Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Norway's Landscape
Norway's geographical facts tell a story themselves. The Norwegian mainland stretches
2518kmfromLindesnesinthesouthtoNordkappintheArcticNorthwithanarrowestpoint
of 6.3km wide. Norway also has the highest mountains in northern Europe and a landmass
of385,155sqkm(thefourthlargestinEurope,behindFrance,SpainandSweden).Butthese
are merely the statistical signposts to landscapes of rare drama. Their secret lies in the sheer
diversity of Norwegian landforms, from glacier-strewn high country and plunging fjords to
the tundralike plains of the Arctic North.
Geological history can seem to move at a speed indiscernible to the human eye, but Norway's coastline re-
mains in a state of flux. In the early 1990s, Blomstrandhalvøya in northwestern Svalbard ceased to be a pen-
insula and became an island.
The Coast
Seeming to wrap itself around Scandinavia like a protective shield from the freezing Arctic,
Norway's coastline appears to have shattered under the strain, riven as it is with islands and
fjords cutting deep fissures inland. Geologists believe that the islands along Norway's far
northern coast were once attached to the North American crustal plate - such is their re-
semblance to the landforms of eastern Greenland. Further north, Svalbard is geologically
independent of the rest of Europe and sits on the Barents continental plate deep in the polar
region.
IntheNorthSealietworiftvalleysthatcontainupperJurassicshalebearingtheextravag-
antly rich deposits of oil and gas.
Fjords
Norway's signature landscape, the fjords, ranks among the most astonishing natural land-
forms anywhere in the world. The Norwegian coast is riven with these inlets distinguished
byplungingcliffs,isolatedfarmshighonforestedledgesandanabundanceofice-bluewater
extendingdeepintotheNorwegianinterior.Norway'snetworkoffjordsissovast-andeach
fjord so rich in its own character - that you could spend months exploring the fjords and
never grow tired of the sheer wonder and beauty of it all.
