SCANDINAVIA Scandinavian peninsula consists of a plateau with a gentle slope to the east and an abrupt slope to the west. This plateau which has an average elevation of about 3,000 feet, and to which the names Kjolen and Fjeld have been applied, is not continuous from north to south, but is broken up by transverse valleys along which communication between the east and west coasts is possible, while isolated summits rise to a height of several thousand feet above its general level. The rocks ,of which it is composed belong mainly to the Cambrian and Silurian periods, though Archaean rocks are characteristic of the remainder of the peninsula. Those on the west coast have been much glaciated, and great fjords have been formed, while on the east coast a strip of land, which broadens out in the south of Sweden, was covered with the deposits of glacial rivers at a time when it lay below the level of the sea. The gradual upheaval of the land which brought it above the waters is also apparent in the raised beaches on the west coast and along the fjords. Only in the south of Sweden, in Scania, do rocks of Triassic and Cretaceous age appear, and these are covered with deposits of the glacial period.
Three of the climatic regions of Europe are represented in Scandinavia. In January, the isotherm of 32° F. runs along the
southern half of the Norwegian coast, and even as far north as the North Cape the temperature on the coast does not fall more than 7° or 8° below freezing-point. In Sweden, on the other hand, the range of temperature is much greater, varying from 32° F. in the extreme south to 4° F. in the north. In July, the west coast lies between the isotherms of 53° F. and 57° F., but in Sweden the range is from about 62° F. in the south to about 57° F. in the same northern districts as before. The rainfall varies from over 60 inches in south-western Norway to less than 20 inches in north-eastern Sweden.
The flora of Scandinavia reflects the physical and climatic environment. In Scania the forest vegetation of Central Europe is found, but over the remainder of southern Sweden and south eastern Norway deciduous and coniferous trees are intermingled. Elsewhere, except in the north and on the plateau, where an Arctic vegetation prevails, the forests are coniferous, Scots pine, spruce, and birch being the dominant species. Both below and above the upper limits of tree growth, there are many regions suitable for pasturage during the summer months.