Kimmo Makkonen
Saltkaret Observation Tower
Site
Path
Wildlife
The Kvarken Archipelago is Finland’s only Natural World Heritage Site on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is an excellent place to experience and understand the land uplift phenomenon caused by the last Ice Age. From the Saltkaret observation tower there is an unrestricted view over the nature reserve’s unique landscape and wildlife.
Cities and towns
National parks
UNESCO sites
UNESCO global geoparks
Main roads
Airports
Cruise ports
Case
Infrastructure
Grass
Trees / Forest
River / Ocean
How can we grasp the land uplifting?
Around the Northern Quark, the narrowest part of the Gulf of Bothnia between Finland and Sweden, the surface of the earth is rising at an exceptional speed. This is caused by the Ice Age. The unique landscape of Kvarken archipelago is hard to grasp from ground level. The tower offers views over the rising shoreline and its peculiar moraine formations.
The legacy of the Ice Age
The 23-meter-high tower facilitates bird watching and offers views over Kvarken Archipelago World Heritage Site near the city of Vaasa. The narrow ridge formations resembling a washboard, De Geer moraine, dating back to the Ice Age are slowly emerging from the sea – today, the land uplifting is eight mm per year, and the World Heritage Site grows yearly by 100 hectares. The lower platform of the tar-treated wood tower is accessible with a wheelchair. Other structures around the tower include a bridge, accessible dry toilets, a campfire site and tables for picnic.
Key facts
- Location
Björkby, Municipality of Mustasaari, Region of Ostrobothnia in Western Finland
- GPS points
N63°21'29.1" E21°17'28.6"
- Protection Framework
UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site, Nature Reserve
- Estimated number of visitors a year
95,000 in 2020 (80,500 in 2019)
- Project Owner
Metsähallitus / the state of Finland
- Designer
Aitoaho & Viljanen Architects
- Year of construction
2010
- Materials
Tar-treated wood
- Landscape type
Archipelago, De Geer moraines