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SWEDEN [Sverige]

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Originally appearing in Volume V26, Page 193 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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SWEDEN [Sverige]  , a See also:kingdom of See also:northern See also:Europe, occupying the eastern and larger See also:part of the Scandinavian See also:peninsula . It is bounded N.E. by See also:Finland (See also:Russian See also:Empire), E. by the Gulf of See also:Bothnia and the Baltic See also:Sea, S.W. by the See also:Cattegat and See also:Skagerrack, and W. by See also:Norway . It extends from 69° 3' 21" to 550 20' 18" N., and from I° 6' 19" E. on the See also:south-See also:west See also:coast to 24° 9' II" E. on the Finnish frontier, the extreme length being about 990 m., the extreme breadth (mainland) about 250 m., and the. See also:total See also:area estimated at 173,547 sq. m . Out of a detailed total estimate of the boundary See also:line at 610o m., 4737 M. are coastal, the See also:Norwegian frontier is 1030 m., and the Finnish 333 m . See also:Physical Features.—The backbone of the Scandinavian peninsula is a range, or See also:series of masses, of mountains (in See also:Swedish Kolen,' the See also:keel) extending through nearly the whole length of the peninsula towards the western See also:side . The eastern or Swedish, flank has, there-fore, the slighter slope . This range forms, in a measure, a natural boundary between See also:Sweden and Norway from the extreme See also:north to the north of Svealand, the central of the three See also:main territorial divisions of Sweden (Norrland, Svealand and Gotaland) ; though this boundary is not so well markd that the See also:political frontier may follow it throughout . Sweden itself may be considered in four main physical divisions—the mountains and highland See also:district, covering all Norrland and the western part of Svealand; the lowlands of central Sweden; the so-called Smaland See also:highlands, in the south and south-See also:east; and the plains of Skane, occupying the extreme southward See also:projection of the peninsula . The first district, thus defined, is much the largest, and includes the greatest elevations in the See also:country and the finest scenery . The highest mountains are found in the north, the bold Northern See also:peak of Kebnekaise reaching 7005 ft., Sarjektjacko, Notthands . 6972 ft., being the loftiest point of a magnificent See also:group including the Sarjeksfjall, Alkasfjall and Partefjall, which range from 6500 ft. upwards; and, farther south, See also:Sulitelma, 6158 ft., See also:long considered the highest point in Scandinavia . See also:Elevation then decreases slightly, through Stuorevarre (5787 ft.) and Areskutan (4656 ft.), to the south of which the railway from See also:Trondhjem in Norway into Sweden crosses the See also:fine pass at Storlien .

South of this again, before the main See also:

chain passes into Norway, are such heights as Helagsfjall (5896 ft.) and Storsylen (5781 ft.) ; and a group of mountains in the northern part of the See also:province of See also:Dalecarlia (Dalarne) ranges from 3600 to 4500 ft. in height . The See also:neighbour-See also:hood of Areskutan and the Dalarne highlands, owing to the railway and the development of communications by steamer on the numerous lakes, are visited by considerable See also:numbers of travellers, both Swedish and See also:foreign, in summer; but the northern heights, crossed only by a few unfrequented tracks, are known to few, and to a considerable extent, indeed, have not been closely explored . From the scenic standpoint the relatively small elevation of these mountains finds See also:compensation in the See also:low See also:snow-line, which ranges from about 3000 ft. in the north to 5500 ft. in the south of the region . All the higher parts are thus snow-clad ; and glaciers, numerous in the north, occur as far south as the Helagsfjall . The outline of the mountains is generally rounded, the rocks having been subjected to erosion from a very See also:early See also:geological See also:age, but hard formations cause bold peaks at several points, as in Kebnekaise and the Sarjeksfjall . I In Swedish the definite See also:article (masc. and fem. en, neut, et) is added as a suffix to the substantive (when there is no epithet) . See also:Geographical terms are similarly suffixed to names, thus Dalelfven, the See also:river Dal . The commonest geographical terms are : e1~, strum, river; sjo, See also:lake; o, See also:island; holm, small island; See also:flail, See also:mountain,group or range; dal, valley; vik, See also:bay . In Norrland the following terms are See also:common: a, river, often attached to the names of the large See also:rivers, as Tornea, Luleh (although properly it means a smaller river than See also:elf); the names of towns at their mouths always following this See also:form; trdsk (See also:local, properly meaning See also:marsh), jaur (Lapp), afva, lake (provincial Swedish, properly a See also:kind of See also:creek opening from a river) . A is pronounced o . From the See also:spinal mountain range a series of large rivers run in a south-easterly direction to the Gulf of Bothnia . In their upper Rivers of parts they drain See also:great lakes which have resulted from the ,north. the formation of morainic dams, and in some cases perhaps from the incidence of erratic upheaval of the See also:land .

