Studies of roches moutonnées, glacial striae and raised shorelines show that Hopen was covered by a thick Pleistocene ice sheet which, at least at one stage, moved out from an area NE of the island. In contrast to the conditions on Vestspitsbergen and Nordaustlandet the land-upheaval on Hopen has, during the last 10,000 years, proceeded at a fairly constant rate—and it seems to be going on.