Kjeragbolten, Norway: A cool Place for Hiking
Kjeragbolten is a Norwegian boulder, located in the Kjerag mountain in Rogaland, Norway. The rock itself is a 5 m³ glacial deposit wedged in the mountain’s crevasse. It is a popular tourist destination and is accessible without any climbing equipment. However, it is suspended above a 984-meter deep abyss. It is also a popular site for BASE jumping.
Rogaland lies in a weak tectonic zone, allowing the river to dig into the surrounding sandstone fjord. During the several ice ages, which are known in Scandinavia, Norway was completely covered in glaciers. Between the ice ages, the melt-water formed and reformed the valley up to twenty-two times. After the last ice age, global warming caused a rise in sea level, flooding the fjords. The boulder was deposited during the last glacial period, at around 50,000 B.C.E. As the Norwegian Glacier melted, it was accompanied by a rebound in rock formations as the ice was removed. In Kjeragbolten’s case, the rebound was actually faster than the rising sea level, which wedged the rock into its current position.
Kjeragbolten has long been a famed photo op in the Kjerag trails. It was featured in the 2006 viral video Where the Hell is Matt? Where traveller Matt Harding danced atop the precarious boulder. In 2011, it gained attention for circulation across Facebook, instigated by Elise Andrew.
