Vikingbank
 
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Location of the Vikingbank in the North Sea |
The Vikingbank (including the adjacent Bergenbank also Viking-Bergen-Bank ) is a large sub - sea level sandbank in the northern North Sea , in the Viking sea area , between the Shetland Islands and Norway .
geography
location
The Vikingbank is located in the northern North Sea roughly halfway between the Shetland Islands and Norway. The west end of the sandbank is approx. 100 kilometers from the east coast of the Shetland Islands, its east end approx. 150 kilometers from the Norwegian west coast.
expansion
The Vikingbank is about 150 kilometers long (in north-south direction) and about 100 kilometers wide (in west-east direction). The area covers about 10,000 square kilometers.
history
The Vikingbank probably originated as a moraine formation in the Pleistocene . 7000 years ago the sea level was about 100 m lower than it is today. The North Sea coast was then about 600 kilometers north of its current position. Stone artifacts have been found on the Viking Bank and in the North Sea. These stone artefacts must have got there at the time of the land bridge between the Shetland Islands and Norway (time of the Vistula glaciation up to approx. 10,000 BC). With the melting of the ice at the end of the Vistula Ice Age, the sea level rose and flooded the earlier settlements ( Flemish Transgression 7000 to 5000 BC). The Vikingbank was probably flooded by tsunamis as a result of the Storegga slide. The wave triggered by this subsea slide rolled over the Viking Bank, which was only a few meters above sea level at the time.
economy
The Vikingbank is considered a good fishing area. Fish species such as B. Cod and plaice prefer to stay in the shallow water zones because of the slightly warmer water.
Coordinates: 60 ° 18 ' N , 1 ° 18' E