Norway travel guide — Norway tourism and travel information 3

Norway

The Kingdom of Norway is a Nordic country west of Sweden on the Scandinavian Peninsula. It has a very elongated form and has an extensive coastline along the North Atlantic Ocean, where Norway's famous fjords are found. In addition to Sweden, it borders Russia and Finland. The nearby island territories of Svalbard and Jan Mayen are under Norwegian sovereignty and are considered as part of the kingdom, while Bouvet Island in the South Atlantic Ocean and Peter I Island in the South Pacific Ocean are Norwegian dependencies and not considered part of the kingdom. Additionally, Norway has a claim for Dronning Maud Land in Antarctica.

Norway geography

The landscape is generally rugged and mountainous, topped by glaciers and its coastline of over 83,000 km is punctuated by steep-sloped inlets known as fjords, as well as a multitude of islands and islets. It is also known as the Land of the Midnight Sun because of its northern location, as part of Norway lies above the Arctic Circle, where in summer the sun does not set, and in winter many of its valleys remain dark for long periods.

Norway straddles the North Atlantic Ocean for its entire length, bound by three different seas: the North Sea to the southwest and its large inlet the Skagerrak to the south, the Norwegian Sea to the west and the Barents Sea to the northeast. Norway's highest point is the Galdhøpiggen at 2,469 m.

The Norwegian climate is fairly temperate, especially along the coast under the influence of the Gulf Stream. The inland climate can be more severe and to the north more subarctic conditions are found.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Norway".