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NORWAY (Norge)
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See also:NORWAY (Norge) , a See also:kingdom of See also:northern See also:Europe, occupying the W. and smaller See also:part of the Scandinavian See also:peninsula. Its E. frontier See also:marches with that of See also:Sweden, except in the extreme N., where Norway is bounded by See also:Russian territory. On the N., W., S. and S.E. the boundary is the See also:sea—the See also:Arctic Ocean, that part of the See also:Atlantic which is called the See also:Norwegian Sea, the See also:North Sea and the See also:Skagerrack successively. The S. extremity of the See also:country is the See also:island of Slettingen in 57° 58' N., and the N. that of Knivskjxrodden, off the North Cape in 71° 11' N. Of the mainland, the southernmost promontory is Lindesnxs, in 57° 59' N., while the northernmost is Nordkyn, in 71° 7' N. The S. of the country, that is to say, the See also:projection between the Skagerrack and the North Sea proper, lies in the same See also:latitude as the N. of See also:Scotland and Labrador, and the midland of See also:Kamchatka. The most western island, Utvxr, lies off the mouth of the Sogne See also:Fjord (4° 30' E.), and the eastermost point of the country is within the Arctic lands, near Vardo (31° xi' E). The See also:direct length of Norway (S.W. to N.E.) is about moo m. The extreme breadth in the S. (about 61° N.) is 270 m., but in the N. it is much less—about 6o m. on the See also:average, though the See also:Swedish frontier approaches within 6 m. of a See also:head-See also:branch of Ofoten Fjord, and the Russian within 19 M. of Lyngen Fjord. The length of the See also:coast See also:line is difficult to estimate; measured as an unbroken line it is nearly 1700 m., but including the fjords and greater islands it is set down as 12,000. The See also:area is estimated at 124,495 sq. m. See also:Physical Features. See also:Relief.—The See also:main See also:mountain See also:system of the Scandinavian peninsula hardly deserves its name of Kjdlen' (the See also:keel). It may rather be described as a See also:plateau deprived of the See also:appearance of a plateau, being on the one See also:hand grooved by deep valleys, while on the other many salient peaks See also:tower above its average level. Such peaks, during the later Glacial See also:period, stood above the See also:ice-See also: For a See also:short distance, as far See also:south as See also:Lake Torne, the loftiest points See also:lie within Norwegian territory, such as Jxggevarre (6283 ft.), between Lyngen and Ulfs fjords, and Kiste Fjeld (5653 ft.) farther inland. Thereafter the See also:principal heights lie approximately along the See also:crest-line of the plateau and within Swedish territory. See also:Sulitelma, however (6158 ft.), lies on the frontier. Southward again the higher summits fall to Norway. S. of See also:Bodo, Svartisen (" the See also:black ice "), a magnificent snow-field bordering the coast, and feeding many glaciers, culminates at 5246 ft. Thereafter, Okstinderne or Oxtinderne (6273 ft.), and the See also:Store See also:Barge Fjeld (5587 ft.) are the principal elevations as far as 64° N. A little S. of this latitude the so-called See also:Trondhjem depression is well marked right across the central upland, the height of the mountains not often exceeding 4000 ft., while the peaked See also:form characteristic of the heights which See also:rose clear of the glaciers of the later Glacial period is wanting. It is from this point too that Norwegian territory broadens ' In Norwegian the definite See also:article (when there is no epithet) is added as a suffix to the substantive (masc. and fem. en, neuter et). See also:Geographical terms are similarly suffixed to names, thus Suldalsvandet, the lake Suldal. The commonest geographical terms are: elv, See also:river; nand, lake; fjeld, mountain or highland; o, island; dal, valley; noes, cape; fos, See also:waterfall; See also:box, See also:glacier; vik, vig, See also:bay; eide, See also:isthmus; fjord. Aa is pronounced aw.so as to include not only the highest land in the peninsula,, but a considerable part of the See also:general E. and S.E. slope. The high plateau broadens and follows the S.W. sweep of the coast. Pursuing it S. the Dovre Fjeld is marked off by the valleys of the See also:rivers Driva and Sundal, Laagen (or Laugen) and Rauma, and the fjords of the coastland of Nordmore. Here Snehxtta reaches a height of 7615 ft., and the See also:Romsdal (the name under which the Rauma valley is famous among tourists) is flanked by many abrupt jagged peaks up to 6000 ft. high. The valley of the Laagen forms the upper part of See also:Gudbrandsdal. See also:East of this and S.E. of the Dovre is another fjeld, Rondane, in which Hogronden rises to 6929 ft. South of the Otta valley is See also:Jotunheim or Jotun Fjeld, a sparsely peopled, in parts almost inaccessible, See also:district, containing the highest mountains in Scandinavia, Galdhopiggen reaching 8399 ft. On the seaward side of Jotunheim is Jostedalsbrx, a great snow-field in which Lodalskaupen reaches a height of 6795 ft. South of Sogne Fjord (61° N.) mountains between 5000 and 6000 ft. are rare; but in Hallingskarvet there are points about 6500 ft. high, and in the Hardanger Vidda (See also:waste), a broad See also:wild upland E. of Hardanger Fjord, Haarteigen reaches 6063 ft. The highland finally sinks towards the S. extremity of Norway in broken masses and short ranges of hills, separated by valleys radiating S.E., S. and W. Glaciers.