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Why are parts of the land around the Gulf of Bothnia still rising?
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Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea, the North Sea, and the English Channel.
The land surrounding the Gulf of Bothnia is rising due to a process known as glacio-isostatic crustal adjustment. During the Pleistocene Epoch, the region was covered by a massive ice sheet. The immense weight of this ice depressed the Earth's crust.1
Following the retreat of the glaciers, the land began to rebound—a slow, ongoing recovery process that continues today as the crust returns to its original position after the removal of that great weight. While this uplift is actively building up the head of the Gulf of Bothnia, it is important to note that in some other coastal areas, such as Stockholm, the rate of rising sea levels has occasionally exceeded the rate of this land uplift.2