Alta

On this page: Alta — Parents: Europa › Norwegen — Photography, Technology & Science at the Tenckhoff Photo Archive.

Alta is a town in northern Norway, located in Troms og Finnmark County on the Altafjord. The region is famous for its spectacular Northern Lights, earning it the nickname “City of the Northern Lights.” Equally significant are the prehistoric rock carvings of Alta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Surrounded by fjords, plateaus, and rivers, Alta is a popular destination for outdoor activities such as dog sledding, fishing, and hiking.

Petroglyphen in Alta - 4000 B.C.

In the Hjemmeluft area on the southern shore of the Altafjord in northern Norway, just west of the town of Alta, Neolithic and Bronze Age petroglyphs were found in the autumn of 1972, ranging in age from 2000 to 6500 years.
Petroglyphs (from Greek πέτρος petros "stone" and γλύφειν glýphein "to carve") are representations worked into stone, which often show hunting and religious scenes from prehistoric times. Unlike rock art, a petroglyph is engraved, scraped, or pecked, and sunk into the ground.