All See also:

lie at elevations between 900 and 1300 ft . All are narrow in comparison with their length, which is not infrequently magnified to view when two lakes are connected by a very See also:short stretch of See also:running See also:water with a navigable fall of a few feet, such as those between Hornafvan, Uddjaur and Storafvan on the Skellefte river . The following are the See also:principal rivers from north to south: The Tome, which with its tributary the Muonio, forms the boundary with Finland, has a length of 227 m., and drains lake Torne (Tornetrask), the area of which is 126 sq. m . The Kalix is 208 m. in length . The Lule is formed of two branches, Stora and Lilla (Great and Little) Lule; the length of the main stream is 193 m . The Stora Lule See also:branch drains the Langas and Stora Lule lakes (Langasjaur, Luletrask), which have a length together exceeding 50 m., a fall between them of some 16 ft. and a total area of only 87 sq. m., as they are very narrow . Below Stora Lule lake the river forms the Harsprang (See also:hare's leap; Njuommelsaska of the Lapps), the largest and one of the finest cataracts in Europe . The sheer fall is about See also:loo ft., and there is a further fall of 150 ft. in a series of tremendous rapids extending for It m . Farther up, at the See also:head of Langasjaur, is the Stora Sjofall (great lake fall; Lapp, Atna Muorki Kartje), a fall of 130 ft. only less See also:grand than the Harsprang . Both are situated in an almost uninhabited country and are rarely visited . Following the Pite river (191 M.), the Skellefte (205 m.) drains Hornafvan and Storafvan, with a fall of 20 ft., and an area together of 275 sq. m . Hornafvan is a straight and sombre trough, flanked by high hills of unbroken slope, but Storafvan and the intervening Uddjaur are broad, throwing off deep irregular inlets, and picturesquely studded with numerous islets .

The Ume (237 m.) receives a tributary, the Vindel, of almost equal length, on the north See also:

bank some 20 m. from its mouth, and among several lakes drains Stor Uman (64 sq. m.) . The further principal rivers of this region are the Angerman (242 m.), Indal (196 m.), draining the large lakes Kallsjo and Storsjo, Ljusnan (230 m.), Dal and Klar . Of these the two last rise in the southernmost part of the mountain region described, but do not as a whole belong to the region under See also:consideration . The Angerman receives the See also:waters of a wider See also:system of streams and lakes than the rivers north of it, and has thus a drain-age area of 12,591 sq. m., which is exceeded only by that of the Torne (16,690 sq. m.), the See also:average of the remaining rivers named being about 7700 sq. m . Beyond the Harsprang and the Stora Sjofall the northern rivers do not generally form great falls, though many of the rapids are grand . The Indal, by changing its course in 1796 near Bispgarden on the northern railway, has See also:left See also:bare the remarkable See also:bed of a fall called Doda (dead) Fall, in which many " See also:giant's caldrons " are exposed . In the uplands above the chain of lakes called Stromsvattudal, which are within the drainage area on the Angerman, the Hailing stream forms the magnificent Hallingsa Fall . In the See also:southern mountain valleys of the region there are several beautiful falls, such as the Tannfors, not far from Areskutan, the Storbo, Handol and Rista . Eastward from the main mountain range the highland region is divided into two belts: a See also:middle See also:belt of morainic deposits and marshes, and a coastal belt . The middle belt is gently undulating; viewed from rare eminences the landscape over the boundless forests resembles a dark See also:green sea, through which the great rivers flow straight between steep, See also:flat-topped See also:banks, with long quiet reaches broken by occasional rapids . The few lakes they form in this belt are rather See also:mere widenings in their courses; but the tributary streams drain numerous small lakes and See also:peat-mosses . In the extreme north this belt is almost flat, a few low hills See also:standing isolated and conspicuous; and the rivers have See also:serpentine courses, while steep banks are absent .

