Rondane National Park
Encyclopedia
Rondane National Park is the oldest national park
in Norway
, established on 21 December 1962. The park contains ten peaks above 2000 metres (6,561.7 ft), with the highest being Rondslottet at an altitude of 2178 m (7,146 ft). The park is an important habitat for herds of wild reindeer
.
The park was extended in 2003, and now covers an area of 963 km² (372 sq mi) in the counties
Oppland
and Hedmark
. Rondane lies just to the east of Gudbrandsdal
and two other mountain areas, Dovre
and Jotunheimen
are nearby.
area, with large plateau
s and a total of ten peaks above 2,000 m (6,560 ft). The highest point is Rondslottet ("The Rondane Castle") at an altitude of 2,178 m (7,146 ft). The lowest point is just below the tree line, which is approximately 1,000 to 1,100 m (about 3,300 to 3,600 ft) above sea level. The climate is mild but relatively arid
. Apart from the White Birch
trees of the lower areas, the soil
and rocks are covered by heather
and lichen
, since they lack nutrients. The largest mountains are almost entirely barren; above 1,500 m (5,000 ft) nothing but the hardiest lichen
s grow on the bare stones.
The mountains are divided by marked valleys through the landscape; the deepest valley is filled by Rondvatnet
, a narrow lake
filling the steep space between the large Storronden
-Rondslottet part and Smiubelgen
("The blacksmith's bellows"). The central massif is also cut by "botns": flat, dead stone valleys below the steep mountain walls of the peaks. Generally, Rondane does not receive enough precipitation
to generate persistent glaciers, but glacier-like heaps of snow can be found in the flat back valleys.
The centre of the Park is the Rondvatnet lake, from which all the peaks beyond 2,000 m (6,560 ft) of altitude can be reached in less than one day's walk. In this central region and north of it, the altitude is quite high compared with the flatter plateaus of the south. Rondane has ten peaks over 2,000 m, Rondslottet (2,178 m), Storronden
(2,138 m), Høgronden
(2,114 m), Midtronden
western summit (2,060 m), Vinjeronden
(2,044 m), Midtronden
eastern summit (2,042 m), Trolltinden
(2,018 m), Storsmeden
(2,016 m), Digerronden
(2,015 m), and Veslesmeden
(2,015 m).
In many parts of the park, there are spread-out holes (kettle holes) created by small remains of ice age
glaciers, and peculiar small hills called "esker
s" made by ground moraine
released by melting glaciers.
. Large climate changes allowed reindeer
to spread widely across Scandinavia
, only to be forced back to a much smaller area — including the Rondane mountain area — only some hundreds of years later. Archaeologists
have found that the forest
quickly grew at high altitudes; birch
trees found at 1030 metres (3379 ft) were 8500 years old.
On the mountain plateaux, there is evidence that nomadic hunter-gatherer
s lived off reindeer. Large traps used to catch reindeer can be found at Gravhø and Bløyvangen and are also spread all throughout the park. These are constructed from stone to make holes or large fenced-in areas into which reindeer could be tricked or led.
In conjunction with these large traps, there are also small arched stone walls which are believed to have been used as hiding places for archers waiting for prey. Various dating methods have suggested that the earliest traps may be as old as 3500 years. Most of the findings, including remains of houses, date back to the years between 500 and 700 CE. It is thus known with confidence that the large traps and accompanying walls were used from the 6th century until the onset of the Black Death
in the 14th century.
After nearly a decade of planning, Rondane was established as the first Norwegian National Park on 21 December 1962. It was first established as a nature protection area, but was later named a national park
. The main reasons for protecting the park were "to safeguard the natural environment with its native plants, animal life, and cultural heritage and also to secure the environment as a recreational area for future generations".
Legal efforts to protect nature in Norway date from 1954, when the Nature protection law was passed. Soon after, in 1955, community meetings were held in the municipalities close to Rondane, and a commission was founded. Norman Heitkøtter was president of the commission, and made it possible by Royal resolution to establish Rondane National Park. At its establishment, the park covered an area of 580 km² (224 sq mi).
Although Rondane was the first national park in Norway, many others followed. The parks are maintained by the Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management
.
