The High Coast

The High Coast (Swedish: Höga kusten) is a part of the coast of Sweden on the Gulf of Bothnia and notable as a type area for research on post-glacial rebound and eustacy, in which the land rises as the weight of the glaciers melts off of it. This phenomenon was first recognised and studied there; since the last ice age the land has risen 800 m, which accounts for the unusual landscape with tall cliff formations. The High Coast is part of the Swedish/Finnish High Coast/Kvarken Archipelago world heritage site (the High Coast was extended with Finnish Kvarken areas in 2006). UNESCO, while inscribing the area on the World Heritage List in 2000, remarked that "the High Coast site affords outstanding opportunities for the understanding of the important processes that formed the glaciated and land uplift areas of the Earth's surface". One place to take a closer look at the land rise is in Skuleskogen National Park or on the nearby Skule Mountain. Today the High Coast of Sweden has become one of the fastest growing tourist areas in Sweden. The most popular places to visit in the High Coast of Sweden are Skule Mountain, Skuleskogen National Park and the islands Ulvön and Trysunda.