The Šeškinė esker stretches across the Šeškinė district, between the "Akropolis" shopping centre and the residential area on Gelvonų Street. It is a true natural landmark of Vilnius. The Šeškinė esker was declared a geological natural monument as early as 1964. Before that, the esker had been damaged many times. It suffered particularly during the Second World War from bombs, dug trenches and earthworks. For many years after the war, bombs found in the city were detonated here and old tyres were burnt. In the 1950s gravel and sand were dug here for building Vilnius. Part of the esker was destroyed when Ozo Street was built. The Šeškinė esker is a NE–SW-oriented, embankment-shaped ridge, 1,160 m long, 25–40 m wide and from 4–8 m (in the south-western part) to 6–20 m (in the north-eastern part) high, composed mostly of gravelly sand. The crest of the esker is uneven, and the slopes are inclined at 7–30° (the eastern slopes are higher and steeper). The protected area of the esker is 7.4 ha. In terms of natural setting, the Šeškinė esker lies within the Sudervė morainic hills. This unique landform was formed in a crevasse or tunnel in a melting glacier, where water washed in sandy and gravelly deposits. When the glacier melted (16–18 thousand years ago), a long, winding ridge remained in place of the sediment-filled crevasse or tunnel; geologists call this an esker. It is a fairly rare geological formation. Although declared protected, the Šeškinė esker was long neglected and unkempt, and gradually became overgrown with trees and shrubs. The situation changed in 2013, when the esker and its surroundings were adapted for visitors and residents' recreation. Thickets were cleared across the whole area, and nature trails with benches and information boards were laid out, giving visitors information about this natural monument. Today the Šeškinė esker is a natural oasis of more than 30 hectares in noisy Vilnius. It begins at the corner of the Ozo–Gelvonų crossroads and extends to the north-east, where, more than a kilometre further on, it ends at a small, charming lake of thermokarst origin. Hedgehogs, squirrels, hares, partridges, woodpeckers and nightingales live here. In spring, pasque flowers – a plant in the Lithuanian Red Data Book – come into bloom. The higher points of the esker offer a superb view of Vilnius. Residents of the surrounding neighbourhoods like to picnic, exercise or simply walk here.