, between Rondane and Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park
was also opened. Following the expansion, it is now only approximately 1 kilometre from the northern border of Rondane to the southern border of Dovre National Park
, and large sections of adjacent mountain areas are protected by the three parks.
The bedrock
in Rondane comes from a shallow sea floor, created 500 to 600 million years ago. From this, changes in the Earth
's crust created a mountain area of metamorphic rock
and quartz
. There are no fossil
s found in Rondane today and so it is thought the sea where the rock came from contained no animal life.
The present landscape was mostly formed by the last ice age
, nine to ten thousand years ago. At that time large quantities of ice were formed, and it is believed that the ice melted gradually in shifting cycles of melting and ice accumulation. The ice melting must have been rapid when it happened, digging deep river
valleys.
Rondane contains a few small canyons which were created by the rapid ice melting, most prominently Jutulhogget
and Vesle-Ula.
(as opposed to the domestic breed) are found. The Directorate for Nature Management regards Rondane as "especially important as a life supporting area for the native reindeer". It is estimated that approximately 2000 to 4000 reindeer live in Rondane and the nearby Dovre area. To protect the reindeer population in their core area, during hiking trails have been moved. The park was also enlarged in 2003 to provide increased protection for the reindeer.
Other large game
, including roe deer
and elk (moose)
are commonplace along the rims of the park and occasionally musk ox
from Dovre can be seen. Wolverine
s and a small population of bear
s are also present, while wolves are rare.
The reindeer largely rely on the lichen
and reindeer moss that grow together with heather and hardy grass
on the quite arid and nutrient-poor stony plateaus. The lichen provide food for the reindeer, but also fertilize the earth, making it possible for less hardy plant
s to grow, and mice
and lemming
s to feed. One of the flower
species to survive very well is the Glacier Crowfoot, found up to 1700 metres (5580 ft).
Visitors to Rondane are free to hike and camp in all areas of the park, except in the immediate vicinity of cabins. Apart from being closed for motor traffic, not many special regulations apply. Fishing and hunting is available to licensees.
The Norwegian Mountain Touring Association
(DNT) is an association that owns and manages a network of mountain cabins in the service of hikers. In Rondane, there is a central cabin by the southern end of the lake Rondvatnet, Rondvassbu. There is also Dørålseter and Bjørnhollia at the northern and eastern rims of the park. All three cabins are manned, and provide food and limited accommodation (possible to book beforehand). There are also un-manned cabins in the Park, like Eldåbu where a key is needed.
DNT also mark trails in the Park, with red Ts that are easy to spot. The T-trails lead the way cabin-to-cabin, as well as marking the path to some of the peaks close to Rondvatnet. Recently, some of the trails have moved slightly to avoid the core areas of the wild reindeer.
The service cabins are also open during the winter season, although they are sometimes only self-serviced off season. Ski trails are marked and sometimes prepared, either by DNT or some of the hotels and skiing resorts close to the park.
(1867), a play by Henrik Ibsen
, which is partly set in Rondane:
With this scene, Ibsen wrote Rondane into one of the 19th centuries better-known plays and made Rondane a symbol for Norway.
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen
, writer and gatherer of Norwegian folk tales in the mid-19th century, collected many stories connected with Rondane, including Peer Gynt, the story that inspired Ibsen.
A third writer who set one of his famous works in Rondane is the poet Aasmund Olavsson Vinje
with his poem Ved Rundarne.
, Høgronden
, Midtronden
, Storronden
and Vinjeronden
), and this is the finite singular of the same word. The word rond was probably originally the name of the long and narrow lake Rondvatnet
('Rond water/lake') - and the mountains around were then named after this lake. For the meaning see under Randsfjorden
.
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, established on 21 December 1962. The park contains ten peaks above 2000 metres (6,561.7 ft), with the highest being Rondslottet at an altitude of 2178 m (7,146 ft). The park is an important habitat for herds of wild reindeer
Reindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...
.
The park was extended in 2003, and now covers an area of 963 km² (372 sq mi) in the counties
Counties of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 430 municipalities...
Oppland
Oppland
is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The county administration is in Lillehammer. Oppland is, together with Hedmark, one of the only two landlocked counties of Norway....
and Hedmark
Hedmark
is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag, Oppland and Akershus. The county administration is in Hamar.Hedmark makes up the northeastern part of Østlandet, the southeastern part of the country. It includes a long part of the borderline with Sweden, Dalarna County and Värmland County. The...