The middle belt merges into the coastal belt, covered by geologically See also:

recent marine deposits, reaching an extreme height of 700 to Boo ft., and extending Inland some 6o to 8o m. in the north and 40 m. in the south . Small fertile plains are characteristic, and the rivers have cut deep into the soft deposits of See also:sand and See also:clay, leaving lofty and picturesque bluffs (nipor) . The orographical See also:division of the central lowlands bears comparison in formation with the coastal belt of marine deposits to Central the north . Here are flat fertile plains of clay, well Lowlands. wooded, with innumerable lakes, including the four great lakes, See also:Vener, See also:Vetter, See also:Millar and Hjelmar . These, except the last, far exceed in area any of the northern lakes, and even Hjelmar (185 sq. m.) is only exceeded by Hornafvan-Storafvan . The areas of the other three lakes are respectively 2149, 733 and 449 sq. m . Vener, Vetter and Hjelmar are broad and open; Millar is very irregular in form, and of great length . Millar, Vener and Hjelmar contain many islands; in Vetter there are comparatively few . None of the lakes is of very great See also:depth, the deepest See also:sounding occurring in Vetter, 390 ft . In Hjelmar, which See also:measures 38 m. from east to west, and is 12 m. in extreme width, the greatest depth is only 59 ft., but as its flat shores were formerly subject to inundation its level was sunk 6 ft. by deepening the navigable channel through it and clearing out various waterways (the See also:Eskilstuna river, Hjelmar See also:canal, &c.) in 1878-'887 . The scenery of these lakes, though never grand, is always quietly beautiful, especially in the See also:case of Millar, the wooded shores and islands of which form a notable feature in the pleasant environs of the See also:city of Stock-holm . The elevation of the central lowlands seldom exceeds 300 ft., but a few isolated heights of See also:Silurian See also:rock appear, such as Kinnekulle, rising 988 ft. above sea-level on the south-eastern See also:shore of Vener, Billingen (978 ft.) between that lake and Vetter, and Omberg (863 ft.) on the eastern shore of Vetter .

Noteworthy local features in the landscape of the central lowlands are the eskers or See also:

gravel-ridges ((See also:Isar), traversing the land in a direction from N.N.W. to S.S.E., from Too to 200 ft. in height above the surrounding See also:surface . Typical instances occur in the cities of See also:Stockholm (Brunkebergsasen) and See also:Upsala (U See also:Sala-asen) . South of the central lowlands the so-called Smaland highlands extend over the old province of Smaland in the south-east, and lie roughly south of Lake Vetter and of See also:Gothenburg, Smaad where they reach the south-west coast . The See also:general Hlghi~laads. elevation of this region exceeds 300 ft., and in the eastern part 600 ft.; the principal heights are Tomtabacken (1237 ft.) and Ekbacken (1175 ft.),about 25 m. respectively south-east and west of the See also:town of See also:JonkOping at the southern extremity of Lake Vetter . See also:Gentle See also:forest-clad undulations, many small lakes and peat-mosses, are characteristic of the region; which, in fact, closely resembles the middle belt of the northern highland region . The Smaland highlands abut southward upon the plains of Skane, the last of the main orographical divisions, which coincides roughly with the old province of Skane (Scania) . Level plains, with See also:rich open meadows and cultivated lands, the monotony of which is in some parts relieved by See also:beech See also:woods, are separated by slight ridges with 'a general direction from N.W. to S.E., such as Hallandsasen in the north-west, with an extreme elevation of 741 ft . The hydrographical survey may now be completed . The Dal river, which enters the Gulf of Bothnia near See also:Gefle, is formed of the See also:union of eastern and western branches Oster Dal, Rivers of Vester Dal) not far from the town of See also:Falun . The eastern the South. branch drains various small lakes on the Norwegian frontier, and in its See also:lower course passes through the beautiful Lake Siljan . The length of the whole river including the eastern as the main branch is 283 m . The Klar river (228 m.) rises as the Faemund river in Faemundsjo, a large lake in Norway See also:close west of the See also:sources of the Dal .

