Carsten Borchgrevink

Abstract. The division of Norwegian land forms into two groups of different character—paleic (= old) and young—was introduced by REUSCH (1901). Earlier papers—shortly reviewed—dealing with the paleic surface are mainly concerned with tracing and reconstruction of old land surfaces, regarded partly to be mature, but mostly to be peneplains formed in one, two, or more cycles of base levelling. The present paper calls attention to the fact that common forms of Norway's paleic surface are hills, basins connected by passes, and forms which may be regarded as modifications of these, like single hills and isolated hill groups, upland plains, valley-like depressions, etc. Deep weathering may have contributed to the development of hills and depressions (as suggested by REUSCH 1903b), but characteristic features of the hill-basin slope profiles indicate that also subaerial slope processes, like surface weathering and areal transport, have been of importance. Certain ‘levels’ or a step-like arrangement of the paleic forms, which can be discerned in different parts of the country may be due to phases of tectonic uplift, but the naleic hills basins, etc. have probably been developed by processes which were more or less unrelated to the regional base level. Norway's paleic surface was probably developed in pre-Quaternary warmer climates. Studies on forms and processes in present-day warm arid and semi-arid areas and on inherited forms in present-day temperate-humid climates of Europe seem to support this conclusion.