Torkratern (The Tor Crater)

An unusual hollow in the forest

Torkratern appears as a neat circular dip set into the moraine at Torbygget, a short distance southeast of Funäsdalen. The feature is compact—around forty to forty‑four metres in diameter and roughly five metres deep—and is framed by a low raised rim and a scattering of small depressions nearby. At a glance it reads as a simple bowl in the woodland floor, but its tidy geometry and the surrounding raised edge give it an unmistakable, almost artificial presence in the hushed mountain landscape.

From meteorite to dead‑ice story

For decades Torkratern has been discussed as a probable meteorite crater formed after the last ice age; field studies in the 1990s supported that interpretation and radiocarbon dating of organic material placed the feature at a few thousand years old. More recently the origin story has been reinterpreted by some researchers: rather than an extraterrestrial impact, the depression may be a so‑called dödisgrop — a hollow left where a block of buried ice melted out within a glacial lake or moraine. Either explanation emphasises the site’s value as a witness to late‑Quaternary processes that shaped the Härjedalen uplands.

What you’ll notice on site

Approach the rim and you’ll first hear the soft hush of the forest and the distant mountain wind; the crater itself sits recessed below the tree line, with a gentle path and seating on the rim and an information panel explaining the feature’s significance. Vegetation changes subtly between the rim and the hollow — mosses and heather on the raised edge, a slightly different mix of shrubs and grasses within the depression — reflecting microclimate and soil depth differences caused by the hollow’s formation and age.

Landscape context and scale

Torkratern is modest in scale compared with the dramatic mountain scenery that surrounds Funäsdalen, but that smallness is part of its charm. The crater sits in a quiet patch of mixed boreal forest and mountain meadows, with views that call the greater glacial history of the region to mind: rounded ridges, hummocky moraines and lakes formed by retreating ice. The site’s compact size means inspection takes little effort, yet it rewards attention with a layered story linking geology, climate and time.

Scientific and cultural notes

Whether regarded as an impact structure or as a dead‑ice hollow, Torkratern is interesting because it is young in geological terms — radiocarbon work has put its age in the several‑thousand‑year range — and because similar post‑glacial landforms are rare in Sweden’s modern landscape. The feature has drawn local interest and occasional field investigations; an onsite information board summarises the differing interpretations and encourages visitors to consider how scientists read the landscape for clues to past processes.

Visiting with respect

The crater is a small, fragile piece of the upland environment. There is a short trail from a nearby parking area and a modest number of interpretive signs and benches on the rim. Vegetation and soils around the depression are sensitive; avoid trampling the inner slopes and stick to established paths and seating. Observing quietly — listening to bird song, the scraping of wind in the trees and the soft footfall of grouse or small mammals — enhances the sense of encountering a subtle, ancient trace of the ice age in a lived mountain landscape.