The Klar flows south into Lake Vener, which is drained to the Cattegat by the short See also:

Gota river, on which, not far below the lake, are the celebrated falls of See also:Trollhattan . Lake Vetter drains eastward by the See also:Motala to the Baltic, Lake Millar drains in the same direction by a short channel at Stockholm, the normal fall of which is so slight that the stream is sometimes reversed . The Smaland highlands are drained to the Baltic and Cattegat by numerous rivers of less importance . Excepting Finland no country is so full of lakes as Sweden . About 14,000 sq. m., nearly one-twelfth of the total area, are under water . The coast of Sweden is not indented with so many or so deep fjords as that of Norway, nor do the shores of the Gulf of Bothnia, the Baltic and the Cattegat See also:share in the See also:peculiar grandeur of the North Sea coast . All, however, have Coast. a common feature in the fringe of islands which, throughout nearly the entire length, shelters the coast of the mainland from the open sea . This " skerry-fence " (in Swedish, skargard) is only interrupted for any considerable distance (in the case of Sweden) See also:round the southern shore off the flat coast of Skane, between the towns of Varberg on the west and Ahus on the east . Between it and the mainland lies a connected series of navigable sounds of the greatest See also:advantage to coastwise See also:traffic, and also of no little importance as a natural See also:defence . The skargard of the Cattegat, north of Varberg, is bald and rugged.' The two largest islands are Orust and Tjorn, north of Gothenburg . Off the south-east coast the See also:place of the skargard is in a measure taken by the long narrow island of See also:Oland, but north of this the skargard begins to widen, and the most considerable fjords are found, such as Bravik, which penetrates the land for 35 m. nearly up to the town of See also:Norrkoping . The island belt is widest (some 45 m.) off the city of Stockholm, the approach to which from the sea is famous for its beauty .

Farther north, a narrow See also:

sound (Glands Haf) intervening on the Swedish side, the vast Aland See also:archipelago, belonging to See also:Russia, extends across to the Finnish coast . The skargard of the Gulf of Bothnia is less fully See also:developed than that of either the Baltic or the Cattegat . The islands of the skargard as a whole are rugged and picturesque, though never lofty like many of those off the Norwegian coast . In the Baltic many are well wooded, but the See also:majority are bare or See also:heath-clad, as arc those of the Gulf of ,Bothnia . Of the large islands in the Baltic and Cattegat, besides Oland, only See also:Gotland is Swedish . See also:Geology.—The fundamental rocks of Sweden belong to the Azoic or pre-See also:Cambrian formation, and consist of crystalline rocks . Three divisions are distinguished by some authors—the See also:grey See also:gneiss, the red See also:iron gneiss and the See also:granulite . The grey gneiss predominates in the northern and eastern parts of the country, from Vesternorrland down to the province of See also:Kalmar . The rock has a prevalent grey See also:colour, and contains as characteristic minerals See also:garnet and in some parts See also:graphite . The red iron gneiss prevails in western Sweden in the provinces of Vermland, Skaraborg, Elfsborg, and down to the province of See also:Kristianstad . The formation is very See also:uniform in its See also:character, the gneiss having a red colour and containing small granules of See also:magnetite, but, nevertheless, not a single iron mine belongs to this region . The red gneiss contains in many places beds or masses of hyperite .

