Norway vs. California

Every year or so, we attempt to compare and contrast a place on our Earth that is distant and different from California. In each case, as we examine these seemingly disparate places more closely, we recognize how complex natural and human systems and cycles tie us together in ways that may not be apparent on the surface. Such is the case here as we dare to compare Norway to California. As usual, you are encouraged to do your own comparing and contrasting and either critique this as yet another geography exercise gone too far, or another window that opens into a world of connected threads and discoveries that bind us all together on this third rock from the sun.

California 12,000 years ago?
This Nigardsbreen arm of the massive Jostedalsbreen glacier is retreating, leaving behind classic spectacular glacial landscapes. It is one of the most accessible of the many Norwegian glaciers that attract tourists who want to see them before they disappear.

Surface travel from California will require navigating down the coast to get around the North American Continent even if you use the Panama Canal. From there, you will have to sail more than 5,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean and at least 50 degrees of latitude. Even the direct flight over southern Greenland is about 5,000 miles (~8,000 km).  Norway’s southernmost locations are at least 16 degrees north of northern California and that may be the most notable difference that has influenced the natural and human landscapes and cultures of these two places.

Norway melting.
Research shows that this Nigardsbreen glacial arm of the Jostedalsbreen has shrunk up to 9,383 feet (2,860m) in just over a century, including more than 266 feet (81m) in 2018.

But they are also similar in surprising ways. They are both elongated north-south, draped across a range of climate zones (warmer south and colder north, milder west coast and harsher east) and landscapes that have helped diversify their natural and human histories. Norway wins this latitude competition, stretching more than 14 degrees north-south, compared to California’s 9.5 degrees. Norway also covers more longitude (more than 25 degrees versus 10 degrees for California), though the distance difference isn’t as great as it may first seem since the length of a degree of longitude is a lot less in Norway, as it is so much closer to the pole, where lines of longitude converge. Though Norway is only a little smaller than California in total area, its population is just more than 5 million, compared to California’s approximately 40 million. This leaves Norway with more open space even when compared to the Golden State’s sprawling natural landscapes.    

Summer skiing in Norway
Norway has exploited the attention it has received (such as from the Disney movie Frozen) to attract more tourists to admire its iconic glacial landscapes, such as here to the east of Jostedalsbreen National Park.

California’s coastline is famously jagged, but Norway’s coastline is so rugged and frequently interrupted with fjords and dotted with islands, it totals tens of thousands of miles, much longer than the Golden State’s  cherished coast. We know that California’s coast is cooled by powerful ocean currents as waters generally drift from north to south (the California Current) and those mild climates gradually disappear as we move inland. But Norway’s coast is also milder than might be expected for its latitude, thanks to the south to north drift of the North Atlantic Current (or Gulf Stream) to become what researchers know as the Norwegian Atlantic Current. These relatively warm waters release tremendous amounts of heat into an otherwise colder latitude. And similar to California, prevailing west winds push Norway’s milder coastal air masses inland until climates gradually become more harsh to the east. Of course, the big difference is that because Norway is so far north, heavy snow and ice may dominate landscapes into spring, especially as you attempt to travel north or to just slightly higher elevations.

Glacial Landscapes in Conflict.
Tourists from around the world emit tons of heat-trapping CO2 each year as they travel to Norway to see the glaciers before the ice masses succumb to climate change accelerated by those very emissions.

And so we begin to understand why glacial landscapes (the focus of this essay) in the two places are so different and yet similar. Enormous glaciers dominated Ice Age Norway, leaving spectacular glacial topography throughout the country, especially to the north, and impressive active glaciers are still evident at northern and higher elevation locations. But in California, only a necessary combination of extensive lofty mountain ranges could catch enough moisture and freeze it long enough to support glaciers during the Ice Age, leaving more isolated examples of alpine glacial geomorphology. And though active glaciers are still commonly seen shaping mountain landscapes in Norway and only a few smaller ones remain isolated in California’s high country, glaciers are retreating in both places.             

Evidence of California Glaciers
Deer graze and look up to Yosemite Falls within the meadow that grows on sediment deposited in U-shaped Yosemite Valley.

It was Louis Agassiz in the mid-1800s who cleverly theorized that large glaciers shaped many mountain ranges on Earth. Clarence King of the U.S. Geological Survey in 1870 was first to document glaciers in California (on Mt. Shasta). And in October 1871, John Muir discovered and measured glaciers in Yosemite’s high country and then wrote about them; his discoveries were followed by 60 years of ridicule, until scientists confirmed that impressive glaciers had not only once carved Sierra Nevada landscapes, but that several small glaciers remained active there. Though the Golden State’s glaciers and the landscapes they left behind could never compete with Norway, there are similarities.

Yosemite’s Mirror Lake
What’s left of sediment-laden Mirror Lake reflects Yosemite Valley’s steep cliffs soured by Ice Age glaciers.

