Salpauselkä Geopark
Last updated: 19.10.2023Hollola is part of the Salpauselkä Geopark complex. On April 13.4.2022, XNUMX, Salpauselkä Geopark was named a UNESCO Global Geopark by the UN's educational, scientific and cultural organization UNESCO's global network of geologically valuable areas. All of Hollola's guided Nature Routes and paths are Salpauselkä Geopark destinations. The entire Salpauselkä Geopark can be found at the link:
You live in Geopark
Salpauselkä Geopark, consisting of six municipalities in Päijäthämälä, tells the story of Finland's most famous, unique geological entity.
The Salpauselkä, layered by ancient glacial rivers, are at their most spectacular in the Salpauselkä Geopark located in Päijät-Hämee. Here, they form a unique entity that reflects the flow of continental glacier meltwater, together with the ridges that are oriented in a fan-like manner to the north.
Salpauselkä Geopark is part of UNESCO's global network of geologically valuable areas. A Geopark is a unified geographical area that contains geological sites of international significance. It tells the story of the origin of the landscape and landforms and highlights the area's destinations, products and services. Nurturing the area's natural and cultural heritage, strengthening local identity and promoting sustainable development are the key goals of geoparks.
In Hollola, you live in the heart of all this, in the unique geological scene left behind by the Ice Age.
Salpaus ridges and ridges are formed mainly of gravel and sand sorted and layered by the meltwater streams of the last ice age. The continental glacier and its melting waters have also shaped our rock sites to what they are today. Our rocks are ancient - they were born about 1 - 600 million years ago, and they have been worn down by several ice ages over time.
Invisible treasure
The importance of the Salpauselkä Geopark area is not only based on what can be seen on the ground. In Finland, the most important groundwater areas are located in the edge formations and ridges shaped by the melting waters of the continental glacier. The groundwater formations in the Salpausselkä Geopark are nationally significant: for example, the Kukonkoivu-Hatsina groundwater in Hollola, in the caches of the first Salpausselka, is one of the largest in Finland. Groundwater becomes visible in the area's numerous clear-water springs and spring-bottom lakes.
The groundwater formations in the Salpauselkä Geopark area are nationally significant and offer top-quality tap water to the residents of the area. In the capital region, water from Päijänne in the south is drunk. Water bodies form an important part of the area's landscapes and habitat. Long-term and successful work has been done here in water protection and its research.
Ridges and ridges
The ancient melting water streams of the continental glacier did not only pile up gravel and sand on the edge of the glacier as edge formations, but also on the bottom of glacial rivers and furrows and at the mouth as ridges. Our numerous ridges in the direction of the retreat of the continental glacier are, like Salpauselkie, memories of the events of the end of the ice age. In the Salpauselkä Geopark area, e.g. Padasjoki, Asikkala and Heinola have wonderful ridges as memories of the meltwater streams that transported material to Salpauselk. Some of our ridges are located in the Päijänne National Park, which in its entirety belongs to the Salpauselkä Geopark area.
Salpausells and ridges have a large number of depressions, round or oval pits formed during the melting phase of the ice age. Supa was created when large blocks of ice buried in gravel and sand melted, and the soil on top of them collapsed. Part of the soup is water-filled soup ponds.