The granulite, also called eurite and See also:

halleflinta, is the most important of the Pre-Cambrian formation, as it contains all the metalliferous deposits of Sweden . It prevails in the middle part of the country, in Kopparberg,,.Vestmanland, Upsala and parts of Vermland . It occurs also in Ostergotland, Kalmar and Kronoberg . The rock is a very compact and fine-grained mixture of See also:felspar, See also:quartz and See also:mica, often graduating to mica schist, See also:quartzite and gneiss . With these are often associated limestones, See also:dolomites and See also:marbles containing serpentine (Kolmarden) . The metalliferous deposits have generally the form of beds or layers between the strata of granulite and See also:limestone . They are often highly contorted and dislocated . The iron deposits occur in more or less fine-grained gneiss or. granulite (See also:Gellivara, Grangesberg, Norberg, Striberg), or separated from the granulite by masses of augitic and amphibolous minerals (gronskarn), as in Persberg and Nordmark . Sometimes they are surrounded by halleflinta and limestone, as at Dannemora, Langban, Pajsberg, and then carry manganiferous minerals . Argentiferous See also:galena occurs at Sala in limestone, surrounded by granulite, and at Guldsmedshytta (province of See also:Orebro) in dark halleflinta . See also:Copper See also:pyrites occur at Falun in mica-See also:schists, surrounded by halleflinta . See also:Zinc-See also:blende occurs in large masses at Ammeberg, near the northern end of Lake Vetter .

The See also:

cobalt ore consists of cobalt-glance (Tunaberg in the province of Sodermanland) and of linneite (at Gladhammar, near Vestervik) . The See also:nickel ore of Sweden is magnetic pyrites, containing only a very small percentage of nickel, and generally occurs in See also:diorite and greenstones . Besides the crystalline gneiss and halleflinta there are also sedimentary deposits which are believed to be of pre-Cambrian age . The most important of these are the Dala See also:Sandstone (chiefly developed in Dalarne), the Almasakra and Visingso series (around Lake Vetter) and the Dalsland formation (near Lake Vener) . Large masses of See also:granite are found in many parts of Sweden, in Kronoberg, Orebro, Goteborg, Stockholm, &c . Sometimes the granite graduates into gneiss; sometimes (as north of Stockholm) it encloses large angular pieces of gneiss . Intrusions of hyperite, See also:gabbro (See also:anorthite-gabbro at Radmanso in the province of Stock-holm) and diorite are also abundant . The Cambrian formation generally occurs along with the Ordovician, and consists of many divisions . The See also:oldest is a sandstone, in which are found traces of See also:worms, impressions of Medusae, and shells of Mickwitzia . The upper divisions consist of ':bituminous limestones, clay-slates, See also:alum-See also:slate, and contain numerous See also:species of See also:trilobites of the genera Paradoxides, Conocoryphe, Agnostus, Sphaerophthalmus, Peltura, &c . The Ordovician formation occurs in two distinct facies—the one shaley and containing See also:graptolites; the other calcareous, with brachiopods, trilobites, &c . The most See also:constant of the calcareous divisions is the Orthoceras limestone, a red or grey limestone with Megalaspis and Orthoceras .

The sub-divisions of the system may be grouped as follows: (I) Ceratopyge Limestone; (2) Lower Graptolite Shales and Orthoceras Limestone; (3) Middle Graptolite Shales, Chasmops and other Limestones, Trinucleus beds . The Cambrian and Ordovician strata occur in isolated patches in Vesterbotten, Jemtland (around Storsjo), Skaraborg, Elfsborg, Orebro, Ostergotland and Kristianstad . The whole of the island of Oland consists of these strata . The deposits are in most places very little disturbed and form See also:

horizontal or slightly inclined layers . South of Lake Vener they are capped by thick beds of eruptive See also:diabase (called trapp) . North of Lake Siljan (province of Kopparberg), however, they have been very much dislocated . The Silurian has in Sweden almost the same character as the See also:Wenlock and See also:Ludlow formation of See also:England and consists partly of graptolite shales, partly of limestones and sandstones . The island of Gotland consists entirely of this formation, which occurs also in some parts of the province of Kristianstad . In the western and northern alpine part of Sweden, near the boundaries of Norway, the Silurian strata are covered by crystalline rocks, mica schists, quartzites, &c., of an enormous thickness, which have been brought into their See also:present positions upon a thrust-See also:plane . These rocks form the See also:mass of the high mountain of Areskutan, &c . The Triassic formation (See also:Rhaetic division) occurs in the northern part of Malmohus . It consists partly of sandstones with impressions of See also:plants (cycads, ferns, &c.), and partly of clay-beds with See also:coal .

