Geography of Norway

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Image:No-map.png Norway is located in Northern Europe, bordering the North Sea in southwest, the North Atlantic Ocean (Norwegian Sea) in the west and the Barents Sea to the northeast, and Sweden to the east. Norway is one of the world's most northerly countries. The country has a very elongated shape, with one of the most rugged and longest coastlines in world. Vardø in the northeast is actually east of Istanbul. There are some 50,000 islands off the much indented coastline. Norway is one of Europe's most mountainous countries, with about two-thirds of the land area (Scandinavian Mountains).

The country-length chain of peaks is geologically continuous with the mountains of Scotland, Ireland and, crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the Appalachian Mountains of North America. Geologists hold that all these formed a single range prior to the breakup of the ancient supercontinent Pangaea.

Virtually the entire country was covered with a thick ice sheet during the last ice age. The movement of the ice carved out large valleys, and when the ice melted, the sea filled many of these valleys, creating Norway's famous fjords.

The land is still rebounding from the enormous weight of the ice (isostatic rebound), "growing out of the sea" with several mm a year, especially the eastern part of the country and the inner part of the long fjords, where the ice cover were thickest. This is a slow process, thus the sea covered substantial areas of what is today dry land for thousands of years following the end of the ice age. The sea reached an elevation of 221 m in Oslo (Aker), 25 m in Stavanger, 5 m near Stadt, 180 m in Trondheim, 50 m in Tromsø and 75 m in Kirkenes. This old seabed is now among the best agricultural land in the country.

The glaciers ([1]) in the higher mountain areas today are not remnants of the large ice sheet of the ice age, their origins are much more recent. The regional climate were up to 1-3°C warmer 9000-5000 years ago (relative to the 1961-1990 period), melting the original ice sheet completely.

As a result of the ice carving, Sognefjorden is the world's deepest fjord and Hornindalsvatnet is the deepest lake ([1]) in Europe.

Contents

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Statistics

Image:Mardalsfossen Waterfall Norway 2004.jpg Geographic coordinates: Template:Coor d

Map references: Europe

Area:
total: 324,220 km²
land: 307,860 km²
water: 16,360 km²
With Svalbard and Jan Mayen included: 385,199 km²

Area - comparative: slightly larger than New Mexico, but slightly smaller than Vietnam. With Svalbard and Jan Mayen included, the area is slightly larger than Japan.

Land boundaries:
total: 2,515 km
border countries: Finland 729 km, Sweden 1,619 km, Russia 167 km

Coastline: 25,148 km (continental); 83,281 km (including islands) [1]

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 10 nm (19 km)
continental shelf: 200 nm (370 km)
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm (370 km)
territorial sea: 4 nm (7 km)

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Physical geography

Scandinavian mountains. The Scandinavian Mountains is the most defining feature of the country. Starting just north of the southern Skagerak coast, the mountains goes north, comprising large parts of the country, and intersected by the many fjords of Vestlandet. This part of the mountains includes Hardangervidda, Jotunheimen (with Galdhøpiggen 2469 m), Dovre, Trollheimen and large glaciers, such as Jostedalsbreen, Folgefonna and Hardangerjøkulen. From Dovre, south of Trondheim, the mountain chain swings eastwards, and reaches to the border with Sweden near Sylene. The mountains then follows the border in a northeasterly direction, again intersected by many fjords in Nordland and Troms.This part of the mountain chain is known as Kjølen, where the border with Sweden largely is defined by the watershed in the mountains. The Scandinavian mountains reaches into northwestern Finnmark, gradually becoming lower from Altafjord towards Nordkapp, where they finally ends at the shores of the Barents sea.

The Scandinavian Mountains have naturally divided the country in physical regions; valleys radiate from the mountains in all directions. The following physical regions will only partially correspond to traditional regions and counties in Norway.

Southern coast. The southern Skagerak and North Sea coast is the lowland south of the mountain range, from Stavanger in the west to the western reaches of the outer part of the Oslofjord in the east. In this part of the country, valleys tend to follow a north - south direction. This area is mostly a hilly area, but with some very flat areas such as Jæren and Lista.

