Scandinavia
Pen/cape · 114,532 km²
Scandinavia is a pen/cape in Europe, covering an estimated 114,532 km². It extends across Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark.
Scandinavia is a subregion of northern Europe that most commonly comprises Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, which share strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties. It may also refer to the Scandinavian Peninsula (which excludes Denmark but includes part of northern Finland). In English usage, the term is also used as a synonym for the Nordic countries. Iceland and the Faroe Islands are sometimes included, due to their ethnolinguistic ties to Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. Although Finland differs from the other Nordic countries in this respect, some authors consider it Scandinavian because of its economic and cultural similarities.
The geography of the region is varied, from the Norwegian fjords in the west and Scandinavian mountains covering parts of Norway and Sweden, to the low and flat areas of Denmark in the south, as well as archipelagos and lakes in the east. Most of the population in the region live in the more temperate southern regions, with the northern parts having long, cold winters.
During the Viking Age Scandinavian peoples participated in large-scale raiding, conquest, colonization and trading mostly throughout Europe.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Scandinavia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Feature class
- Pen/cape
- Mapped extent
- 114,532 km²
- Size rank
- #60 of 231 landforms
- Region
- Europe
- Countries
- Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark
- Coordinates
- 67.6147°, 22.2697°
- Summits:
- Kebnekaise (2,111 m)
- Ranges:
- Harz (Europe), Grampian Mountains (Europe)
- Settlements:
- Luleå (183 km), Skellefteå (260 km), Umeå (364 km)
More about Scandinavia
Geography
The geography of Scandinavia is extremely varied. Notable are the Norwegian fjords, the Scandinavian Mountains covering much of Norway and parts of Sweden, the flat, low areas in Denmark and the archipelagos of Finland, Norway and Sweden. Finland and Sweden have many lakes and moraines, legacies of the ice age, which ended about ten millennia ago.
The southern regions of Scandinavia, which are also the most populous regions, have a temperate climate. Scandinavia extends north of the Arctic Circle, but has relatively mild weather for its latitude due to the Gulf Stream. Many of the Scandinavian mountains have an alpine tundra climate.
History
A key ancient description of Scandinavia was provided by Pliny the Elder, though his mentions of Scatinavia and surrounding areas are not always easy to decipher. Writing in the capacity of a Roman admiral, he introduces the northern region by declaring to his Roman readers that there are 23 islands "Romanis armis cognitae" ("known to Roman arms") in this area. According to Pliny, the "clarissima" ("most famous") of the region's islands is Scatinavia, of unknown size. There live the Hilleviones. The belief that Scandinavia was an island became widespread among classical authors during the 1st century and dominated descriptions of Scandinavia in classical texts during the centuries that followed.
Economy
Measured in per capita GDP, the Nordic countries are among the richest in the world. There is a generous welfare system in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. These economies have been marked by large public sectors, extensive and generous welfare systems, a high level of taxation and considerable state involvement.
Various promotional agencies of the Nordic countries such as the Norwegian Trekking Association, the Swedish Tourist Association, and in the United States (The American-Scandinavian Foundation established in 1910 by the Danish American industrialist Niels Poulsen) serve to promote market and tourism interests in the region.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Scandinavia (CC BY-SA 4.0).