The other day we had a geology field trip, visiting Europe's largest meteor impact crater; the Siljansringen.
Here, about 370 million years ago, a app. 5km large asteroid smashed into the Earth, creating a large impact crater, about 52km in diameter, in the middle of current day Sweden.
The lake Siljan is a direct result of that. As a result of that impact the surrounding area got deformed and because of the processes during the ice age much of the damages have been laid bare. We were going to visit a number of sites, showing that.
The following images are from wikipedia to give you an idea;
We started of arounf 08:30 in the morning, driving toward Rättvik, just above Falun on the shown map, where we climbed the highest "peak". It was a clear day, we could see right across the lake Siljan all the way up to Mora. It was cold to, +2C. And very windy! Windchill kicked in fast, reminding me why shelter can be a vital factor in the famous Rule of Threes!
We headed out to the next stop without much delay.
I must admit that I forgot to note the names of the locations we visited, so you'll have to make do with pictures instead, accompanied with some comments.
After that it was almost lunchtime, so I was "allowed" to perform some outdoor tricks.... such as making a fire without a jerrycan of gas. The ensuing warmth was deeply appreciated by the rest of the group.
We also visited a site, where the former floor of the then present sea was forced up. The entire population of sea lillies was instantly encased and is now exposed as fossils.
I picked up a few with the idea of including those in gifts as seen in certain other threads, posted by a well known person, residing in a country to the south of me...
The gushing water in one of the next pictures actually is groundwater being forced up due to the geological circumstances. All you need to do, is collect and drink it!
They even looked for oil and natural gas in the wider area, but did not find any....luckily. It most likely wold have destroyed the region.
All in all a very good day out. The weather played along quite nicely, being dry and sunny with grey and rainy days before and predicted after. And I visited locations I normally would not readily, whilst learning a lot of new things.
Apparently the nr.8 spot information is not entirely accurate:
https://www.livescience.com/45126-biggest-impact-crater-earth-countdown.html
Here, about 370 million years ago, a app. 5km large asteroid smashed into the Earth, creating a large impact crater, about 52km in diameter, in the middle of current day Sweden.
The lake Siljan is a direct result of that. As a result of that impact the surrounding area got deformed and because of the processes during the ice age much of the damages have been laid bare. We were going to visit a number of sites, showing that.
The following images are from wikipedia to give you an idea;
We started of arounf 08:30 in the morning, driving toward Rättvik, just above Falun on the shown map, where we climbed the highest "peak". It was a clear day, we could see right across the lake Siljan all the way up to Mora. It was cold to, +2C. And very windy! Windchill kicked in fast, reminding me why shelter can be a vital factor in the famous Rule of Threes!
We headed out to the next stop without much delay.
I must admit that I forgot to note the names of the locations we visited, so you'll have to make do with pictures instead, accompanied with some comments.
After that it was almost lunchtime, so I was "allowed" to perform some outdoor tricks.... such as making a fire without a jerrycan of gas. The ensuing warmth was deeply appreciated by the rest of the group.
We also visited a site, where the former floor of the then present sea was forced up. The entire population of sea lillies was instantly encased and is now exposed as fossils.
I picked up a few with the idea of including those in gifts as seen in certain other threads, posted by a well known person, residing in a country to the south of me...
The gushing water in one of the next pictures actually is groundwater being forced up due to the geological circumstances. All you need to do, is collect and drink it!
They even looked for oil and natural gas in the wider area, but did not find any....luckily. It most likely wold have destroyed the region.
All in all a very good day out. The weather played along quite nicely, being dry and sunny with grey and rainy days before and predicted after. And I visited locations I normally would not readily, whilst learning a lot of new things.
Apparently the nr.8 spot information is not entirely accurate:
https://www.livescience.com/45126-biggest-impact-crater-earth-countdown.html
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