Saimaa Geopark destination: Sarkaslampi

Sarkaslampi is one of the Saimaa Geopark destinations in Juva. The route tours the rugged nature and lake scenery and features three relics: a prehistorical quartz quarry and two rock paintings.

“The rocky areas of Ristilampi and Sarkaslampi are dominated by scarps rising 30-50m above the water and the valleys between the scarps, which illustrate the passage of fault and fracture zones in the area’s bedrock. The main type of rock in the bedrock is garnet-rich mica gneiss containing veins of granite, with larger areas of granite in some places.

There are rock paintings in the area of Sarkaslampi depicting an elk and a boat, and there is a prehistoric quartz quarry in the quartz-rich part of a pegmatite dike on the eastern shore of Ristilampi. A curved surface typical to potholes, worn down by the melt-waters of the continental ice sheet, can also be seen above the quartz quarry.

There is a marked path along the shores of Ristilampi and Sarkaslampi ponds, in challenging terrain, leading to the prehistoric quarry and rock paintings.” (quoted from Saimaa Geopark website)