Southeast. The land east of the mountains (corresponding to Østlandet, most of Telemark and Røros) is dominated by valleys going in a north - south direction in the eastern part, and a more northwest - southeast direction further west, and the valleys congregate on the Oslofjord. The longest valleys in the country are Østerdal and Gudbrandsdal. This part also contains larger areas of lowland sourrounding the Oslofjord, as well as the Glomma river and lake Mjøsa.

Western fjords. The land west of the mountains (corresponding to Vestlandet north of Stavanger) is more dominated by the mountain chain, as the mountains goes all the way to the coast, albeit gradually becoming lower towards the coast. This part is dominated by large fjords, the largest are Sognefjord and Hardangerfjord. Geirangerfjord is often regarded as the ultimate fjord scenery. The coast is protected by a chain of skerries (the Skjærgård) arranged to parallel the coast and provide the beginning of a protected passage almost the entire 1,600 km route from Stavanger to Nordkapp (North Cape). The fjords and most valleys generally goes in a west - east direction, and further north a more northwest - southeast direction.

Trondheim region. The land north of Dovre (corresponding to Trøndelag except Røros) comprises a more gentle landscape with more rounded shapes and mountains, and with valleys congregating on the Trondheimsfjord, where they open up and forms a larger lowland area. Further north is the valley of Namdalen, opening up in the Namsos area. However, the Fosen peninsula, and the most northern coast (Leka) is more dominated by mountains and more narrow valleys.

Northern fjords. The land further north (corresponding to Nordland, Troms and northwestern Finnmark) is again more dominated by pointed mountains going all the way to the coast, and numerous fjords. The fjords and valleys generally goes in a west - east direction in the southern part of this area, and a more northwest - southeast direction further north. The Saltfjellet mountain range is an exception, as the valleys goes in a more north - south direction from these mountains. This long area comprises many large islands, including Lofoten and Vesterålen.

Far northeast. The interior and the land east of Nordkapp (corresponding to Finnmarksvidda and eastern Finnmark) is less dominated by mountains, and is mostly below 400 m. The interior is dominated by the large Finnmarksvidda plateau. There are large, wide fjords going in a north - south direction. This coast lacks the small islands forming the skerries so typical of the Norwegian coast. Furthest to the east, the Varangerfjord goes in an east - west direction, and is the only large fjord in the country opening up towards the east.

Svalbard. Further north, in the Arctic ocean, lies the Svalbard archipelago, which is also dominated by mountains, but these mountains are mostly covered by large glaciers, especially the eastern part of the archipelago, where glaciers cover more than 90%. Unlike the mainland, these glaciers calves directly in the open ocean.

Jan Mayen. To the far northwest, halfway towards Greenland, is the island Jan Mayen, where Beerenberg is found, the only active volcano in Norway.

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Climate

The climate of Norway is surprisingly temperate for such a northern country; this is mainly due to the North Atlantic Current and mild air coming from the southwest. The region to the west of the mountains (Vestlandet) is one of Europe's wettest; Brekke in Sogn og Fjordane has the highest annual precipitation with 3575 mm; annual precipitation can exceed 5000 mm in mountain areas near the coast. The region to the east of the mountains (Østlandet, including Oslo) in southern Norway gets considerably less precipitation, usually less than 1000 mm a year, and enjoys more sunshine and usually warmer summers. Valleys surrounded by mountains can be very dry: Skjåk has the lowest average annual precipitation on the mainland with only 278 mm; the lowest yearly annual precipitation ever recorded on the mainland is 74 mm in Saltdal.

The islands in southern Lofoten, to the north of the Arctic Circle in Northern Norway, are the northernmost locations in the world where all winter months have an average temperature above 0°C. The influence of the North Atlantic Current weakens in the far northeast of the country (east of North Cape), furthermore the frequent mild and moist air from the southwest is usually blocked by the Lyngen Alps in northern Troms, thus the interior of Finnmark gets less than 450 mm precipitation and has the coldest winters in the country. Winters can get cold in inland areas in southern Norway as well: Røros has recorded -50°C. Spring is the season when the temperature differences between the southern and northern part of the country is largest; this is also the time of year when daytime and nighttime temperatures differs the most.

