|
|
Sweden: Sweden and the Rest of Fennoscandia, Regional Description
By Ellsworth Huntington, Samuel Van Valkenburg
Sweden and the Rest of Fennoscandia.- Sweden is the largest of the Nordic states in both area and population. Extending as far south as Denmark, but not quite far enough north to have a Lappish section like Norway and Finland, it is the most typical of the four Fennoscandian states. In common with Denmark it has a large area with low relief and with a climate such that dairying is the dominant form of agriculture. Great coniferous forests link those of eastern Norway with those of Finland and in extent and economic value far surpass those of the other two countries. Forest products ranging from rough or sawed timber to wood pulp and paper are Sweden's main export. Sweden is also like the other countries in having coastal fisheries, although they are of much less importance than those of Norway. The Swedish merchant marine stands next to that of Norway in size and is much larger than those of Denmark and Finland.
In one type of economic activity Sweden stands quite apart from the rest of Fennoscandia. Unlike the others, Sweden has a welldeveloped mining industry based mainly on iron ore, and this has led to the associated development of iron and steel plants and machine factories. Swedish metal products in their specialized fields rank uncommonly high, thus displaying the same quality which puts northwestern Europe in the very front rank in practically all fields, economic and artistic as well as social and scientific.
Politically Sweden differs from both Denmark and Norway in being essentially a Baltic country. It has, to be sure, what may be called an Atlantic coast with the flourishing harbor of Göteborg. Moreover, the southern or Atlantic part of the country has frequently been under Danish control. Nevertheless, Svealand, the historical heart of Sweden, has looked eastward and has sometimes expanded greatly in the direction of Finland and the Baltic States. Although thrust back later by Russia from the mainland, Sweden has remained a Baltic country, less influenced than Denmark by western and central Europe, but yet entirely western and a progressive part of Europe A in every respect. Today Sweden represents the purest type of Nordic state, with a very highly developed Nordic culture.
Regional Description. Skåne in the far south of Sweden closely resembles the Danish Isles, of which it is the direct continuation. The Scandinavian or Nordic block of hard granite and gneiss has here sunk so far that it has been covered by younger, softer layers of lime and clay, while glacial loam adds to the fertility of the region. Rolling divides separate wide sections of level land which under the marine climate are suitable for intensive utilization. In some parts, especially along the west and east coasts, as much as 90 per cent of the whole area is under cultivation. Seen from above, the fields form a perfect mosaic, rarely broken except by the many scattered farmhouses and tiny villages. The larger towns and cities are concentrated on the coast. Malmö, the chief of these, lies opposite Copenhagen on the Sound, but the attractiveness of Copenhagen overshadows its growth. The land is used in much the same way as in the Danish Isles, with oats as the leading grain, but also with rye, wheat, barley, potatoes, and fodder crops. Wheat stands second among the cereals, and sugar beets show astonishingly high yields, reflecting the scientific intensity of the production. Altogether this small part of Sweden produces 25 per cent of the country's food output (in calories). Here, also, are Sweden's only coalmines. They produce only a small fraction of the coal consumed in the country, but are a decided asset.
Småland.-- The Småland Plateau is a detached part of the northern Swedish uplands from which it is separated by the lowlands of central Sweden. Its upland character is emphasized by a more severe winter climate and shorter summers than those of Skåne, while the thin morainic soil is not suitable for intensive cultivation. Hence most of Småland is under forest, in which the dominant conifers are intermingled with broad-leaved trees such as the aspen. In contrast with Skåne, where most of the original beech oak forest is gone, Småland relies on foresty as an important element in the use of the land. Only along the coasts where marine deposits cover the glaciated rock, and in some valleys, does agriculture have great significance. A typical industry is the making of matches based on aspen timber, much of which is now imported. For this industry Jönköping is the center.
The islands of Oland and Gottland differ from Småland in that their geological base is sedimentary layers of limestone and schist instead of hard older rocks. Sheep graze on the dry limestone hills of Åland, but Gottland has a high percentage of arable land on which grains are the chief crop. Visby, the main harbor, now attracts tourists because of the beautiful remnants of the glorious period when, as a member of the Hanseatic League, it was the center of Baltic trade.
