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most famous rivers are the Drammens-Elv, the Xumedalslaag, the
Ongne-Elv in Jæderen, the Suledals-Elv in Ryfylke, the Rauma and
Driva in the Romsdal, the Gula near Throndhjem, the Xamsen
in the Namsdal, and the Alten-Elv and Tana in Finmarken.
These valuable resources of the coast-districts, compared with
which the Opland or inland districts offer little or no attraction to
settlers, have also given rise to the important Maritime Trade of
Norway, the foundation of which was laid by the piratical Vikings
(inhabitants of ‘Vikar’ or creeks), whose expeditions extended to
Constantinople, and who discovered Iceland, Greenland, and N.
America (‘Vinland’) 500 years earlier than Columbus. On some
of the fjords still exist the tumuli of these early navigators, who
sometimes caused themselves to be buried along with their vessels.
The commercial fleet of Norway now ranks next to those of Great
Britain and the United States. Timber for shipbuilding purposes
is abundant.
The E. coast of the peninsula is less favourable for the purposes
of navigation, especially as many of the harbours have altered their
position or been rendered shallow by the gradual rise of the
coastline, and accordingly few of the vikings had their headquarters
there. The coasting-trade of Stockholm, however, and the inland
lake and canal-traffic are of considerable importance.
Mountains, Lakes, and Rivers.
Owing to the sudden descent of the mountains on the W. coast
the streams on that side of the peninsula all have the character of
boisterous torrents, while on the E. coast they take the form of
long, narrow lakes, connected by rivers and often by waterfalls.
The mountains in the northernmost part of the peninsula,
bordering on Russia, rarely exceed 1000 ft. in height, but they become
loftier as we proceed towards the S.W., rising to most imposing
dimensions on the Lyngenfjord (p. 256) and at the head of the
Saltenfjord (p. 241), where the Sulitelma forms the boundary
between the sister kingdoms. To the S. of the great
glacier-mountains of Svartisen (p. 238) the mountains decrease in height, and
a number of large lakes send their waters eastwards to the Baltic,
while the Xamsen and Snaasen descend to the well-cultivated
plains on the Throndhjem Fjord. Farther to the S. the mountains,
such as the Jomafjeld, Kjølhaugen, Areskulan in Sweden, and
the Syltoppe, again attain a height of 4000-5000 ft., while the
islands off the coast contain mountains of similar height. In
latitude 63° the main range divides, the backbone of the peninsula
continuing to run southwards, while a branch diverges to the V.
nearly at a right angle. In the central range rise the Öster and
Vester Dalelf, which afterwards unite and descend to the S.E. to
the Gulf of Bothnia. Adjoining the same range lies the
Faemund-Sje, out of which flows the Famunds-Elv, afterwards called the
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