Vestfoldraet: The Ice Age's Calling Card Across Vestfold

The Vestfoldraet is the local section of the Ra moraine, a terminal moraine that stretches across all of Scandinavia, marking where the retreating ice sheet paused for roughly 300 years during the Younger Dryas cold period, 12,800 to 11,500 years ago. In Vestfold the ridge is particularly prominent: it dammed watercourses to create lakes, provided well-drained ground for ancient roads and settlements, and ends dramatically at the stone beach of Mølen. The moraine is not a single site to visit but a landscape feature that explains much of the region's topography.