The Cretaceous formation occurs in the provinces of Malmohus and Kristianstad and a few small patches are found in the province of Blekinge . Only the higher divisions (Senonian and Danian) of the system are represented . The deposits are marls, sandstones and limestones, and were evidently formed near the shore-line . The most recent deposits of Sweden date from the Glacial and See also:

Post-Glacial periods . At the beginning of the Glacial See also:period the height of Scandinavia above the level of the sea was greater than at present, Sweden being then connected with See also:Denmark and See also:Germany and also across the middle of the Baltic with Russia . On the west the North Sea and Cattegat were also dry land . On the elevated pans of this large See also:continent glaciers were formed, which, proceedingdownwards to the lower levels, gave origin to large streams and rivers, the abundant deposits of which formed the diluvial sand and the diluvial clay . In most parts of Sweden these deposits were swept away when the See also:ice advanced, but in Skane they often form still, as in northern Germany, very thick beds . At its maximum the inland ice not only covered Scandinavia but also passed over the present boundaries of Russia and Germany . When the See also:climate became less severe the ice slowly receded, leaving its moraines, called in Sweden krosstenslera and krosstensgrus . Swedish geologists distinguish between bottengrus (bottom gravel, bottom See also:moraine) and See also:ordinary krossgrus (terminal and side moraine) . The former generally consists of a hard and compact mass of rounded, scratched and sometimes polished stones firmly embedded in a See also:powder of crushed rock .

The latter is less compact and contains angular boulders, often of a considerable See also:

size, but no powder . Of later origin than the krosstensgrus is the rullstensgrus (gravel of rolled stones), which often forms narrow ranges of hills, many See also:miles in length, called dsar . During the disappearance of the great inland ice large masses of mud and sand were carried by the rivers and deposited in the sea . These deposits, known as glacial sand and glacial clay, See also:cover most parts of Sweden south of the provinces of Kopparberg and Vermland, the more elevated portions of the provinces of Elfsborg and Kronoberg excepted . In the glacial clay shells of Yoldia arctica have been met with in many places (e.g. near Stockholm) . At this See also:epoch the North Sea and the Baltic were connected along the line of Vener, Vetter, Hjelmar and See also:Malar . On the other side the See also:White Sea was connected by Lakes See also:Onega and See also:Ladoga with the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic . In the depths of the Baltic and of Lakes Vener and Vetter there actually exist animals which belong to the See also:arctic See also:fauna and are remnants of the See also:ancient ice-sea . The glacial clay consists generally of alternate darker and lighter coloured layers, which give it a striped See also:appearance, for which See also:reason it has often been called hvarfvig lera (striped clay) . The glacial clay of the Silurian regions is generally rich in See also:lime and is thus a See also:marl of great fertility . The deposits of glacial sand and clay are found in the southern part of Sweden at a height ranging from 70 to 150 ft. above the level of the sea, but in the interior of the country at a height of 400 ft. above the sea . On the coasts of the ancient ice-sea, in which the glacial clay was deposited, there were heaped-up masses of shells which belong to species still extant around Spitzbergen and See also:Greenland .

Most renowned among these See also:

shell-deposits are the Kap'ellbackarne near Uddevalla . With the melting of the great ice-See also:sheet the climate became milder, and the southern part of Sweden was covered with shrubs and plants now found only in the northern and alpine parts of the country (Salix polaris, Dryas octopetala, Betula nand, &c.) . The sea fauna also gradually changed, the arctic species migrating northward and being succeeded by the species existing on the coasts of Sweden . The Post-Glacial period now began . Sands (mosand) and See also:clays (dkerlera and fucuslera) continued to be deposited on the lower parts of the country . They are generally of insignificant thickness . In the shallow lakes and enclosed bays of the sea there began to be formed and still is in course of formation a See also:deposit known by the name gyttja, characterized by the diatomaceous shells it contains . Sometimes the gyttja consists mainly of diatoms, and is then called bergmjol . The gyttja of the lakes is generally covered over by peat of a later date . In many of the lakes of Sweden there is still in progress the formation of an iron ore, called sjomalm, ferric hydroxide, deposited in forms resembling peas, coins, &c., and used for the manufacture of iron . (P . LA.) Climate.—The climate of the Scandinavian peninsula as a whole is so far tempered by the warm See also:Atlantic See also:drift from the south-west as to be unique in comparison with other countries of so high a See also:latitude .