—The largest glacier in See also:continental Europe is Jostedalsbrae, with an area of 58o sq. m., the snow-cap descending to 4000 or 4500 ft. Several of its branches fall nearly to the sea, as the Boiumsbrx above the Fjxrland branch of Sogne Fjord. The largest branch is the Nigardsbrx. Skirting Hardanger Fjord, and nearly isolated by its main channel and two arms, is the great glacier of Folgefond (io8 sq. m.). Two branches descending from the main mass are visited by many who penetrate the Hardanger—Buarbrx on the E., falling towards Lake Sandven above See also:Odde, and Bondhusbrx on the W. The extreme elevation of the Folgefond in 5270 ft. Continuing N. other considerable snow-fields are those of Hallingskarvet, the Jotunheim, Snehxtta in Dovre Fjeld, and Store Barge Fjeld at the head of the Namsen valley. Next follow Svartisen, second in extent to Jostedalsbrx (nearly 400 sq. m.), the Sulitelma snow-field and Jokel Fjeld, between Kvxnang and Oxfjords. One glacier actually reaches the edge of Jakel Fjord, a branch of Kvxnang Fjord, so that detached fragments of ice See also:float away on the See also:water. This is the only instance of the See also:kind in Norway. The Seiland snow-field, on Seiland island near See also:Hammerfest, is the most northerly See also:nave in Europe. The snow-line in Norway is estimated at 3080 ft. in Seiland, 5150 ft. on Dovre Fjeld, and from 4100 to 4900 ft. in Jotunheim. The lowness of the snow-line adds to the grandeur of Norwegian mountains. Coast.—The flanks of the plateau fall abruptly to the sea almost throughout the coast-line, and its isolated fragments appear in the innumerable islands which fringe the SkJurmainland. This island fringe, which has its See also:counter- gaard or part in a modified form along the Swedish coast, is island. called in Norwegian the skjeergaard (skerry-fence, fence. pronounced shargoord). This fringe and the fjord-coast are most fully See also:developed from See also:Stavanger nearly as far as the North Cape. The channels within the islands are of incalculable value to coastwise See also:navigation, which is the principal means of communication in Norway. The voyage northward from Stavanger may be made in quiet See also:waters almost throughout. Only at rare intervals vessels must enter the open sea for a short distance, as off the See also:port of See also:Haugesund, or when rounding the promontory of the Stat or Statland, S. of See also:Aalesund, passing the coast of Hustadviken, S. of Christiansund, or See also:crossing the mouth of some large fjord. At some points large steamers, following the carefully marked channel, pass in deep water between rocks within a few yards on either hand. Small See also:ships and boats, fishing or trading between the fjord-side villages, navigate the ramifying " leads " (leder) in See also:security. In some narrow sounds, however, the tidal current is often exceedingly strong. The largest island of the skjxrgaard is Hindo of the Lofoten and Vesteraalen See also:group. Its area is 86o sq. m. The number of islands is estimated at 150,000 and their area at 8500 sq. in. Many of them are of great elevation, especially the more northerly; thus the jagged peaks characteristic of Lofoten culminate at about 4000 ft. Hornelen, near the mouth of See also:Nordfjord, 3000 ft. high, rises nearly sheer above the Frbjfjord, and vessels pass close under the towering cliff. Torghatten (" the See also:market See also:hat "), N. of Namsos, is pierced through by a vast natural See also:tunnel 400 ft. above the sea; and Hestmando (" horseman island "), on the Arctic circle, is justly named from its form. The dark See also:blue waters of the inner leads and fjords are clouded, and show a milky tinge on the See also:surface imparted by the glacier-fed rivers. See also:Bare rock is the dominant feature of the coast and islands, See also:save where a few See also:green fields surround a farmstead. In the N., where the snow-line sinks See also:low, the scenery at all seasons has an Arctic character. See also:Christiania Fjord, opening from the N. See also:angle of the See also:Cattegat and Skagerrack, differs from the great fjords of the W. Its Fjords shores are neither so high nor so