Galdhøpiggen

Galdhøpiggen is the highest mountain in Norway, Scandinavia and Northern Europe, at 2,469 m (8,100 ft) above sea level. It is located within the municipality of Lom (in Oppland), in the Jotunheimen mountain area.

Name

Galdhøpiggen (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈɡɑldhøːˌpɪgən]) means "the peak/spike (piggen) of the mountain Galdhø." The first element in the name of the mountain is gald (m.) "steep mountain road", the last element is hø (f.) "(big and) rounded mountain." An old road between Gudbrandsdalen and Sogn passes beneath the mountain.

History

Geologically Galdhøpiggen, like most of Southern Norway's mountain ranges, belongs to the Caledonian folding. The peak is made of gabbro, a hard but rather coarse-grained rock which is found in most of the Jotunheimen range. During the ice ages it was heavily glaciated and got its present form. The theory that the highest summits in Norway stayed above the ice as nunataks has been abandoned by most geologists. It fits well with the present flora in the area, but it does not fit well with the present knowledge of ice thickness and the results of glaciation.