Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Geography
Sweden is known above all else for its forests and lakes, yet the sheer
diversity of its terrain is less familiar. While there are indeed a vast number of
lakes, the largest - Vättern and Vänern - home to a wide variety of fish, and
swathes of forest blanket vast tracts of the country, the southern shores are
fringed with sandy beaches, and the east and west coasts are a myriad of
rocky islands forming archipelagos. The Baltic islands of Gotland and Öland
provide an entirely different habitat to anywhere on mainland Sweden, with
limestone plateaus, dramatic sea-stacks and a variety of flora found nowhere
else in Scandinavia.
The appearance of Sweden's terrain owes most to the last
Ice Age
, which chafed the
landscape for 80,000 years before finally melting away 9000 years ago. Grinding ice
masses polished the mountains to their present form, a process particularly evident in
scooped-out U-shaped mountain valleys such as
Lapporten
near Abisko, in the extreme
north of the country. Subsequent to the thaw, the landmass rose, so that former
coastlines are now many kilometres inland, manifested in the form of huge plains of
rubble, while the plains of Sweden were created by the deposition of vast quantities of
silt by the meltwater.
The northwest of the country is dominated by
mountains
, which rise well above the
timber line. Deciduous trees are most prevalent, except in the most southerly regions,
where coniferous forest predominates.
Sweden also boasts some of Europe's most impressive
archipelagos
, such as the
dramatically rugged Bohuslän coast on the west, and Stockholm's own archipelago of
24,000 islands, many covered in meadows and forest, on the east.
The country is also known for its
lakes
, which number more than 100,000. These
support rich aquatic life, mostly salmon and salmon trout, although the coastlines are
where most of the country's fishing takes place.
The north
Sweden's mountainous north is home to many of the country's national parks. The
mountains here are part of the
Caledonian range
, the remains of which are also to be
found further south in Europe, notably in Scotland and Ireland. Formed around 400
million years ago, the range is at its highest at
Kebnekaise
and
Sarek
, both above
2000m, in the extreme northwest of Sweden. Ancient spruce, pine and birch forest
extends continuously along most of the 1000km range, providing an unspoilt habitat
for birds such as the golden eagle. The treeline here lies at around 800m above sea level;
higher up are great expanses of bare rockface and heathland, the latter often covered in
wild orchids.
Central Sweden
The most extensive of Sweden's plains is in the
central Swedish lowlands
, a broad belt
spanning from the Bohuslän coast in the west to Uppland and Södermanland in the east.
Divided by steep ridges of rock, this former seabed was transformed by volcanic eruptions
that created rocky plateaus such as Ålleberg and
Kinnekulle
(Flowering Mountain) to the
west of Lidköping. The latter is Sweden's most varied natural site, comprising deciduous
and evergreen woodland, meadows and pastures, and treeless limestone flats. Particularly
