Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - First part - I. Physical Geography - 1. Configuration and Water-system. By Docent Gunnar Andersson, Ph. D., Stockholm - B) The Lowlands in Central Sweden
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configuration and .water-system.
17
trees, such as the oak, maple, ash, lime, hazel &c., grew on this soil in
sufficient plenty to form forests that encompassed the dark patches of
coniferous trees on the higher ground. It was on these inviting plains
that "the first settlers in Central Sweden took up their abodes,
cultivating the soil and laying the foundation of the Swedish nation. The
considerable sections of primitive röck that were unaffected by the
depression, such as the Kolmården and the ridge of heights north of
Lake Vettern, gave rise to large woodland districts, which long
prevented the inhabitants of the adjacent plains from amalgamating into
one political unit.
Though the differences. of elevation in the extensive lowlands of
Central Sweden are nowhere great, yet the process of depression was
sufficiently dissimilar in various parts to cause some sections to lie
below the general level, thereby giving rise to the basins now occupied
by lakes. Of the countless lakes some are of considerable size. From
early times these lakes played an important part in facilitating
intercourse between different places, the multitudinous indentations of their
shores contributing in no small degree to their usefulness in that regard.
The four chief lakes are*:
ÄJ" iTgtf Greatest depth.
Heters. Sq.km. Km. Meters.
Mälaren.................. 0 8-0 6 l,lfi3 117 64
Hjelmaren............... 21 0 480 61 18
Vettern ................. 88 2 1,898 128 119
Venern .................. 44 0 5,568 140 89
The two first named find their outlet to the sea by the short river
Norrström, which empties itself, with a body of water averaging 188
cubic meters per second, into the long arm of the Baltic that reaches
up to the city of Stockholm. Lake Vettern finds an outlet in the
Baltic by Motala Ström, 100 kilom, in length and with a body of
water averaging 93 cubic meters per second; Lake Venern pours its
waters to the west into the Göta Elf, 90 l/a kilom, long and with a
body of water at the Trollhättan Falls averaging 500 cubic meters per
second, equal, it is calculated, to 220,000 horse-power; the famous rapids
and falls at Trollhättan descend 32-7 meters. At the mouth of the Göta
Elf is situated the second town of Sweden: Gothenburg (Göteborg).
Very remarkable features in the surface-contour of the plains of
Central Sweden are the very numerous eskers or kames (åsar), which traverse
the country in a N.N.W.—S.S.E. direction. These ridges are of gravel and
attain considerable length; they are crested in shape and are usually
wooded; their height ranges from 30 to 60 meters above the adjacent
clay and sand plains; they surmount the hills of primitive röck, and
are in general character unaffected by the local conditions of the country
♦ A meter = 3-281 feet. A kilom. = 0 621 mile. A sq. kilom. = 0 386 sq. mile.
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