precipitous as theirs; it is shallower, and contains a great number of little islands. From its mouth, See also:round Lindesnxs, and as far as the Bukken Fjord (Stavanger) there are many small fjords, while the skjmrgaard provides an inner See also:lead only intermittently. Immediately S. of Bukken Fjord, from a point N. of Egersund, the See also:flat open coast of Jiederen, dangerous to See also:shipping, fringing a narrow See also:lowland abundant in See also:peat-bogs for some 30 m., forms an unusual feature. Bukken Fjord is broad and island-studded, but throws off several inner arms, of which Lyse Fjord, near Stavanger, is remarkable for its extreme narrowness, and the steepness of its lofty shores. The Hardanger Fjord, penetrating the land for 114 m., is known to more visitors than any other owing to its southerly position; but its beauty is exceeded by that of Sogne Fjord and See also:Nord Fjord farther N Sogne is the largest and deepest fjord of all; its head is 136 m. from the sea, and its extreme See also:depth approaches 700 fathoms. Stor Fjord opens inland from Aalesund, and one of its head branches, Geiranger Fjord, is among the most celebrated in Norway. Trondhjem Fjord, the next great fjord northward, which broadens inland from a narrow entrance, lacks grandeur, as the elevation of the land is reduced where the Trondhjem depression interrupts the average height of the plateau. The coast N. of Trondhjem, though far from losing its beauty, has not at first the grandeur of that to the south, nor are the fjords so extensive. The principal of these are Namsen, Folden and Vefsen, at the mouth of which is Alsten Island, with the mountains called Syv Sostre (Seven Sisters), and Ranen, not far S. of the Arctic circle. Svartisen sends its glaciers seaward, and the scenery increases in magnificence. Salten Fjord, to the N. of the great snow-field, is connected with Skjerstad Fjord by three narrow channels, where the water, at ebb and flow, forms powerful rapids. The scenery N. of Salten is unsurpassed. The Lofoten and Vesteraalen islands are separated from the mainland by the Vest Fjord, which is continued inland by Ofoten Fjord. If these two be considered as one fjord, its length is about 175 m., but the actual penetration of the mainland is little more than a fifth of this distance. The main fjords N. of Vesteraalen have a general northerly direction; among them is Lyngen Fjord near See also:Tromso, with high flanking cliffs and glaciers falling nearly to the sea. See also:Alten Fjord is re- markable for the vegetation on its shores. From Lofoten N. From Hardanger N. to Romsdal the streams of the W. slope are there is a See also:chain of larger islands, Senjen, Kvalo, Ringvadso, Sorb, insignificant, but there are several splendid valleys, such as the Stjerno, Seiland, Ingo and Magero. These extend to the North sombre Nnrodal, which descends to the Naero branch of Sogne Cape, but hereafter the skja:rgaard ends abruptly. The coast to the Fjord, or the valleys which sink S.. and N. from the Jostedalsbrae to E. is of widely different character; flat mountain wastes descend the head branches of Sogne Fjord and Nordfjord respectively. precipitously to the sea without any islands beyond, save Vardo Above those of Nordfjord is a See also:series of lakes, Olden, Loen and Stryn, whose milky waters are supplied almost directly from the with two low islets at the E. extremity of Norway. The fjords are I Jostedal glaciers, while above Eidsfjord a corresponding trough broader in proportion to their length. The See also:chief are Porsanger, contains Lake Hornindal. The next important valley is the Romsdal, Laxe and See also:Tana, opening N., and Varanger opening E. N. of this fjord the land is low and the landscape monotonous; on the S. a few island and branch fjords break the line of the See also:shore. Stavanger Fjord has an extreme depth of 380 fathoms; Hardanger Fjord 355, Sogne Fjord 67o, Nordfjord 340, Trondhjem Fjord 300, Ranen Fjord 235, Vestfjord 340, Alten Fjord 225, and Varanger Fjord 230. Marine terraces are met with in the E. of the country, and near Trondhjem, at 600 ft. above sea-level; and they are also seen at a slighter elevation at the heads of some western fjords. Moreover, at some points (as on the Jideren coast) " See also:giant kettles " may be observed close to sea-level, even below the level of high See also:tide; and these glacial formations indicate the greater elevation of the land towards the close of the Glacial See also:epoch. Former See also:beach-lines are most commonly to be observed in northern Norway (e.g. in Alten Fjord), and in some cases there are two lines at different altitudes. The land above the raised beach is generally bare and unproductive, and human habitation tends to confine itself in consequence to the See also:lower levels. See also:Hydrography.