. Rondane lies just to the east of Gudbrandsdal
Gudbrandsdal
The Gudbrandsdalen is a valley and traditional district in the Norwegian county of Oppland. The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer at Mjøsa, extending 230 km toward Romsdal...
and two other mountain areas, Dovre
Dovre
Dovre is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Dovre. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Dovre....
and Jotunheimen
Jotunheimen
Jotunheimen is a mountainous area of roughly 3,500 km² in Southern Norway and is part of the long range known as the Scandinavian Mountains. The 29 highest mountains in Norway are all in Jotunheimen, including the very highest - Galdhøpiggen...
are nearby.
Geography
Rondane is a typical high mountainMountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
area, with large plateau
Plateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
s and a total of ten peaks above 2,000 m (6,560 ft). The highest point is Rondslottet ("The Rondane Castle") at an altitude of 2,178 m (7,146 ft). The lowest point is just below the tree line, which is approximately 1,000 to 1,100 m (about 3,300 to 3,600 ft) above sea level. The climate is mild but relatively arid
Arid
A region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life...
. Apart from the White Birch
White Birch
White Birch may refer to:* Betula papyrifera* Betula pendula* Shirakabaha, Japanese literary group* The White Birch , Norwegian recording artists...
trees of the lower areas, the soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
and rocks are covered by heather
Ericaceae
The Ericaceae, commonly known as the heath or heather family, is a group of mostly calcifuge flowering plants. The family is large, with roughly 4000 species spread across 126 genera, making it the 14th most speciose family of flowering plants...
and lichen
Lichen
Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...
, since they lack nutrients. The largest mountains are almost entirely barren; above 1,500 m (5,000 ft) nothing but the hardiest lichen
Lichen
Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...
s grow on the bare stones.
The mountains are divided by marked valleys through the landscape; the deepest valley is filled by Rondvatnet
Rondvatnet
Rondvatnet is a narrow lake in Rondane National Park. By the southern end is the Norwegian Mountain Touring Association's cabin Rondvassbu. Rondvatnet separates the eastern part of Rondane from the western part, Smiubelgen....
, a narrow lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
filling the steep space between the large Storronden
Storronden
Storronden is one of the mountains in the Rondane range....
-Rondslottet part and Smiubelgen
Smiubelgen
Smiubelgen is a mountain range in the western part of Rondane National Park, Norway, separated from the eastern part by Rondvatnet. The Smiubelgen mountains have sharper ridges than the eastern part of Rondane....
("The blacksmith's bellows"). The central massif is also cut by "botns": flat, dead stone valleys below the steep mountain walls of the peaks. Generally, Rondane does not receive enough precipitation
Precipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
to generate persistent glaciers, but glacier-like heaps of snow can be found in the flat back valleys.
The centre of the Park is the Rondvatnet lake, from which all the peaks beyond 2,000 m (6,560 ft) of altitude can be reached in less than one day's walk. In this central region and north of it, the altitude is quite high compared with the flatter plateaus of the south. Rondane has ten peaks over 2,000 m, Rondslottet (2,178 m), Storronden
Storronden
Storronden is one of the mountains in the Rondane range....
(2,138 m), Høgronden
Høgronden
Høgronden is a mountain in Folldal, Hedmark, Norway and lies in the north east part of the mountain range Rondane....
(2,114 m), Midtronden
Midtronden
Midtronden is a mountain with two peaks in Dovre, Oppland, Norway. It is in the mountain range Rondane. The western peak is the highest, , while the eastern peak is with a primary factor of .-The name:...
western summit (2,060 m), Vinjeronden
Vinjeronden
Vinjeronden is one of the ten mountain in Rondane in Norway over 2,000 metres. It lies on the border of the three municipalites Dovre, Folldal and Sel, and in the counties Oppland and Hedmark....
(2,044 m), Midtronden
Midtronden
Midtronden is a mountain with two peaks in Dovre, Oppland, Norway. It is in the mountain range Rondane. The western peak is the highest, , while the eastern peak is with a primary factor of .-The name:...
eastern summit (2,042 m), Trolltinden
Trolltinden (Oppland)
Trolltinden is a mountain in the western part of Rondane....
