Ula

Ula is a popular place in the summer months, with a small boat harbor, cabins, warm rocky outcrops, and several sandy beaches. But the area also has a very exciting natural history, with several remarkable features.

THE OSLO REGION

The oldest part of Ula’s history is the formation of its bedrock. Like much of the coast around Larvik, the bedrock consists of larvikite, Norway’s national rock. Larvikite, which is a deep-seated (plutonic) rock, was formed around 290 million years ago within the area geologically known as the Oslo Region. This rock is found only here, in the whole world! (Link to larvikite.)

MOONSTONE

In Ula’s bedrock, you can also find lighter bands of coarse-grained rocks that cut through the larvikite. These are rocks that solidified from water-rich melts, residual melts or pegmatites as geologists call them. These formed after the larvikite and therefore cut through it. In these bands, you can find intergrowths of two feldspar crystals, which give a very special blue color due to their optical properties. These stones were described and named by the well-known Norwegian geologist W.C. Brøgger (1851–1940). He called them (among other names) "moonstone" because the color can resemble the light of the moon. Moonstones from Ula have since been highly sought after by collectors, which has led to the deposits being almost plundered. Today, these are protected natural monuments, and any disturbance of the ground is prohibited.

THE ICE

Few other places, if any, have such smoothly polished landforms as along the coast of Vestfold. Ice, meltwater, and waves have shaped countless soft and smooth curves in the massive magmatic bedrock. In several places, you can find glacial grooves and potholes. There are plenty of striations formed by rocks frozen into the base of the glacier, as well as roche moutonnée and crescent marks. All these features represent the youngest shaping of the landscape at Ula, but the area is exposed to the elements, and today the waves and wind are strong forces that will continue to shape the landscape.

THE COMMUNITY AT ULA

The settlement of Ula gets its name from the Old Norse word for a scree or talus slope, and today about 200 people live here year-round. In the 19th century, the place was a well-known pilot station, where, among others, the pilot Ulabrand, whose real name was Anders Jacob Johansen, worked. A monument in his memory was erected at the tip of the Torsøy peninsula in 1932, created by the artist Hans Holmens. The population of Ula increases sharply in the summer months, as it is a very popular holiday destination.