Reusch (5 September 1852 – 27 October 1922) was a Norwegian geologist, geomorphologist and educator. He served as director of the Geological Survey of Norway. Biography Born in Bergen, he was educated at the University of Le ...

in 1901, using a denudation chronology approach invoking several of W.M. Davis’ ideas of a

cycle of erosion The geographic cycle, or cycle of erosion, is an idealized model that explains the development of relief in landscapes. The model starts with the erosion that follows uplift of land above a base level and ends, if conditions allow, in the format ...

. Reusch also coined the name ''Paleic surface''. The Paleic surface is sometimes erroneously considered equal to Norway's "pre-glacial surface" – the surface that existed in Norway just before the

Quaternary glaciation The Quaternary glaciation, also known as the Pleistocene glaciation, is an alternating series of glacial and interglacial periods during the Quaternary period that began 2.58 Ma (million years ago) and is ongoing. Although geologists describe ...

South Norway: the type area

There have been various attempts at defining the subset of surfaces that compose the paleic surface in southern Norway. Geomorphologist

Karna Lidmar-Bergström Karna Lidmar-Bergström (born 1940) is a Swedish geologist and geomorphologist known for her study of Pre-Quaternary landforms in Sweden and Norway. In 2004 she was elected into the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.doming. On eastern Norway some of the stepped surfaces merge into a single surface. In south-western Norway the Paleic surface is strongly dissected by

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

s and

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icel ...

Dovre Dovre is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Dovre. Other villages in Dovre include Dombås and Hjerkinn. The ...

and

Jotunheimen Jotunheimen (; "the home of the Jötunn") is a mountainous area of roughly in southern Norway and is part of the long range known as the Scandinavian Mountains. The 29 highest mountains in Norway are all located in the Jotunheimen mountains, i ...

are residual mountains rising from the highest of the stepped surfaces. These mountains define a former envelope surface that is warped. Possibly the warping of the envelope surface reflects doming of the crust associated with the uplift of the

Scandinavian Mountains The Scandinavian Mountains or the Scandes is a mountain range that runs through the Scandinavian Peninsula. The western sides of the mountains drop precipitously into the North Sea and Norwegian Sea, forming the fjords of Norway, whereas to the ...

in the Cenozoic. The Paleic surface has been reconstructed over the fjord area of western Norway. In the reconstructed paleic surface, very gentle valleys follow the same course as

Sognefjord The Sognefjord or Sognefjorden (, en, Sogn Fjord), nicknamed the King of the Fjords ( no, Fjordenes konge), is the largest and deepest fjord in Norway. Located in Vestland county in Western Norway, it stretches inland from the ocean to the sma ...

Hardangerfjord The Hardangerfjord ( en, Hardanger Fjord) is the fifth longest fjord in the world, and the second longest fjord in Norway. It is located in Vestland county in the Hardanger region. The fjord stretches from the Atlantic Ocean into the mountain ...

Gudbrandsdalen Gudbrandsdalen (; en, Gudbrand Valley) is a valley and traditional district in the Norwegian county of Innlandet (formerly Oppland). The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer and the lake of Mjøsa, extending towa ...

and

Østerdalen Østerdalen () is a valley and traditional district in Innlandet county, in Eastern Norway. This area typically is described as the large Glåma river valley as well as all its tributary valleys. It includes the municipalities Rendalen, Alvdal, ...

, but not of other valleys and fjords of western Norway. To the north the lower levels of the Paleic surface are considered to be equivalent to the Muddus plains in northern Sweden, meaning that topography is likely to have developed at the same time and

level Level or levels may refer to: Engineering *Level (instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights *Spirit level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical *Canal pound or level *Regr ...

, and by the same processes. The lower levels of the Paleic surface are thought to have been formed by

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

and stripping and pediplanation. The climate under which these processes occurred was likely warmer than the present.

Tectonics and erosion

Much of the paleic surface in southern Norway was at sea level or below during the

. In the

Early Pliocene Early may refer to: History * The beginning or oldest part of a defined historical period, as opposed to middle or late periods, e.g.: ** Early Christianity ** Early modern Europe Places in the United States * Early, Iowa * Early, Texas * Early ...

(5–4 million years ago) the surfaces such as Hardangervidda were uplifted by tectonic forces 1.2 km. The peneplain surfaces of the paleic surface are apparently disrupted by vertical displacement along faults, following an NNE-SSW orientation. The coastal plains of Norway, the

, are likely old surfaces comparable to the paleic surface that escaped the uplift that affected the Scandinavian Mountains. Since the paleic surface formed

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wat ...

and glacier erosion has eroded much of it in

Western Norway Western Norway ( nb, Vestlandet, Vest-Norge; nn, Vest-Noreg) is the region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrative ...

, but scattered remnants are ubiquitous.

Paleic surfaces elsewhere in Norway

In northern Norway a paleic surface extends in

Varanger Peninsula The Varanger Peninsula ( no, Varangerhalvøya; sme, Várnjárga; fkv, Varenkinniemi) is a peninsula in Finnmark county, Norway. It is located in the northeasternmost part of Norway, along the Barents Sea. The peninsula has the Tanafjorden to ...

. In the peninsula the paleic surface is made up of an undulating

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

between the altitudes of 200 and 600

m.a.s.l. Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

The higher parts of the undulating plateau are made up by erosion-resistant rocks like

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...

. The lower parts are made up by weak rocks like

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especially ...

and

mudstone Mudstone, a type of mudrock, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Mudstone is distinguished from ''shale'' by its lack of fissility (parallel layering).Blatt, H., and R.J. Tracy, 1996, ''Petrology.'' ...

. At intermediate levels

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

is common. Some parts of the paleic surface in Varanger Peninsula are a re-exposed

unconformity An unconformity is a buried erosional or non-depositional surface separating two rock masses or strata of different ages, indicating that sediment deposition was not continuous. In general, the older layer was exposed to erosion for an interval ...

that underlie sedimentary rock of Vendian ( Late Neoproterozoic) age. The paleic surface might have been uplifted as much as 200–250 meters since

middle Pliocene Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ( ...

times.Fjellanger, J. & Sørbel, L. (2007)
Origin of the palaeic landforms and glacial impact on the Varanger Peninsula, northern Norway

Norwegian Journal of Geology ''Norwegian Journal of Geology'' ( no, Norsk Geologisk Tidsskrift) is a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Norwegian Geological Society The Norwegian Geological Society (in Norwegian: Norsk Geologisk Forening) is a Norweg ...

. 87: 223–238 Parts of the continental shelf of Norway corresponds to paleic surfaces called bankflats. These surfaces bounds landward with submarine slopes that separates them from the

Footnotes

References

{{Geology of Fennoscandia Erosion landforms Inselberg plains Plains of Norway Unconformities

South Norway: the type area

Tectonics and erosion

Paleic surfaces elsewhere in Norway

See also

Footnotes

References