(2,018 m), Storsmeden
Storsmeden
Storsmeden is a mountain in the western part of the Rondane mountain range. The mountains in the western part are called the Smiubelgen mountains....
(2,016 m), Digerronden
Digerronden
Digerronden is one of the ten mountains in Rondane National Park over 2,000 m, and lies in the municipality Dovre in Oppland, Norway.It has a characteristic pyramidal shape....
(2,015 m), and Veslesmeden
Veslesmeden
Veslesmeden is a mountain in the Rondane mountain range, in the western part of Rondane often called Smiubelgen.The mountain is easily hiked from the cabin Rondvassbu .Experienced mountain hikers may scramble to Storsmeden from Veslesmeden.-The name:...
(2,015 m).
In many parts of the park, there are spread-out holes (kettle holes) created by small remains of ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
glaciers, and peculiar small hills called "esker
Esker
An esker is a long winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel, examples of which occur in glaciated and formerly glaciated regions of Europe and North America...
s" made by ground moraine
Moraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
released by melting glaciers.
Prehistory
The history of life in the area of the park begins at the end of the latest ice ageIce age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
. Large climate changes allowed reindeer
Reindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...
to spread widely across Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
, only to be forced back to a much smaller area — including the Rondane mountain area — only some hundreds of years later. Archaeologists
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
have found that the forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
quickly grew at high altitudes; birch
Birch
Birch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
trees found at 1030 metres (3379 ft) were 8500 years old.
On the mountain plateaux, there is evidence that nomadic hunter-gatherer
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
s lived off reindeer. Large traps used to catch reindeer can be found at Gravhø and Bløyvangen and are also spread all throughout the park. These are constructed from stone to make holes or large fenced-in areas into which reindeer could be tricked or led.
In conjunction with these large traps, there are also small arched stone walls which are believed to have been used as hiding places for archers waiting for prey. Various dating methods have suggested that the earliest traps may be as old as 3500 years. Most of the findings, including remains of houses, date back to the years between 500 and 700 CE. It is thus known with confidence that the large traps and accompanying walls were used from the 6th century until the onset of the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
in the 14th century.
Establishment
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
. The main reasons for protecting the park were "to safeguard the natural environment with its native plants, animal life, and cultural heritage and also to secure the environment as a recreational area for future generations".
Legal efforts to protect nature in Norway date from 1954, when the Nature protection law was passed. Soon after, in 1955, community meetings were held in the municipalities close to Rondane, and a commission was founded. Norman Heitkøtter was president of the commission, and made it possible by Royal resolution to establish Rondane National Park. At its establishment, the park covered an area of 580 km² (224 sq mi).
Although Rondane was the first national park in Norway, many others followed. The parks are maintained by the Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management
Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management
The Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management is Norway's national governmental body for preserving Norway's natural environment, including establishing and regulating national parks and other protected areas...
.
2003 expansion
As a special measure for the protection of the wild reindeer, the park was significantly enlarged in 2003, its area increasing from 580 to 963 km² (224 to 372 mi²). The park was enlarged mainly to the north-west, and slightly in the east and south. In addition, areas with lesser protection (landscape protection as well as nature protection areas) were established in connection with the park. A new national park, Dovre National ParkDovre National Park
Dovre National Park is a national park in Hedmark and Oppland, Norway, that was established in 2003. Dovre covers an area of 289 km² and the altitude varies from the tree line around 1000 meters to 1716 meters ....
, between Rondane and Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park
Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park
Dovrefjell–Sunndalsfjella National Park is a National Park in Norway. It was founded in 2002 to replace and enlarge the former Dovrefjell National Park, originally founded in 1974...
was also opened. Following the expansion, it is now only approximately 1 kilometre from the northern border of Rondane to the southern border of Dovre National Park
Dovre National Park
Dovre National Park is a national park in Hedmark and Oppland, Norway, that was established in 2003. Dovre covers an area of 289 km² and the altitude varies from the tree line around 1000 meters to 1716 meters ....
, and large sections of adjacent mountain areas are protected by the three parks.
