The Devil's Nest (Pirunpesä) is an eroded cavity located in the village Ylivalli in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Jalasjärvi Jalasjärvi is a former municipality of Finland. It was merged to the town of Kurikka on 1 January 2016. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region. The population of Jalasjärvi was (30 June ...

Southern Ostrobothnia South Ostrobothnia ( fi, Etelä-Pohjanmaa; sv, Södra Österbotten) is one of the 19 regions of Finland. It borders the regions of Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, Central Finland, Pirkanmaa, and Satakunta. Among the Finnish regions, South ...

, Finland. It is 14 meters wide and 23 meters deep, and the deepest earth erosion in Europe.

Formation

The evolution of the Devil’s Nest can be explained in three stages: during the

Tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

period, the

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...

and the present time. Clearly, it took over million years to turn into the way it is now. During Tertiary the area was very dry and vulnerable to erosion. The surface of the mountain was eroded many meters, forming an erosion layer. At the same time, a vertical cut was formed in the surface which was filled with eroded material. This was the first stage of the Devil’s Nest. During the Ice Age period (about 2 million years ago) there have been 4 glacial events and between them,

interglacial period An interglacial period (or alternatively interglacial, interglaciation) is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature lasting thousands of years that separates consecutive glacial periods within an ice age. The current Holocene in ...

s that were comparable to the present climate. These glaciers overrode the area several times, removing the eroded surface layer down to the bottom. The next glaciers have influenced the cavity and left different layers of granite and between them; sand and silt were accumulated during these periods. It was not until the end of last century when, through hard labor and much financial support, workers were able to remove all of the eroded materials. The hole was opened to the public by 1997. Jalasjarvi2

Mythology

The name of the Devil's Nest is derived from the tales of those believed that the

Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...

had lived in the cavity. Tourists can descend the stairs into the abyss. Next to the Devil’s Nest, there is a 21 meter high tower with an excellent view of the cavern and the surrounding area as well.

Location

Jalasjärvi is 36 km south of

Seinäjoki Seinäjoki (; "Wall River"; la, Wegelia, formerly sv, Östermyra) is a city located in South Ostrobothnia, Finland; east of Vaasa, north of Tampere, west of Jyväskylä and southwest of Oulu. Seinäjoki originated around the Östermyra bru ...

. The easiest way is to arrive by car. The signs to get to Pirunpesä are clear, but there are not so many so it is important to read and follow them carefully. The cavity is open from the beginning of May until the end of August, every day from 12.00 to 20.00. During September is open only during weekends or special occasions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devil's Nest Canyons and gorges of Finland Landforms of South Ostrobothnia Kurikka