The North Atlantic Current splits in two in the northern part of the Norwegian Sea; one branch goes east into the Barents Sea, while the other goes north along the west coast of Spitsbergen; this modifies the arctic polar climate somewhat and results in open water throughout the year at higher latitudes than in any other place in the Arctic. On the eastern coast of the Svalbard archipelago, the sea is frozen during most of the year.

Normal monthly averages range from -17°C in January (Karasjok) to 17°C in July (downtown Oslo and Drammen). The warmest year average temperature is 7.7°C in Skudenes in Karmøy, and the coldest is -3.1°C in Sihcajarvi in Kautokeino (excluding higher mountains and Svalbard); this is a 10.8°C difference, about the same as the temperature difference between Skudenes and Athens, Greece ([2]). The warmest temperature ever recorded in Norway is 35.6°C in Nesbyen. The coldest temperature ever recorded is −51.4°C in Karasjok.

Climate data for some locations in Norway; base period 1961-1990 (temperatures are 24-hour average):
Location Elevation Temperature (°C) Precip/year Growing season
(days)		 Summer
(days) 		Snow >25 cm
(days)
Jan July year
Blindern/Oslo 94 m -4.3 16.4 5.7 763 mm 188 133 30
Kristiansand 22 m -0.9 15.7 7.0 1380 mm 205 145 21
Florida/Bergen 12 m 1.3 14.3 7.6 2250 mm 215 143 3
Værnes/Trondheim 12 m -3.4 13.7 5.0 892 mm 180 114 14
Svolvær/Lofoten 10 m -1.5 13.0 4.7 1500 mm 165 87 19
Langnes/Tromsø 8 m -3.8 11.8 2.9 1000 mm 139 65 160
Kirkenes 10 m -11.5 12.6 -0.2 450 mm 125 65 135
Longyearbyen/Svalbard 28 m -14.6 6.5 -6.0 210 mm 43 0 no data
Growing season: Number of days/year with 24-hour average temperature at least 5 °C
Summer: Number of days/year with 24-hour average temperature at least 10 °C
Snow: Number of days a year with at least 25 cm (ca. 10 in) of snow cover on the ground
Kristiansand: snow cover data is from nearby Kjevik, Kristiansand should have slightly less snow
Svolvær: snow cover data is from nearby Skrova, Svolvær should have slightly more snow
Tromsø: snow cover data is from a station 100 m above sea level, Langnes will have slightly less snow
Kirkenes: snow cover data is from Karasjok
Longyearbyen: Growing season data from Svalbard Airport; Longyearbyen will have ca one week longer season

As seen from the table, Norway's climate shows large variations: Maritime mild temperate / marine west coast climate (Köppen: Cfb) as in Bergen; hemiboreal / humid continental (Dfb) as in Oslo; marine west coast - cool (Cfc) as in Svolvær; subarctic (Dfc) as in Kirkenes and polar tundra (ET) as in Longyearbyen (a narrow strip of land in northeastern Finnmark incl Vardø are also ET). In addition, large mountain areas have alpine tundra climates, and might have several climate zones below the treeline with decreasing altitude, depending on location and aspect.

Temperatures have tended to be higher in recent years. Using the same data source but with the years 1991-2005 as base period, this results in average January temperatures for the same stations that are 1 °C to 2.5 °C higher, while the July 24-hr average temperatures increases by approximately 0.5 to 1 °C.

Based on the 1991-2005 period, the January, July and Year 24-hr averages for Blindern/Oslo is −2.3 °C, 17.3 °C. and 6.6°C. For Florida/Bergen the corresponding temperatures are 2.8°C, 15.1°C and 8.2°C, and for Værnes/Trondheim −0.7 °C, 14.8 °C and 5.9°C.
Sources: See references.

