Although Scandinavia is a convenient umbrella term for the three present-day countries of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, lying on the northern edge of the European continent, it masks significant differences between these three countries. Most fundamentally, the geography and topography of Scandinavia varies considerably. This is hardly surprising given that Scandinavia stretches from the base of the Jutland Peninsula in the south (about 55° latitude) to Nordkapp or North Cape in the north (71° latitude). Geographically and topographically, Norway and Denmark are totally different. While Denmark is just approximately 375 kilometers from north to south, Norway measures about 1,770 kilometers. Similarly, in contrast to the predominantly flat, arable lands of Denmark, only one-fifth of Norway lies below 150 meters. Most of Norway is marked by high mountains that are cut by long, narrow valleys that follow the fjords, and the only region that can be described as coastal lowland lies in the area surrounding Oslo. Sweden, like Norway, is a long country, stretching from the Baltic in the south to beyond the Arctic Circle, and conditions within this area vary considerably. There are larger tracts of flat, arable lands in Sweden than there are in Norway, but also much uncultivable marshland and forest. Communications with inland areas in Sweden were difficult as, unlike Norway, there were no fjords to provide a relatively quick and easy means of transportation, and the climate of northern Sweden did not benefit from the Gulf Stream that warmed the north Norwegian coast. These geographical and topographical conditions played a crucial part in the development of Scandinavia during the Viking Age.
World History