—In S.E. Norway there are long valleys, carrying rivers of considerable See also:size, flowing roughly parallel but sometimes uniting as they approach the sea. The Glommen, rising N. of Roros in Aursund Lake, and flowing with a southerly See also:curve parallel with the frontier for 35o m. to the Skagerrack, is the largest river in the Scandinavian peninsula. Its upper See also:middle valley is called Osterdal,i the richest See also:timber district in Norway. Its drainage area is 16,000 sq. in. Seven See also:miles above its mouth it forms the See also:fine Sarpsfos, and not far above this it traverses the large lake Oieren. A right See also:bank tributary, the Vormen, has one of its See also:sources (under the name of Laagen) in Lake Lesjekogen, which also drains in the opposite direction by the Rauma. The stream, after watering Gudbrandsdal, enters Mjosen, the largest lake in Norway. It is 6o m. long, but, like most of the greater Norwegian lakes, has no great breadth. It has, however, an extreme depth of 1500 ft. The See also:Drammen river, which enters a western See also:arm of Christiania Fjord below the See also:town of Drammen, is the See also:common outlet of several large rivers. The Hallingdal river drains the valley of that name, and forms Lake Kroderen, which is connected with the Drammen river by the Snarum. A short distance above the junction the Drammen flows out of Lake Tyrifjord, 5o sq. m. in area, into which flow the See also:united waters of the See also:Rand, from the valley district of Valdres, and the Baegna. The whole See also:basin of the Drammen has an area of 6600 sq. in, The rivers between Christiania Fjord and Lindesnns preserve the characteristics of those of the Glommen and Drammen systems. They rise on the Hardanger Vidda or adjacent uplands. The most important are the Laagen (to be distinguished from the river of that name in Gudbrandsdal), draining the Numedal; the See also:Skien, the Nid and the See also:Otter. Lakes are very numerous, the chief, beyond those already named, being Nordsjo on the Skien river, Tinsjo in the same system, which receives the river Maan, famous as forming the Rjukanfos (smoking fall) of 415 ft., and Nisservand on the Nid. The larger lakes lie, with a certain regularity, at elevations about 400 ft. above the sea, and it is considered that their basins were the heads of fjords when the land See also:lay at a lower level, and were formed during an earlier glacial period than the See also:present fjords. The great Lake Faemund, lying E. of the Glommen valley and drained by the river of the same name, which becomes the Klar in Sweden, to which country it mainly belongs, is similar in type to the lakes of the northern See also:highlands of Sweden. The streams of the coast of Jaederen reach the sea through sluggish channels, See also: On this stream is the magnificent Voringsfos. Lesser streams within the basin of the Hardanger form the Skjaeggedal and several other beautiful falls. the stream of which, the Rauma, forms the W. outlet of Lake Lesjekogen, as the Laagen forms the E. This lake, which lies 2011 ft. above sea-level, is the most remarkable example of an indefinite See also:watershed to be found in S. Norway. N. from Romsdal the Driva debouches into Sundals Fjord, while the Orkla, draining Orkedal, the See also:Gula draining Guldal, and the Nea or Nid, draining Lake Selbu, and The middle and upper parts of many valleys in Norway are known by different names from those of the rivers which water them, and such names may extend in common usage over the district on either side of the valley. forming the Lerfos, enter Trondhjem Fjord from the S., and range in The Mesozoic era is represented only by the sandy deposits with length from 70 to See also:loo M. The Stjordal, a beautiful wooded valley, leads up from the fjord to the lowest pass over the Trondhjem depression (at Storlien), and is followed by the railway from Trondhjem into Sweden. N. of) Trondhjem Fjord, in spite of the close proximity of the mountains to the W. coast, several considerable rivers are found, flowing generally about N.E. or S.W. in valleys nearly parallel to the coast. Such are the Namsen (85 m. in length) and the Vefsen, discharging into Namsen Fjord and Vefsen Fjord respectively, and the Dunderland, flowing into Ranen Fjord. In the basin of the same fjord is the short See also:Ros river,which drains Ros Vand, second in extent of the Norwegian lakes. In the extreme N., where the coastward slope is longer, there are such large rivers as the Alten, 98 m. long, discharging into the fjord of that name, and the Tana, also giving name to the fjord into which it flows, and forming a great part of the Russo-Norwegian frontier. It is 18o m. long, and drains an area of 4000 sq. m. Though the lakes of Norway are not comparable with those of Sweden as regards either number or size, they are very numerous and are estimated to See also:cover somewhat less than one-fortieth of the See also:total area. Glacial Action.