The Central Swedish Lowland.-- Between the Småland Plateau in the south and the leeward slope of the Scandinavian mountain backbone extends a rolling lowland, the homeland of the Swedes. Glacial features are prominent. They include not only little morainic ridges, indicating temporary fronts of the icesheet, and a great number of lakes caused by glacial erosion, but also many eskers. The eskers are long, sinuous, narrow ridges from ten to fifty or more feet high, and are composed of sandy and stony glacial material deposited by running water in the beds of streams which flowed between walls of ice underneath the icesheet. The shape and size of the larger lakes, Väner and Vätter, are due not only to glacial erosion, but likewise to the breaking of the hard rocks under the pressure of the Alpine period. This gave rise to a pattern of cracks or fault lines which causes many valleys and lakes to be orientated along parallel lines. At least two such parallel series running in different directions can be seen on any large map of Sweden.
The present geography of the Central Swedish Lowland can best be understood through a knowledge of the post-glacial history of the region. On this depends one of the two great natural factors in Swedish agriculture, namely, the soil. After the Nordic glacier had retreated from the Jutland stage when it formed the Danish moraines, it remained stationary for a long time with its front in central Sweden. Large terminal moraines south of the lake area mark this period. They appear to be the western extension of the Finnish Salpau Selka which will be described in the next chapter. As the ice retreated farther north, the so-called Yoldia Sea covered the depressions of the Baltic Sea and central Sweden, extending its waters across Sweden to the Skagerrak in the west, and across Finland to the White Sea in the northeast. The Småland area and part of Skgne remained above water, so that the present Danish outlet of the Baltic Sea did not exist. In due time continued rising of the Baltic block broke the connection between the sea and the ocean. Thus what had been the Baltic Sea became a lake called Ancylus which had to rise so high to find an outlet that it covered what are now the coastal areas of Sweden and Finland.
This Yoldia stage was followed by a third stage marked by still further rising of the northern part of the Nordic block, while the southern section was depressed. In this way the lake acquired a new outlet through Denmark instead of across Svealand, and its shape became essentially that of the Baltic Sea at present. The rising of the northern part of the block is still going on at the rate of about three feet per century. This is responsible for a gradual diminution in the area of the sea. The names of some inland villages indicate that they were at one time located on the shore.
This geological development is of great economic importance because of its effect on the soil. The thin moraine covering that part of the Nordic block which was not submerged provides a poor, very stony soil of little value. The area once covered by the sea is more fortunate. Although the water in some places washed the glacial débris off the rocks and left them bare, in the intervening hollows it deposited clay and sand which formed an excellent soil. Farther south in Skåne and the Danish Isles the glacial deposits are of a finer and more fertile type than in Småland, so that there as well as in the submerged area the soil is good.
A second basic factor in Swedish agriculture is the modified marine type of climate. Sweden is located near the track of many cyclonic storms which follow the Baltic, while the dominating southwest winds prevent severe winters. At Stockholm the coldest month, February, has an average temperature of 26° F.; at Göteborg, with its more western location, the average is only 31° F. Contrast both of these with Tobolsk in nearly the same latitude in western Siberia where the January average is 2° F. below zero. Nevertheless, the distance of Sweden from the Atlantic, and the noticeable leeward position of the northern part in respect to the Norwegian highland, result in greater continentality than in Norway and Denmark. This shows itself in stronger seasonal differences in temperatures and a decreasing precipitation with a decided summer maximum.
The response to this physiography and climate makes a very attractive country. Forests, mainly coniferous, especially in the north, cover most of the higher areas, but the valleys and the lower sections, with their marine deposits, are under cultivation. Roughly speaking, meadows and croplands show equal acreage, but the dominance of oats among the crops shows the importance of livestock, while food grains, for example, wheat and rye, cover only small sections. As in Denmark, dairying prevails, and butter as well as bacon is exported, but neither of these is so important as in Denmark.
