Just north of Røros town centre, the landscape suddenly changes character. Instead of forest and farmland, you find shifting sand with the look of a small desert. Kvitsanden is the only major inland sand dune area in central Norway, and locals sometimes call it "Northern Europe's largest desert," though the climate is far too wet for a true desert.
The sand was deposited during the last ice age by meltwater that drained from southeast to northwest in a 35-kilometre long esker system running from Femunden through Hådalen to Røros. What you see today is the end of that esker: fine, pale sand that the wind still moves around when conditions are right. The area and parts of nearby Evensenegga have been protected since 2004 as a conservation area for Quaternary geology.
A nature trail connects Doktortjønna to the dunes, with signs explaining the geological history along the way. It is an easy walk from town and a surprising contrast to the wooden mining town just down the road.
The sand was deposited during the last ice age by meltwater that drained from southeast to northwest in a 35-kilometre long esker system running from Femunden through Hådalen to Røros. What you see today is the end of that esker: fine, pale sand that the wind still moves around when conditions are right. The area and parts of nearby Evensenegga have been protected since 2004 as a conservation area for Quaternary geology.
A nature trail connects Doktortjønna to the dunes, with signs explaining the geological history along the way. It is an easy walk from town and a surprising contrast to the wooden mining town just down the road.
