{"id":3640,"date":"2024-04-23T10:52:53","date_gmt":"2024-04-23T08:52:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oplevgudenaa.dev2.webko.io\/the-iconic-gudenaa-river\/nature-and-landscape\/nature-and-landscape-at-traekstien\/"},"modified":"2024-05-13T14:39:29","modified_gmt":"2024-05-13T12:39:29","slug":"nature-and-landscape-at-traekstien","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/oplevgudenaa.dk\/en\/the-iconic-gudenaa-river\/nature-and-landscape\/nature-and-landscape-at-traekstien\/","title":{"rendered":"Nature and landscape at Tr\u00e6kstien"},"content":{"rendered":"

The landscape along Guden\u00e5en<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The entire landscape around the Guden\u00e5dalen Valley is of unique experiential value. Several landscapes along Guden\u00e5en are classified as being of national geological interest.<\/p>\n

Guden\u00e5dalen is Denmark’s longest meltwater valley, and from the Tr\u00e6kstien trail you can see how the meltwater rivers created the landscape.<\/p>\n

When the ice began to retreat from the Jutland Ridge during the last ice age around 18,000 years ago (the Main State Line), the meltwater no longer flowed westward across the moorlands of Central Jutland but found its way northward through the Guden\u00e5dalen Valley. In other words, the Guden\u00e5dalen valley was created by enormous meltwater rivers that raged northwards to find their way to the sea.<\/p>\n

Ice Age<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Initially, the road to Randers Fjord and Kattegat was blocked by ice, so the meltwater found its way west and flowed into Hjarb\u00e6k Fjord. When the Kattegat became ice-free, Guden\u00e5en found its final course eastward through Randers Fjord into the Kattegat.<\/p>\n

The meltwater rivers eroded the sides of the river valley and deposited at the bottom, and the terraces found in Guden\u00e5dalen on both sides of Guden\u00e5en reflect earlier phases of melting. The terraces are the former river bottoms that Guden\u00e5en has cut deeper and deeper into as the ice melted away and new drainage opportunities arose. They can be very large and lie 20-30 meters above the current Guden\u00e5.<\/p>\n

Terrace levels can be seen in several places along the Guden\u00e5en, for example in the valley sides between Silkeborg and Svostrup, south of Kongensbro, north of Tange S\u00f8, where you can see traces of dead ice in addition to several terraces, and between Bjerringbro and Lang\u00e5, where the railway lies on the youngest terrace, and between Lang\u00e5 and Randers, where N\u00f8rre\u00e5en joins the large drainage canal system. South of Randers, there are also traces of the Stone Age sea, which after the Ice Age penetrated all the way to Lang\u00e5 and created the flat meadows we see today.<\/p>\n

A story about Gudar’s river<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A more mythical explanation for the formation of the landscape is found in the legend of Gudar. The beautiful Else was robbed by the demigod Gudar, but her furious father sought advice from the wise man in T\u00f8rring. Gudar had fled north with Else in his cart, but the wise man sent the water after them.<\/p>\n

Then all the springs burst, and all the streams ran in a united stream after Gudar, who whipped the horses. But at Randers, the river caught up with Gudar, who perished miserably in the depths. The girl and horses were rescued ashore.<\/p>\n

And Gudar’s river is still alive. So does Gudar, for that matter. He is standing at N\u00f8rgaards H\u00f8jskole on Vestre Ringvej in Bjerringbro. You simply can’t help but spot him.<\/p>\n

Flora and fauna<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Guden\u00e5en is home to more than 80 plant species, including 44 aquatic plant species.<\/p>\n

Aquatic plants include water lily, frogbit and several species of water saxifrage. Along the edge, reeds, downy moor grass, reed canary grass and sweet grass dominate. Other plant species include yellow iris, cattail, calamus – an ancient medicinal plant with a strong aromatic smell – and the two poisonous plants bittersweet nightshade and poison ivy. Several of the plant species are included on the Danish gold list of species in decline.<\/p>\n

A large part of the Guden\u00e5 river delta has been drained, but on the stretch between Randers city and Fladbro, the remains of the delta can still be experienced. There are tributaries and marshy areas overgrown with reed beds, willows and aquatic plants.<\/p>\n

If you see the tall giant hogweed, please report it to the municipality (see contact box on the right). Giant hogweed is an invasive species that a lot is being done to combat through action plans.<\/p>\n

Fish life<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The water has a good population of salmon and trout, but unfortunately, there is also a good population of the invasive mussel. It is not native to Denmark but originates from the Black Sea. While it’s true that the zebra mussel can help clean the water of algae, the big disadvantage of the species is that it can be in such dense populations that it can outcompete native animals and plants. Therefore, it is considered a major and growing problem in many parts of Denmark.<\/p>\n

Guden\u00e5en’s fish population is very species-rich, including salmon (release fish), trout (lake, brook and sea trout), eel, grayling, bream, bream, roach, pike, perch, lamprey (brook, river and sea lamprey), smelt, etc.<\/p>\n

Several of Guden\u00e5en’s fish species are included in Annex II of the Habitats Directive and on the Danish yellow and red lists of species that are in decline, disappeared, threatened, vulnerable or rare.<\/p>\n

Birds, animals and insects<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As for birds, there is a good chance of seeing herons, grebes, coots, ducks and mute swans. In the pipes along the edge, reed warbler, nightingale and reed bunting sing during the summer. If you’re lucky, you might spot kingfishers soaring like blue arrows over the surface of the water and maybe even the marsh harrier soaring on raised wings above the reedbed.<\/p>\n

You’ll also be lucky to see otter, a species that was very rare in Denmark in the 1980s, but now thrives in most of the country and not least along the Guden\u00e5en river.<\/p>\n

Among the insects, we must highlight the beautiful water nymph and the more rare green dragonfly, veil wings, which live nowhere else in Denmark than at Guden\u00e5engene south of Randers.<\/p>\n

In the forests east of Tange Lake there is a permanent population of red deer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The landscape along Guden\u00e5en The entire landscape around the Guden\u00e5dalen Valley is of unique experiential value. Several landscapes along Guden\u00e5en are classified as being of national geological interest. Guden\u00e5dalen is Denmark’s longest meltwater valley, and from the Tr\u00e6kstien trail you can see how the meltwater rivers created the landscape. When the ice began to retreat […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"parent":3635,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3640","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNature and landscape at Tr\u00e6kstien - Oplev Guden\u00e5en<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/oplevgudenaa.dk\/en\/the-iconic-gudenaa-river\/nature-and-landscape\/nature-and-landscape-at-traekstien\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nature and landscape at Tr\u00e6kstien - Oplev Guden\u00e5en\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The landscape along Guden\u00e5en The entire landscape around the Guden\u00e5dalen Valley is of unique experiential value. 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