Heir to the glacial period
This unique creation of nature is a 20-kilometer branch of Storfjord, squeezed between Romsdal and Norangsdal ridges, which are included in the so-called Sunno Alps system – the most impressive mountain range in Norway. In the title of Heianger-fjord contains the usual Toponymy Tavtology: "Anger" Marionorvezhi "Fjord". But "Gair" – "Arrowhead". And indeed, the upper part of the fjord, like a dart, dumps into the mountains and continues the gorge of the Porn River in the direction of the top of Dasnibba (1,550 meters).
The destructive architecture of the fjords arose almost 10,000 years ago, on the outcome of the glacial period, when the glacier started moving towards the ocean and literally moved the mountain. Taking advantage of your monstrous weight and wreckage of rocks as abrasive, he pushed and scraped the bottom, hidden the side, forming the so-called U-shaped trigger valley. In Geiranger Fjord, it is composed of Precambrian Gneisse age more than 3.5 billion years old and demonstrates at the Open Glacier sites Magnificent samples of ancient continental bark. Partly for this valuable geological "exterior" Heianger-Fjord along with Neri Fjord and were awarded UNESCO. By the way, the Neri Fjord is the most narrow in the world, his sheer cliffs up to 1,000 meters high to 1,000 meters close to a distance of 250 meters.
There is no presence of a person on the heyranger, in the sense that there are no power plants and other objects on rivers and waterfalls, which are lined up on other Norwegian fjords. Only single houses and power lines hidden running along a wooded slope or moving from one shore to another. As for local residents, people came to these edges relatively recently: 3-4 thousand years ago, when climatic conditions on the Western Fjords of Norway turned out to be more or less demolished. These were no longer primitive tribes, but communities who knew bronze and iron, but still use tools from stone and bones. The main classes were, of course, hunting and fisheries, then – cattle breeding and much later – agriculture. In centuries they lived here secluded and more expected their families more. Today they are no longer so torn off from the world, although the habit of living separately still remains.
From Heiranger to the coastal towns of the province of Möre-Og Romsdal about 100 kilometers. From the pier MERSERSHOLL ferry brings one and a half hours to direct, like a pipe, Jorund Fjord, to the town of Leknes, where travelers reappear on Earth. The path from Leknes to Helleshet is a town located at the base of Heianger-fjord, "NORGSDALED GARGING LAWs along the slopes overgrown with the coniferous forest, past the glacial lakes, snowfriends and steeply avalanche. At the edges of the highway, on grassy, relatively "calm" The slopes come across funny stone huts, miniature, with receded roofs, pressed to each other, like sheep. Similar to fabulous housing houses – the property is quite real farmers, however, they are only in summer, when juicy grass grows on mountain pastures. In Helleld, the local waterfall is harmoniously entered into the unpaired architecture of the town. By the way, almost every village "Countries Fjords" there is your home, a waterfall that would be enough to glorify a separate small country. But not Norway! She is replete with waterfalls. For example, the highest in the country (and the eighth in the world!) – Mardal – drops double cascade from a height of 655 meters.
Khelleshet sailing to Heiranger takes 50 minutes. Waterfalls remain behind the feed like the verst poles. In cloudy weather, they – as if frozen on the background of dark cliffs of lightning. The shores of the fjord are cool, on top of bottom, as far as there is enough view, overgrown with dense forest. Only at the very top of the forest "Sucks", Landing the place of mountain tundra and glacial sea. Main Trees of Norwegian Forest – Spruce, Scottish Pine and Birch. Fir are tight, "shoulder to shoulder", Scene by places until the water rivalent. The grandeur of the surrounding nature is so great that its usual inhabitants – wolves, deer, otters, seals, and even whales – are easily lost in the expanses and depths. But in the imagination of the inexperienced primordial beauty of the travelers, other creatures that came from the Scandinavian myths are arising: gods, monsters and giants. Fire-Rygiy Salot Tore with Magic Hammer Moelnir fought with giants and the main monster of Scandinavia – the world snake that could easily be hidden here, among the gloomy rocks, walking on hundreds of meters, in the green depths of Heianger-fjord. But now, apparently, not his time, and therefore water in the fjord calm. Here from the Open Sea do not get the storm, only tides and things, which are almost invisible with such ripped shores. On the border of the Atlantic and Ice Oceans Climate and Surov, and Caprisen. The sun here is happy and alarming. Too blue sky, too green grass, too deep shadow. The wind from the sea brings low clouds – this layer of clouds, starting about 400 meters of height, covers a fjord as a ram hat, and waterfalls "Sweet" with white pigtails.
Fjord walls are sometimes so cool that it is not clear how trees can cling to them. But all the adaptability of life comes the limit: the dark green wall of the forest suddenly breaks the rocky odor, and behind it – the monumental rock, which suddenly manifests the stone "face" Giant – Creation of an unknown sculptor with millennial patience.
Heianger-Fjord is the waterfalls theater with a moving ramp. Sometimes it seems that the ferry stands on the spot, and the shores float towards the waterfalls of one by one on the foressen. Each Waterfall Individual. His bed is his "Life line". One is thin and winding, with cunning turns, others – assertive and straight. Waterfalls are silent: from the middle of the fjord, where there is a steam, noise water is not heard. And only if he passes the closer – as if the window swallows away from the wind and rain. The waterfall comes to life, acquires a voice, color and, if lucky with the sun, hides the rainbow.
The most famous waterfalls are complex legends, such as, for example, "Seven sisters". Once upon a time one brave Viking came to the village to wrap. He was offered to choose from seven beautiful sisters one. The girls were so good that Viking was confused. Who to give heart? The task remained unresolved. Time is gone, and froze all the heroes of the legend with two beautiful waterfalls on the shores of Fjord. "Seven sisters" – seven thin jets, similar to maiden tears, and full-blooded "Groom" – Mighty waterfall on the opposite shore. Ferry passes "Seven sisters", And if you turn around, you can see at the top, at the first stage of the waterfall, at an altitude of 250 meters, among the lush greenery two or three houses, as if abandoned there with unknown power. This is the Farm of Nivsflo, abandoned by the inhabitants in 1898 due to the threat of the fall of the hound cliff. People moved to Geiranger, but in the summer, from time to time, return to accompany some special hay, which then descend down on the cables and exported by boats. Generally, avalanche – the main fear of local residents. Children who played in winter on the slopes, parents tied together and tied to a post. On average, catastrophic collapse, carrying dozens of lives and destructive villages occur three times in a century. There are fossils. In the neighboring ta-fjord, falling in 1934, the rock caused a wave 62 meters high!
For fjords, all this is a dust of a thousand-year history. For people living within one century, of course, no. But the fact is that Norwegians have love for wildlife – in the blood, and love is not idle, not fashionable at current times, but deep and real.
As for us, guests of these places, then intoxicating the action of wildlife passes when you start to understand that everything you saw has already been in those prisoner times, where even imagination is incapable. And there is a suddenly piercing feeling of the MiGA stolen in eternity, in which you were some miracle, – Miga of life, which, maybe soon again retreating under the onslaught of ice and silence.
