An exciting adventure is to go by helicopter to Sweden’s largest glacier, Salajekna, located in the Arjeplog area. Salajekna is on the border between Sweden and Norway covering more than 24 square kilometers (11 square mi) and being up to 300 m (985 ft) thick. Scientists have been studying Salajekna for more than 200 years, and since the mid 1960’s it is also part of an international study.
Glaciers are indeed awe-inspiring and Salejkna is no exception. The cover of snow and ice with its characteristic blue color, and its creaking and the murmur of the streaming water down below is truly fascinating.
In the early 1800’s a medical scientist and botanist was sent to Salajekna by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to study the area. He described the glacier as a “monstrous beast, creaking and cracking, and deep in its abyss you hear water streaming”.
Salajekna has since been well documented in both text and images. In modern days, scientists have concluded that, due to climate change, a lot has happened over the past 200 years. The lake we see today used to be completely covered in ice and the edge of the glacier has moved about 1,5 km (1 mi).
Our dear Salajekna is well worth a visit, in the summer or winter. In the summertime, you’ll need to hike to get there, or go by helicopter. In the winter it is possible to go there by snowmobile.
