Preikestolen above Lysefjord

Preikestolen above Lysefjord is an original illustration set in Preikestolen, Rogaland, Norway. It lies in high latitudes, where the climate is oceanic — mild, wet through the year.

Preikestolen projects as a broad, nearly square gray platform above the deep blue ribbon of Lysefjord, ending in a vertical cliff face. A few tiny hikers stand well back from the edge, dark conifer forest covers lower slopes, and rounded bare uplands step away across the long narrow water corridor.

Why does a nearly square rock platform end in a sheer drop above this fjord?

Glaciers deepened and widened the valley into a steep-sided fjord, while pressure release and frost exploited intersecting fractures in the bedrock. Those near-vertical joints detached blocks and left the unusually straight cliff faces and flat-topped platform. After the ice retreated, seawater flooded the valley far below, exaggerating the relief; thin soils and exposed rock on the plateau contrast with forest that can grow on the more sheltered lower slopes.

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