Freeway - World Heritage

World Heritage

You might think that the really beautiful things on earth are maybe a Marlboro-red Ferrari or Pamela Anderson, but the real beautiful things are our lovely nature and our World heritage. But not everyone know what a World heritage is.
A World Heritage site is a place of natural or cultural interest which is so valuable that it is important for the whole of humanity. It is a place, site, environment, or object which provides unique testimony to the history of the earth and of mankind. Once inscribed on the prestigious World Heritage List, it is guaranteed protection and care for all time. Sweden has nine sites on the list.
The World Heritage List is constantly growing and now includes some 600 sites. The Royal Domain of Drottningholm was the first Swedish site to be inscribed in 1991, and by 2000 a total of eleven sites of cultural and natural interest were included on the list. In December 2000 the High Coast in Västernorrland was the last so far to be included.

Protected for the future
There is every reason to be proud of our shared World heritage, but there is also reason for concern. Many of the sites are threatened by destruction and decay. That is why the World Heritage List was established. It is based on UNESCO's Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, which was adopted by the United Nations in 1972. Sweden adhered to the Convention in 1984 and has thus – along with more than 150 other nations – voluntarily undertaken to protect its own world heritage for all time, and to support other countries in their efforts to look after theirs.

The High Coast, geologic world heritage
The Great Wall of China , Grand Canyon – and the High Coast.
At UNESCO’s World heritage Committee’s 24th session 27 November–1 December 2000 in Cairns, Australian, The High Coast was included on the World heritage list. The High Coast is the only pure nature World heritage in northern Europe. Lapplands World heritage is on the World heritage list as a nature- and culture heritage.
On the World heritage list you find such nature- and culture objects that are so important that not just one country ,but all countries, have to feel responsible for them.
The National Environmental Protection agency, the country administrative board of Västernorrlands and SGU have in co-operation and together whit many experts worked for application about nomination.

The fantastic landscape of The High Coast
The High Coast is a key area for the understanding of the elevation of the land after the inland ice disappearance. The elevation of the land reacts 285 m under a time of 9600 year is unique in the world. The range between the coastline and present coast is 2–3 km.
The High Coast area in Ångermanland is a fantastic landscape strongly characterised by the rock morphology, the inland ice and the elevation process of the land. The area is strongly occupied and true drawn of fault scarps, wide dales and deep bays. The highest mountains reacts over 350 m over the sea. The top of Mjältön lie 236 m over the sea which makes it Sweden’s highest eland. The deepest water in the archipelago are 120 m.
In the area there are well documented tracks of a 285 meters land resign since the inland ice disappeared for 9 600 years ago. Proceeded elevation processes of the land makes the innermost part of a bay deemed up and cut off from the sea. In the area there are many examples of this type of bays in different stages of development. The present elevation of the land is ca 8 mm/year.