Moler cliffs of Limfjorden added to UNESCO World Heritage List

The moler cliffs of Hanklit on Mors and Knudeklint on Fur in Limfjorden have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List, Danish broadcaster DR reports.

The decision was made this morning by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, meeting in Busan, South Korea.

The cliffs were formed 25,000 years ago when ice pushed the seabed upward during the last ice age. However, their significance lies in layers over 50 million years old, composed of more than 100 strata of clay and volcanic ash. These layers, built up during a period of volcanic activity when a moler sea covered much of Denmark, contain fossilized fish, birds, insects, and plants.

Moler, a light clay primarily made of microscopic silica shells from algae and volcanic ash, takes its name from the Danish dialect word mo, meaning chalk or clay deposit. The cliffs—Hanklit, 60 meters high on the north side of Mors, and Knudeklint, up to 30 meters high on Fur—display visible stripes of volcanic ash.

Denmark now has 14 sites on the World Heritage List, including Roskilde Cathedral, Møns Klint, and Christiansfeld, as well as three sites in Greenland.