Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 22.djvu/769

 Vetter and Vener lies Unden (384 feet). On the summit of the plateau lies Ekelsjö (1132 feet), and on its southern slope Helgasjö (535 feet), Bolmen (466 feet), Möckeln (446 feet), and Åsnen.

The southmost part of Sweden, Skåne, consists for the most part of a low fertile country. Only in the northern part, Christianstad län, occur two low stretches of hills, called Linderödsåsen and Söderåsen.

Waterfalls.—The largest waterfalls are (1) Njuommelsaska (Harsprånget), in Stora Luleå Elf, with a breadth of 60-70 feet, consisting of two cataracts of 103 feet at the upper end and a fall of 150 feet more in the course of 1⅓ miles, the largest waterfall in Europe; (2) Ädna-Muorki-Kortje (“the great fall of the lake”), on the same river as the former, higher up, between the two lakes Jäntajaur and Kaskajaur, has a fall of 130 feet, of which 100 feet are one perpendicular cataract; (3) Tännforsen, 12 miles west of Åreskutan in Jemtland, between Tännsjön and Noren, has a breadth of 160 and a perpendicular fall of 84 feet; (4) Trollhättan, in Göta Elf, consists of three successive falls having a total height of 100 feet.

It will be seen that, with the exception of the north-west part along the Norwegian frontier, Sweden is not a mountainous country. On the other hand, fertile plains are not frequent. The most extensive are the north-west shore of the Gulf of Bothnia, where, however, the severe climate precludes any successful agriculture, the water districts of Lake Mälar and Lake Hjelmar, the rich agricultural district of Östergötland between Vetter and the Baltic, Vestergötland, or the whole country between the two great lakes as far as Gothenburg, and, as has been just mentioned, the southmost part, or Skåne, which comprises Christianstad and Malmöhus län. The greatest part of the country consists of low hills of granite or gneiss, clothed with forests of pine and fir. The valleys are generally in great part filled with water, and the shores of their lakes or wide rivers are covered with forests of deciduous trees, chiefly birch, or consist of arable soil. With the exception of Finland there is no country so full of lakes as Sweden. Nearly one-twelfth of the whole surface of the country, or about 13,900 square miles, is covered with water.

Coast.—The coast of Sweden is not broken by so many or so deep fjords as that of Norway. The most considerable indentation is the above-mentioned Bråviken Bay. On the other hand, the Swedish coast is, perhaps in a still greater degree than the Norwegian, fringed by innumerable little islets. Except on the coast round Skåne, in the south, the mainland does not come into direct contact with the sea, girdled as it is by a belt of islands, holms, and skerries, more or less thickly set, which forms the

so-called “skärgård” fence of skerries or outer coast, Between this wall of islets and the mainland, therefore, extends a connected series of sounds of the greatest importance for coastal navigation, since they admit of the employment of vessels of less size and strength. This skärgård forms, besides, a most valuable natural defence; for, while some sounds are deep, navigation in the vicinity of the coasts is, as a rule, practically impossible without the help of pilots.

The broadest part of this skärgård is that off Stockholm, which stretches many miles out into the Baltic. It consists of a few large and well-peopled islands, surrounded by many hundreds of islets, for the most part uninhabited. The outer islands are bare grey rocks of gneiss, but the inner ones are mostly covered with fir and birch trees. The entrance to Stockholm through this archipelago is of its kind one of the most curious and picturesque in the world. The largest of these islands are Ljusterö, Vermdö, Ingarö, Vindö, Runmarö, Ornö, and Utö (with rich iron mines). As mentioned above, Lake Mälar is to be considered as a fjord of the Baltic. The skärgård also extends into Mälar, which is filled with islands. The most remarkable is Björkö, where the old town of Birka was situated. The archaeological researches on this spot have been of the greatest importance for our knowledge of life in Sweden in the times of the vikings. The part of the skärgård next in breadth is that off Carlskrona, where the islands of Sturkö, Tjurkö, Aspö, and Hasslö are situated.

The Cattegat skärgård, which extends from the fjord of Svinesund at the southern extremity of the Norwegian frontier as far as Halmstad, has a different aspect from that of the Baltic. In the Cattegat all the islands, as well as the rocks of the mainland, are almost bare of vegetation. Trees are quite absent in most places, and generally the grey rocks are not even covered with grass or moss. They look as if they were polished by the sea. Between these bare rocks there is, however, in many places even on the larger islands arable soil of great fertility. In the northern part of the skärgård near Strömstad lie the larger islands of Sandö, Ödö, Tjernö, Rösö, &c. Farther seawards lie the Koster Islands and the Väder Islands with their lighthouses. A little more to the south, in the vicinity of Lysekil, are three narrow fjords—Åbyfjord, Gullmarfjord, and Koljefjord. Off the first-named lies Malmö, remarkable for its quarry, where the fine granite of which the island consists is wrought. Next come, in succession, Kornö, Skaftö, Flatö, Hermanö, and Lyrö, the last two situated off the two largest islands on this coast, Oroust and Tjörn. All the islands now enumerated are surrounded by innumerable islets and rocks. South of Tjörn there are no considerable islands except Marstrand (with a small town and much-frequented sea-bathing quarters), Koö, and Klöfverö, all situated immediately to the south of Tjörn. On the coast of Halland we find only Särö, off the fjord of Kungsbacka, and the Väderö of Halland, off Torekow, between Laholm Bay and Skelder Bay, the only islands on the whole coast that are covered with a rich vegetation of trees. On the extreme point of the cape, between the latter fjord and the Sound, lies the isolated Mount Kullen with its lighthouse. In the Sound off Landskrona lies the islet of Hven, where Tycho Brahe had his observatory, Uranienborg, in the end of the 16th century (1576-1597).

In the Baltic lie the two great islands of Gotland and Öland, of which the former is itself a county and a bishopric. These islands are quite different from the Swedish mainland. They are formed of Silurian limestone. On the western coast of Gotland the limestone rocks descend precipitously into the sea, and the island forms a comparatively smooth plateau, which slopes gradually to the east. The limestone soil is very fertile, and trees and plants thrive on it that do not otherwise grow in the climate of Sweden, such as walnuts, ivy, &c. The case is the same in Öland. This island somewhat resembles a house-top. A sterile limestone plain (Alvaren) stretches the whole length of the island from north to south, and from this the country slopes both towards Calmar Sound on the west and towards the Baltic on the east. The slopes, especially the western, are very fertile.

Sea-Bed.—The seas that surround Sweden are remarkably shallow. Round the south part of Norway runs a depression in the sea-bed, called the Norwegian Channel (see ). It stretches along the west and south coasts of Norway southward and eastward almost to Christiania Fjord and the Cattegat. The deepest part of this channel, upwards of 400 fathoms, extends through the Skagerack between Arendal in Norway and the Scaw. In the Cattegat the depth diminishes abruptly, and XXII. — 93