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About 10,400 years ago, a catastrophic flood carved this 2.4-kilometre canyon through solid Precambrian sandstone in a matter of days. The cause was a glacial lake called Nedre Glomsø that had built up in Østerdalen during the last ice age. The lake held roughly 140 cubic kilometres of water, three times the volume of Mjøsa, Norway's largest lake today. When the ice dam holding it back finally gave way, the water tore through the mountain ridge between Glommadalføret and Tysla's valley to the east.
The result is a dry canyon with walls between 100 and 240 metres high. The name means "cut by trolls," because no one could imagine what natural force could have sliced through a mountain like that. The canyon has been studied by geologists since the 1880s and is now recognized as an internationally important reference site for understanding glacial lake outburst floods.
Jutulhogget sits on the border between Alvdal and Rendalen municipalities and has been a protected nature reserve since 1959. Walking trails lead along the rim and down into parts of the canyon. It is also an IUGS geoheritage site, placing it among the world's most significant geological landmarks.
The result is a dry canyon with walls between 100 and 240 metres high. The name means "cut by trolls," because no one could imagine what natural force could have sliced through a mountain like that. The canyon has been studied by geologists since the 1880s and is now recognized as an internationally important reference site for understanding glacial lake outburst floods.
Jutulhogget sits on the border between Alvdal and Rendalen municipalities and has been a protected nature reserve since 1959. Walking trails lead along the rim and down into parts of the canyon. It is also an IUGS geoheritage site, placing it among the world's most significant geological landmarks.