Most of the cultivated land of central Sweden is concentrated in the southern part of the lowlands and along the main valleys leading northwards. The Syljan lake region, the northern edge of the lowland, is an interesting exception. Here outcrops of limestone produce unusually fertile soil, and numerous prosperous villages surrounded by crops and meadows make this almost an oasis of production and culture amid the great northern forests. Many Swedish city people come to this region to spend the summer. The attractiveness of the summer resorts is increased by the fact that here, as in some other parts of Sweden, many of the women wear the beautiful old village costumes. Fair-haired, blue-eyed girls in lovely embroidered costumes with trimmings of red, blue, and gold and with striped, full skirts, ride bicycles through shady streets bordered with fine trees and pretty summer homes.
Forests of valuable softwood have made lumbering a principal source of income. Their value is much increased by both the transportation and the waterpower afforded by many streams running southwards towards the coast or the great lakes. Along the north shores of Lake Väner pulp and paper factories, as well as sawmills, dot the landscape. The Trollhättan Canal, avoiding the waterfall of the Göta River and forming part of an inland waterway from Stockholm to Göteborg, gives an outlet to the coast for export.
Northeast of Lake Väner, extending almost to the Baltic shores, is the main iron-ore district of central Sweden, the so-called Grängesberg region. Copper, for which Sweden was once famous, has lost most of its significance, but large deposits of iron ore are still mined and furnish the basis for a very highly developed industry. Swedish iron and steel plants, still using charcoal for the smelting of the ore, produce a product of special quality which has not yet been duplicated elsewhere. It is especially good for tools and for machines where special strength and hardness are required. Products of this sort are made not only for the home market but also for export. This Swedish industry resembles that of Switzerland in its specialization and high quality. Since Sweden lacks coal, large quantities of iron ore are shipped from Oxelösund, especially to Germany and Poland.
Other manufacturing industries have developed also, some, such as the textile branch, being based on former home industries, and some, such as the chemical branch, on the large supply of power and the needs of a home market. The textiles include chiefly woolen goods centered in Norrköping and cotton goods centered at Gæteborg.
The Central Lowland contains the greater part of the Swedish inhabitants. Red farmhouses with big red barns and stables are scattered all over the arable land; large, stately country homes and castles, seats of the Swedish nobility, appear here and there. The villages are inconspicuous, for each usually contains little more than a church, an inn, and a couple of stores. Most of the people live on the farms.
Among the many towns which are now centers of industry, Stockholm and Gæteborg deserve special notice. Stockholm, the Swedish capital with half a million people, is situated where the narrow outlet from Lake Mälar to the sea facilitates an easy crossing of this body of water. It looks toward the east where lay the colonial fields of Sweden for many centuries. For this reason it quickly overshadowed Uppsala, the old capital, university center, and seat of the Swedish archbishop, and became the center of Svealand, the heart of Sweden. In later days Sweden was obliged to turn to the west for much of its trade, but Stockholm as the political capital has retained its preeminent position, although Göteborg has surpassed it in commercial importance. Stockholm's situation along the lake and on islands, its interesting Scandinavian architecture, its teeming waterways, and its beautiful garden suburbs on the pine-covered coastal islands make the city worthy to rank with Copenhagen as the finest typification of Nordic culture.
Göteborg has grown from a town of 14,000 inhabitants in 1800 to a great city of over a half of a million. It reflects both the vast increase of Atlantic trade and the importance of the city as an industrial center. Well situated at the mouth of the Göta River, protected by coastal islands on which attractive summer resorts are found, as well as fishing villages where herring and mackerel are of chief importance, it is a busy city, although it lacks the appeal of Stockholm.