The mountains of the Keel are not so high as wholly to destroy this effect over Sweden, and the maritime See also:

influence of the Baltic system has also to be considered . Sweden thus occupies a See also:climatic position between the purely coastal conditions of Norway and the purely See also:continental conditions of Russia; and in some years the climate inclines to the one character, in others to the other . As a result of the wide latitudinal extent of the country there are also marked local See also:variations to be contrasted . About one-seventh of the whole country is north of the Arctic Circle . The mean See also:annual temperature ranges from 26.6° F. at Karesuando on the northern frontier to 44.8° at Gothenburg and 44.6° at See also:Lund in the south (or 29.5° to 45° reduced to sea-level) . Between these extremes the following actual average temperatures have been observed at certain stations from north' to south which are appropriately grouped for the purpose of comparison (heights above sea-level following each name) : Jockmock (85o ft.), at the See also:foot of the lake-chain,on the Little Lule River—29.7°; and See also:Haparanda (30 ft.), at the head of the Gulf of Bothnia—32.4° . Stensele (1076 ft.), at the foot of the lake-chain on the Ume—31;8° ; and See also:Lima . (39 ft.) at its mouth on the Gulf of Bothnia—34.9° . See also:Ostersund (1o56 ft.) on Storsj6—35.2°; and See also:Hernosand (49 ft.) on the Gulf of Bothnia—37.8° . See also:Karlstad (18o ft.) at the head of Lake Vener—42.3°; Orebro (102 ft.) at the west of Lake Hjelmar—41.4°; and Stockholm (144 ft.) -42 1 ° . Gothenburg (26 ft.) on the Cattegat—44.8°; Jonkoping (312 ft.) at the south of lake Vetter—42.4°; and Vestervik (43 ft.) on the Baltic—43.2 ° But the local variations thus indicated are brought out more fully by a consideration of seasonal, and especially See also:winter, temperatures . In Sweden See also:July is generally the hottest See also:month, the average temperature ranging from about 51° to 62° .

In See also:

January, however, it ranges from 4° to 32° (See also:February is generally a little colder) . Moreover, there are two well-marked centres of very low winter temperature in the inland parts . The one is in the mountainous region of the south of Jemtland and the north of Dalarne, extending into Norway and thus lying in the middle of the peninsula about 62°N . Here the average temperature in January is 8.5', whereas at Ostersund it is over 15° . The other and more strongly marked centre is in the far north, extending into Norway and Finland, where the average is 3.8° . The effect of the spinal mountain range in modifying oceanic conditions is thus illustrated . The same effect is well shown by the linguiform isotherms . In January, for example, the See also:isotherm of 14°, after skirting the north coast of the Scandinavian peninsula, turns southward along the Keel, See also:crossing the upper part of the district of the great northern lakes . It continues in this direction as far as the northern end of Lake Mjosen in Norway (61° N.), then turns sharply north-north-eastward, runs west of Lake Siljan and bends north-east to strike the Bothnian coast near Skelleftea . In July, on the other See also:hand, the isotherms show an almost constant temperature all over the country, and the linguiform curves are wanting . The relative length of the seasons shows contrasts similar to those of temperature . In the north See also:spring begins in May, summer in the middle of See also:June and autumn in the middle of See also:August .