In both regions, the spectacular glacial landscapes that remain are admired for their unique natural beauty. The relatively small glaciers are important sources for summer runoff into lower elevations and plant communities. They and their runoff produce unique microclimates that have formed around the ice and the frigid meltwater that flows from them. More recently, as the glaciers and ice fields retreat, they are all helping us measure the accelerating rate of climate change that is impacting all landscapes, plants, and animals in these two regions that are thousands of miles apart. Todays’ pinnacles and sun cups remaining in the ice fields and small glaciers that are scattered northward from Mineral King’s peaks into northern California’s highest elevations are tiny samples that remain to temp us to imagine a landscape where great alpine (mountain-valley) glaciers more common to today’s Norway once carved parts of the Golden State.

Vernal Falls in Yosemite
Many of Sierra Nevada’s waterfalls (such as Yosemite’s Vernal Falls) plunge over hanging valleys carved by glaciers.

Look for spectacular erosional features such as isolated sharp-edged pyramidal peaks called horns, saw-toothed arêtes, bowl-shaped amphitheaters called cirques sheltering their crystal tarns of meltwater, and tributary hanging valleys and waterfalls that plunge into deeper, U-shaped valleys once carved by more massive glaciers. You might even notice grooves and striations on the exposed granites that were carved by coarser imbedded material dragged with the glaciers and polish left by finer material as it scoured its way downhill. Glacial till carved from above was deposited downstream in the form of jumbled contours of lateral, medial, and terminal moraines that may still block and pool today’s runoff from the high country. You can explore these landscapes that may seem more Norwegian in California’s high country, from the Sierra Nevada up to Shasta and even farther west in the Klamath’s Trinity Alps. But you will never find fiords in California, as our glaciers were never large enough to carve down near sea level or to the coast.

Vernal plunges into Yosemite Valley
The many Sierra Nevada waterfalls drop into U-shaped valleys with meadows and forests representing more than 10,000 years of plant succession.

We hope you enjoy the following images in this daring attempt to compare and contrast Norway and California glacial landscapes. 

From Glacier Point
Carved granites, U-shaped Yosemite Valley, and numerous other glacial features are displayed from Glacier Point.
Kings Canyon High Country
Classic glacial terrain is also evident behind the author as we enter the high country above Kings Canyon.
U-shaped Kings Canyon
Glaciers carved through Kings Canyon, leaving a valley that might remind you of Yosemite or another in Norway.
Mineral King Melting
Snow and ice accumulated to form firn and glaciers as far south as Mineral King in the Sierra Nevada during the Ice Age, but most of today’s snow melts away during summer, even after the wet years.
Meltwater Evidence
Even today, many streams in Sierra Nevada high country run milky with the glacial flour that was scoured by Ice Age glaciers and is now flowing down the Range of Light.
Mineral King High Country
Rugged high country above Mineral King in the southern Sierra Nevada displays abundant evidence of the power of erosion during previous glacial advances.
Norway’s Hanging Valleys
Hanging valleys and waterfalls are more common and found at lower elevations in Norway than in California’s glaciated mountains.
Settling Norway after the Glaciers
In contrast to California’s more rare glacial valleys, the base of many of Norway’s ubiquitous U-shaped valleys and their rich soils have been exploited for agriculture and other economic activities.
Blending with Nature
Common upslope fog looks down on Norwegians who have discovered what some might consider magical ways to use their glacial terrain without destroying the scenery.
Norway’s Fjords
Crossing this tributary of the giant Sognefijorden, we are reminded that Norway’s massive Ice Age glaciers carved all the way to the sea, until warming more than 10,000 years ago left their carved valleys to be flooded by rising sea levels.
Settling Norway’s Fjords
The historic trading center of Laerdalsoyri is a picturesque reminder of how Norwegians navigated the deep fjords left by retreating Ice Age glaciers.
Grooves and Striations
Debris within the moving, scraping glaciers carved these grooves and striations and polished the granitic rocks in the high country wilderness above Mammoth Lakes, CA.
California’s Glacial Lakes
Crystal waters suggest glacial flour has settled or been carried out of the clear glacial lakes along the Duck Lake Trail in the wilderness above Mammoth.
Short Summers
California’s colorful high country wildflowers are quick to grow, bloom, and go to seed in the short, cool summers that end when autumn’s first snows accumulate on surrounding glacial slopes of the Sierra Nevada.
Sierra Nevada Glacial Remnants
In the wilderness above Upper Big Pine, you will find patches of tiny, dwindling glaciers and ice fields such as this, suggesting you are getting closer to Palisade Glacier.
California’s Highest Valleys
Summer thaws Sierra Nevada’s high country as glacial terrains support a variety of hearty ecosystems above Upper Big Pine.
Sierra Nevada Glacial Lakes
A series of high country glacial lakes fill bowls carved by cascading glaciers that retreated and melted more than 11,000 years ago.
California Glacial Remnants
Glaciers carved these Sierra Nevada peaks and slopes, leaving classic glacial topography and pristine glacial lakes.
Trinity Alps. Saw-toothed ridges (arêtes) tower above glacial lakes (such as Emerald) in northern California’s Trinity Alps Wilderness.
Glaciers Scoured Here in California. After massive Pleistocene valley glaciers retreated in the Trinity Alps Wilderness, they left glacial polish and erratic boulders behind. The landscape is now exposed to weathering in this harsh climate with freeze and thaw cycles that continue breaking up the rocks, including the arêtes that tower in the background.