Northern Sweden.-- Northern Sweden is called Norrland by the Swedes. In spite of its large size, its topography is rather uniform. The Swedish slopes of the Scandinavian Plateau drop very gradually eastward. The inclined surface of old rocks has been thoroughly glaciated and shows the usual glacial features such as lakes, waterfalls, and, in the high western parts, glacial cirques. The many rivers run parallel to each other toward the southeast following the regular slope, and each of them has one or more lakes along its course. The divides between the rivers are so inconspicuous that portages, as in Canada, interconnect neighboring river systems. The climate shows a true continental character as a result of the leeward location. The winters are long and severe, and the lakes and rivers are ice-covered for a long period amounting to 200 days in the far north. Even the Bothnia Gulf, in spite of being much warmer than the land in winter, freezes regularly along the whole coast from a little north of Stockholm to the head of the gulf. In the north the ice lasts from November until June. The water freezes at a comparatively high temperature because of the low salt content of the water, a result of the inflow of numerous rivers and the narrowness of the connection with the ocean. Sometimes it is possible to cross the ice to Finland.
The cultivated land of this northern section of Sweden is limited to the coastal plains where marine deposits, due to a former high level of the Baltic and the Ancylus Lake, give suitable soils. Hay, barley, oats, and potatoes are the main crops; cattle graze on the hillside pastures and are stall fed during the long winters. But even along the coast, rural population is sparse and the great economic value of the tremendous forest entirely overshadows agriculture. Except for tundra on the high mountains and in the far north, forests cover the whole region. They consist of conifers except for occasional birches, which also form a narrow belt between the tundra and the conifers.
In this main timber region of Sweden the trees are cut in the winter and the felled trees are brought by sledge over the snow to the frozen rivers not far away. The streams lie so close together that the average distance to the water is short. In the spring when the ice melts, the high water carries the logs to the sawmills near the coast. The melting of the rivers naturally begins at the relatively warm coast, which is also the most southerly point for each river. Hence the ice melts from the mouth upward, thus avoiding floods like those of the northward-flowing Russian rivers and making the transportation of timber very easy.
If lakes intervene between the place of cutting and the point of destination, small motorboats are used to move the logs in rafts across the still water to the outlet. Lakes covered with logs, and rivers jammed by them, are common sights in Sweden. The number of trees felled each year is calculated at about 120 million.
Little towns where the logs are sawn or changed into pulp or paper border the entire coast up to the far north. They are located at the mouths of the rivers. In winter their harbors are icebound, and they are isolated except for the northern Swedish railway which runs well back from the coast, but sends branches to the coastal towns. In summer they are busy places, for not only are the sawmills humming and the pulpmills steaming, but many steamers arrive to carry loads of lumber, pulp, and paper to Britain, Germany, and elsewhere.
Another factor brings life into northern Sweden, namely, the mining of large quantities of iron ore. Aided by the railroad across the peninsula from Lulea on the Baltic to Narvik on the Atlantic and by the hydroelectric development nearby, the high-grade ore of Kiruna and Gällivare has been vigorously exploited. In summer Kiruna, near the Norwegian boundary, exports its ore through Narvik while Gällivare uses Lulea. In winter the Narvik route alone remains open, for the water there is warmed by the Atlantic Drift. The Arctic climate is a severe handicap in the operation of the iron mines. It causes a very rapid labor turnover, for the miners leave as soon as they get a little money. It also freezes the ore into solid blocks which are hard to handle for shipping.
Region around Ostersund, owes its separation to two facts: first, the soft limestone which there forms the country rock is suitable for cultivation just as around the Siljan Lake; and second, the Trondheim gap allows marine influences to extend beyond the divide and to ameliorate the climate. Around the lakes of this region meadows and even crops cover the lower part of the south-facing slopes, although forests prevail elsewhere. Hotels not only attract visitors in summer, but are open even in winter for visitors who want to enjoy the sports of skiing, skating, and coasting. Because of the gap in the mountains there is more snow here than elsewhere. Sports are popular in all Nordic countries, and the average level in athletics is very high. In proportion to their population Finland and the Scandinavian countries outrank all others as winners in the Olympic Games.
Source: Europe
|
|
This website is created and designed by Atlantis International, 2006
This is an unofficial website with educational purpose. All pictures, and trademarks are the property of their respective owners and may not be reproduced for any reason whatsoever. If proper notation of owned material is not given please notify us so we can make adjustments. No copyright infringement is intended.