—While the coast is considered to owe its fjords and islands to the work of former great glaciers, the results are even more patent inland. The actual tracks of the old glaciers are constantly to be traced. Nowhere are the evidences of glacial action better illustrated than in the barren See also:tract behind the low coastal belt of Jaederen. Here are vast expanses of almost naked rock, often riven and piled up in fantastic forms; numerous small lakes or bogs occupy the rock basins, and vast See also:numbers of perched blocks are seen, frequently poised in remarkable positions. The great valleys of Norway are of U-See also:section and exhibit the irregular erosive action of the glaciers, as distinct from the See also:regular action of the rivers. If a main glacier, after working steadily in the formation of its trough for a considerable distance, be imagined to receive an See also:accretion of power at a certain point, it will begin from that point to See also:erode more deeply. The result of such action is seen in the series of ledges over which the main rivers of Norway plunge in falls or rapids. See also:Geology.—Norway consists almost entirely of Archaean and Lower Palaeozoic rocks, imperfectly covered by glacial and other See also:recent deposits. The whole of the See also:interval between the Devonian and the Glacial periods is represented, so far as is known, only by a small patch-of See also:Jurassic beds upon the island of Ando. An archaean See also:zone stretches along the W. coast from See also:Bergen to Hammerfest, interrupted towards the N., by overlying patches of Palaeozoic deposits. See also:Gneiss predominates, but other crystalline rocks occur subordinately. The Lofoten Islands consist chiefly of eruptive See also:granite, See also:syenite and See also:gabbro. S. of a line See also:drawn from the head of the Hardanger See also:Ford to Lake Mjosen is another great Archaean area. Here again gneiss and granite form the greater part of the mass, but in Telemarken there are also conglomerates, sandstones and See also:clay-slates which are believed to be Archaean. Between these two Archaean areas the Lower Palaeozoic rocks form a nearly continuous belt which follows approximately the watershed of the peninsula and extends from Bergen and Stavanger on the S. to the North Cape and Vardo in the N. They occur also as a broad See also:strip inlaid in the Archaean See also:floor, from the Christiania Fjord northward to Lake Mjosen. A line drawn from the Nase to the North Cape coincides roughly with a marked See also:change in the character and structure of the Palaeozoic beds. East of this line even the See also:Cambrian beds are See also:free from overfolding, overthrusting and regional See also:metamorphism. They lie flat upon the Archaean floor, or have been faulted into it in strips, and they are little altered except in the neighbourhood of igneous intrusions. W. of the line the rocks have been folded and metamorphosed to such an extent that it is often difficult to distinguish the Palaeozoic rocks from the Archaean. They form in fact a mountain chain of See also:ancient date similar in structure to the See also:Alps or the Himalayas. The relations of the two areas have been studied by A. E. Tornebohm in the Trondhjem region, and he has shown that the western mass has been pushed over the eastern upon a great thrust-See also:plane. The relations, in fact, are similar to those between the See also:Dalradian See also:schists of the Scottish Highlands and the Cambrian beds of the W. coast of See also:Sutherland. In Scotland, however, it is the eastern rocks which have been pushed over the western. Corresponding with the difference in structure between the E. and the W. regions there is a certain difference in the nature of the deposits themselves. In the Christiania district the Cambrian, Ordovician and See also:Silurian beds consist chiefly of shales and limestones. Farther north sandstones predominate, and especially the Sparagmite, a felspathic See also:sandstone or arkose at the base of the Cambrian ; but the deposits are still sedimentary. In the Trondhjem district, on the other hand, belonging to the folded belt, basic tuffs and lavas are interstratificd with the normal deposits, showing that in this region there was great volcanic activity during the See also:early part of the Palaeozoic era. In both the E. and the W. region the Devonian is probably represented by a few patches of red sandstone, in which none but obscure remains of fossils have yet been found. It may be noted here that in the extreme N. of Norway, E. of the North Cape, there is a sandstone not unlike the Sparagmite of the S., which is said by See also:Reusch to contain ice-worn pebbles and to See also:rest upon a striated See also:pavement of Archaean rocks. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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