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Light and timezone

Areas in Norway located north of the Arctic Circle will have midnight sun and corresponding winter darkness, the length of both depends on the latitude. In Longyearbyen, the upper part of the sun disc is above the horizon (provided clear view against the northern horizon) from April 19 to August 23, and the winter darkness lasts from October 27 - February 14. The corresponding dates for Nordkapp is from May 11 - July 31, and November 19 - January 22. For Tromsø, the dates are May 17 - July 25, and November 26 - January 15; and for Bodø from May 30 - July 12 and December 16 - December 27. The winter darkness is not totally dark on the mainland; there is twilight for a few hours around noon in Tromsø, but in Longyearbyen there is near total darkness in the midst of the dark period. Even the southern part of the country experiences large seasonal variations in daylight; in Oslo the sun rises at 03:54 and sets 22:54 at summer solstice, but is only above the horizon from 09:18 - 15:12 at winter solstice.

The northern part of the country is located in the aurora borealis zone.

Norway uses Central European Time, corresponding to the 15° east longitude. As the country is very elongated, this is at odds with the local daylight hours at the eastern and western parts. In Vardø the local daylight hours is 64 minutes earlier, and in Bergen it is 39 minutes later.

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Terrain

Image:Preikestolen view left.png

Glaciated; mostly high plateaus and rugged mountains broken by fertile valleys; small, scattered plains; coastline deeply indented by fjords; arctic tundra only in the extreme northeast (largely found on the Varanger Peninsula). Frozen ground all-year can also be found in the higher mountain areas and in the interior of Finnmark county.

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Norwegian Sea 0 m
highest point: Galdhøpiggen 2,469 m


Numerous glaciers are still found in Norway.

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Natural resources

petroleum, copper, natural gas, pyrites, nickel, iron ore, zinc, lead, fish, timber, hydropower

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Land use

arable land: 3%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 27%
other: 70% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 970 km² (1993 est.)

Natural hazards:

  • Winter storms with hurricane strength wind speed along the coast and in the mountains are not uncommon. For centuries one out of four males in coastal communities were lost at sea.
  • Avalanches on steep slopes, especially in the northern part of the country and in mountain areas. 16 Norwegian soldiers on exercise were killed by an avalanche in Vassdalen in Narvik municipality on March 5, 1986.
  • Landslides have on occasions killed people (for instance in Rissa), especially in areas where there is clay in the soil.
  • Tsunamies have killed people; usually caused by parts of mountains falling into fjords or lakes. This happened 1905 in Loen in Stryn when parts of Ramnefjell fell into Loenvatnet lake, causing a 40 m tsunami which killed 61 people. It happened again the same place in 1936, this time with 73 victims. 40 people were killed in Tafjord in Norddal in 1934.
  • Rocks falling from steep (mountain) slopes have injured or killed people on occasions.
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Environment

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Current issues

  • Water pollution
  • Acid rain damaging forests and adversely affecting lakes, threatening fish stocks
  • Air pollution from vehicle emissions
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International agreements

party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

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Major cities/towns (ranked by size)

Geography - note: Strategic location adjacent to sea lanes and air routes in the North Atlantic Ocean.

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Norwegian geography in fiction

In The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, fjords were an award winning geographical feature created by Slartibartfast when he helped in the construction of Earth.

In Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, scenes from the ice planet Hoth were filmed at Finse, Norway.

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See also

Image:Glacier svartisen engabreen.JPG

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External links

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References

  • Tollefsrud, J.; Tjørve, E.; Hermansen, P.: Perler i Norsk Natur - En Veiviser. Aschehoug, 1991.
  • Moen, A. 1998. Nasjonalatlas for Norge: Vegetasjon. Statens Kartverk, Hønefoss.
  • Norwegian Meteorological Institute ([3]).
  • Bjørbæk, G. 2003. Norsk vær i 110 år. N.W. DAMM & Sønn.
  • Førland, E.. Variasjoner i vekst og fyringsforhold i Nordisk Arktis. Regclim/Cicerone 6/2004.
  • University of Oslo. Almanakk for Norge Gyldendal fakta.

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