Phoenix-squares

In the south and south-west spring begins in See also:

March, summer in the middle of May and autumn in See also:October . At Karesuando the last See also:frost of spring occurs on an average on the 15th of June, and the first of autumn on the 27th of August, though See also:night frosts may occur earlier; while at Stockholm 42 months are See also:free of frost . Ice forms about October in the north, in See also:November or See also:December in the midlands and south, and breaks up in May or June and in See also:April respectively . Ice covers the lakes for 10o to 115 days annually in the south, 15o in the midlands and 200 to 220 in the north . A local increase of the ice period naturally takes place in the upper parts of the Smaland highlands; and in the case of the great lakes of Norrland, the western have a rather shorter ice period than the eastern . As to the seas, the formation of ice on the west and south coasts is rare, but in the central and northern parts of the Baltic drift-ice and a fringe of solid ice along the coast arrests See also:navigation from the end of December to the beginning of April . Navigation in the southern part of the Gulf of Bothnia is impeded from the end of November to the beginning of May, and in the north the gulf is covered with ice from November to the last See also:half of May . Snow lies 47 days on an average on the plains of Skane, while in the north it lies from 140 to 190 days . The northern summers find compensation for brevity in duration of See also:sunshine and See also:light . At Karesuando in 68° 26' N. and 1093 ft. above sea-level the See also:sun is seen continuously above the See also:horizon from the 26th of May to the 18th of July; at Haparanda for 23 See also:hours, at Stockholm for 182 hours and at Lund for 171 hours at the summer See also:solstice . Atmospheric See also:refraction causes the sun to be visible for periods varying from south to north for a See also:quarter to half an See also:hour after it has actually sunk below the horizon . With the long See also:twilight, perhaps the most exquisite period of a See also:season which provides a See also:succession of beautiful atmospheric effects, daylight lasts without interruption from the 16th to the 27th of June as far south as Hernosand (62° 38' N.) .

The average annual rainfall for Sweden is 1972 in., locally in-creasing on the whole from north to south, and reaching a maximum towards the south-west, precipitation on this coast greatly exceeding that on the south-east . Thus the average in the north of Norrland is 16.53 in., in the south of Norrland 22.6 in . At See also:

Boras, midway between the south end of Lake Vetter and the Cattegat, the average is 35.08 in., and 45.82 in. were registered in 1898 . At Kalmar, however, on the Baltic opposite Oland, the average is 14.6 in . This is an extreme instance for the locality, but the minimum for all Sweden is found at Karesuando, with 12.32 in . The period of maximum is generally the latter half of summer, and the minimum in February and March; but the maximum occurs in October at coast stations in Skane and in the island of Gotland . The proportion of total precipitation which falls as snow ranges from 36% in the north to 9 % in the south . See also:Flora.—In the preceding physical description indications are given of the vast extent of forest in Sweden . The alpine treeless region occupies only the upper flanks of the spinal mountain-range above an elevation varying from 1800 ft. in the north to 3000 ft. in the south . It is belted by a See also:zone of See also:birch woods, with occasional mountain-ash and See also:aspen, varying in width from about 20 M. in the north to a fraction of a mile in the south . Below this extends a great region of firwood covering the whole country north-east of Lake Vener and north of the Dal River . The See also:fir (Pinus sylvestris) and See also:pine (Pines abies) are the predominating trees Spruce is common, and even predominates in the higher parts (between the great valleys and immediately below the birch-belt) in the north of Norrland .

South of the southern limit indicated in the midlanddistrict of the great lakes, the See also:

oak (Quercus pedunculata) appears as well as pine and fir; and, as much of this area is under cultivation, many other trees have been introduced, as the ash, See also:maple, See also:elm and lime . South of a line running, roughly, from the foot of Lake Vener to Kalmar on the Baltic coast the beech begins to appear, and in Skane and the southern part of the Cattegat seaboard becomes predominant in the woods which break the wide cultivated places . Of See also:wild flowering plants only a very few are endemic species (though more are endemic varieties) ; the bulk are immigrants after the last glacial epoch . Of these most are common to arctic lands, or occur as alpine plants in lower latitudes . The number of species decreases according to geographical See also:distribution from south to north; thus while upwardsof moo are found in Skane, there are only about 700 in the midlands, 500 in the lower parts of southern Norrland and less than 200 in the extreme north . Fauna.—The effects of the great latitudinal range of Sweden on its climate and flora has its parallel to a modified extent in the case of fauna . Only a few animals are common to the entire country, such as the hare (Le us timidus) and the See also:weasel ; although certain others may be added if the high mountain region be left out of consideration such as the See also:squirrel, See also:fox and various shrews . Among large animals, the common See also: