Kärkevagge (

Northern Sami Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

: ''Geargevággi'', "Stone Valley") is a short (4 km long) valley in

Kiruna Municipality Kiruna Municipality (; ; ; ) is a municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Norrbotten County in northernmost Sweden. Its administrative centre, seat is located in Kiruna. It is the northernmost municipality in Sweden, and at is Sweden's geograph ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. It is easily accessed by a good path from the E10 Kiruna-Narvik highway. Rissajaure, the clearest lake in Sweden, is located at the head of the valley. Karkevagge is noted for the Giant Boulder Deposit (GBD) which fills it with huge jumbled blocks, some the size of houses. One of Sweden's leading geoscientists,

Anders Rapp Anders Rapp (1927–1998) was a Swedish geomorphologist and geographer who pioneered quantitative geomorphological approach on Peristalsis, mass movements and erosion. He was the first to make a comprehensive study on avalanche boulder tongues. ...

, a world pioneer of quantitative geomorphology, studied the valley for 10 years. He suggested that the parallel rows of blocks had descended in waves from the valleyside cliffs. He estimated the volume of the GBD at 50 million cubic metres. However a large angular cavity beside Rissajaure (top right in picture) has a volume of 42 million cubic metres. The GBD probably descended from it as a rock avalanche and spread down the valley on a glacier, giving it a moraine-like form and visual unity as seen from the air.Jarman, D. 2002. Rock slope failure and landscape evolution in the Caledonian mountains, as exemplified in the Abisko area, northern Sweden. Geografiska Annaler 84A, 213-224

References

Valleys of Sweden Kiruna Municipality Landforms of Norrbotten County {{norrbotten-geo-stub