Geology
Bedrock
In stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...
in Rondane comes from a shallow sea floor, created 500 to 600 million years ago. From this, changes in the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
's crust created a mountain area of metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rock is the transformation of an existing rock type, the protolith, in a process called metamorphism, which means "change in form". The protolith is subjected to heat and pressure causing profound physical and/or chemical change...
and quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
. There are no fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s found in Rondane today and so it is thought the sea where the rock came from contained no animal life.
The present landscape was mostly formed by the last ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
, nine to ten thousand years ago. At that time large quantities of ice were formed, and it is believed that the ice melted gradually in shifting cycles of melting and ice accumulation. The ice melting must have been rapid when it happened, digging deep river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
valleys.
Rondane contains a few small canyons which were created by the rapid ice melting, most prominently Jutulhogget
Jutulhogget (Rondane)
Jutulhogget is a small canyon close to the cabin Rondvassbu by Rondvatnet in Rondane National Park, Norway. Its highest walls are approximately 20-30 meters high.The canyon was dug out by large amounts of water at the end of the last ice age....
and Vesle-Ula.
Biology
Rondane is one of the few places in Scandinavia and Europe where wild reindeerReindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...
(as opposed to the domestic breed) are found. The Directorate for Nature Management regards Rondane as "especially important as a life supporting area for the native reindeer". It is estimated that approximately 2000 to 4000 reindeer live in Rondane and the nearby Dovre area. To protect the reindeer population in their core area, during hiking trails have been moved. The park was also enlarged in 2003 to provide increased protection for the reindeer.
Other large game
Game
A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...
, including roe deer
Roe Deer
The European Roe Deer , also known as the Western Roe Deer, chevreuil or just Roe Deer, is a Eurasian species of deer. It is relatively small, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapted to cold environments. Roe Deer are widespread in Western Europe, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia, and from...
and elk (moose)
Moose
The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
are commonplace along the rims of the park and occasionally musk ox
Musk Ox
The muskox is an Arctic mammal of the family Bovidae, noted for its thick coat and for the strong odor emitted by males, from which its name derives. This musky odor is used to attract females during mating season...
from Dovre can be seen. Wolverine
Wolverine
The wolverine, pronounced , Gulo gulo , also referred to as glutton, carcajou, skunk bear, or quickhatch, is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae . It is a stocky and muscular carnivore, more closely resembling a small bear than other mustelids...
s and a small population of bear
Bear
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
s are also present, while wolves are rare.
The reindeer largely rely on the lichen
Lichen
Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...
and reindeer moss that grow together with heather and hardy grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
on the quite arid and nutrient-poor stony plateaus. The lichen provide food for the reindeer, but also fertilize the earth, making it possible for less hardy plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
s to grow, and mice
Mouse
A mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...
and lemming
Lemming
Lemmings are small rodents, usually found in or near the Arctic, in tundra biomes. They are subniveal animals, and together with voles and muskrats, they make up the subfamily Arvicolinae , which forms part of the largest mammal radiation by far, the superfamily Muroidea, which also includes rats,...
s to feed. One of the flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
species to survive very well is the Glacier Crowfoot, found up to 1700 metres (5580 ft).
Tourism
The Norwegian Mountain Touring Association
Norwegian Mountain Touring Association
The Norwegian Trekking Association is a Norwegian association which maintains mountain trails and cabins in Norway. The association was founded on 21 January 1868 with the scope "to help and develop tourism in this country". Today the goal is to work for simple, secure and environmentally friendly...
(DNT) is an association that owns and manages a network of mountain cabins in the service of hikers. In Rondane, there is a central cabin by the southern end of the lake Rondvatnet, Rondvassbu. There is also Dørålseter and Bjørnhollia at the northern and eastern rims of the park. All three cabins are manned, and provide food and limited accommodation (possible to book beforehand). There are also un-manned cabins in the Park, like Eldåbu where a key is needed.
DNT also mark trails in the Park, with red Ts that are easy to spot. The T-trails lead the way cabin-to-cabin, as well as marking the path to some of the peaks close to Rondvatnet. Recently, some of the trails have moved slightly to avoid the core areas of the wild reindeer.
The service cabins are also open during the winter season, although they are sometimes only self-serviced off season. Ski trails are marked and sometimes prepared, either by DNT or some of the hotels and skiing resorts close to the park.
Rondane in literature
The landscapes of Rondane have inspired many Norwegian writers. Probably the best-known work is Peer GyntPeer Gynt
Peer Gynt is a five-act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, loosely based on the fairy tale Per Gynt. It is the most widely performed Norwegian play. According to Klaus Van Den Berg, the "cinematic script blends poetry with social satire and realistic scenes with surreal ones"...
(1867), a play by Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
, which is partly set in Rondane:
- Act 2, Scene lV
- Peer
- Tower over tower arises!
Hei, what a glittering gate!
Stand! Will you stand! It's drifting
further and further away!
...
- Tower over tower arises!
With this scene, Ibsen wrote Rondane into one of the 19th centuries better-known plays and made Rondane a symbol for Norway.
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen was a Norwegian writer and scholar. He and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe were collectors of Norwegian folklore...
, writer and gatherer of Norwegian folk tales in the mid-19th century, collected many stories connected with Rondane, including Peer Gynt, the story that inspired Ibsen.
A third writer who set one of his famous works in Rondane is the poet Aasmund Olavsson Vinje
Aasmund Olavsson Vinje
Aasmund Olavsson Vinje was a famous Norwegian poet and journalist who is remembered for poetry, travel writing, and his pioneering use of Landsmål .-Background:...
with his poem Ved Rundarne.
The name
Rondane is the finite plural of the word rond. Several mountains in the area have the ending -ronden (DigerrondenDigerronden
Digerronden is one of the ten mountains in Rondane National Park over 2,000 m, and lies in the municipality Dovre in Oppland, Norway.It has a characteristic pyramidal shape....
, Høgronden
Høgronden
Høgronden is a mountain in Folldal, Hedmark, Norway and lies in the north east part of the mountain range Rondane....
, Midtronden
Midtronden
Midtronden is a mountain with two peaks in Dovre, Oppland, Norway. It is in the mountain range Rondane. The western peak is the highest, , while the eastern peak is with a primary factor of .-The name:...
, Storronden
Storronden
Storronden is one of the mountains in the Rondane range....
and Vinjeronden
Vinjeronden
Vinjeronden is one of the ten mountain in Rondane in Norway over 2,000 metres. It lies on the border of the three municipalites Dovre, Folldal and Sel, and in the counties Oppland and Hedmark....
), and this is the finite singular of the same word. The word rond was probably originally the name of the long and narrow lake Rondvatnet
Rondvatnet
Rondvatnet is a narrow lake in Rondane National Park. By the southern end is the Norwegian Mountain Touring Association's cabin Rondvassbu. Rondvatnet separates the eastern part of Rondane from the western part, Smiubelgen....
('Rond water/lake') - and the mountains around were then named after this lake. For the meaning see under Randsfjorden
Randsfjorden
Randsfjorden is Norway's fourth largest lake with an area of . Its volume is estimated at just over , and its greatest depth is . The lake is above sea level....
.
See also
- Tourism in NorwayTourism in NorwayThe main tourist attractions of Norway are the fjord-indented coastline and its mountains, the unspoiled nature of the inner parts of the country, and the cities and smaller towns.-Attractions:...
- Norwegian Mountain Touring AssociationNorwegian Mountain Touring AssociationThe Norwegian Trekking Association is a Norwegian association which maintains mountain trails and cabins in Norway. The association was founded on 21 January 1868 with the scope "to help and develop tourism in this country". Today the goal is to work for simple, secure and environmentally friendly...
- List of national parks of Norway
- Dovre National ParkDovre National ParkDovre National Park is a national park in Hedmark and Oppland, Norway, that was established in 2003. Dovre covers an area of 289 km² and the altitude varies from the tree line around 1000 meters to 1716 meters ....
- Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National ParkDovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National ParkDovrefjell–Sunndalsfjella National Park is a National Park in Norway. It was founded in 2002 to replace and enlarge the former Dovrefjell National Park, originally founded in 1974...
- Peer GyntPeer GyntPeer Gynt is a five-act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, loosely based on the fairy tale Per Gynt. It is the most widely performed Norwegian play. According to Klaus Van Den Berg, the "cinematic script blends poetry with social satire and realistic scenes with surreal ones"...
