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configuration and .water-system. 5
1. CONFIGURATION AND WATER-SYSTEM.
The backbone of the Scandinavian peninsula consists of a prehistoric
mountain-range, which was thrown up in a remote geological period
along the N.E. boundary of the Atlantic Ocean. This upheaval in the
Earth’s crust can be traced from North Ireland, across N.W. Scotland
to the Scandinavian Peninsula, where it is first visible in the Norwegian
mountains, stretching from Stavanger to the frontier in North Dalarne
and Herjedalen, and thence along the frontier itself in a broad belt,
embracing sections of both countries, until it reaches the immense
mountain-tarn, the Torne Lake, whence it vanishes into the ocean, to
appear once more along the western coast of Spitzbergen.
This elevated range of country, running principally in a direction
from N.N.E. to S.S.W., has been the determining factor in the
geography of Sweden through a long series of geological epochs. Down from
the watershed of the interior of the mainland in its original extent, water
found its way to the extreme edge, thereby shaping the mighty and
characteristic river-valleys of TJpper Sweden. Owing to a series of
disruptions, proceeding chiefly from N. to S. and from W. to E., large areas
of the country at a later period of its geological history were depressed
below their original level. That was the origin of the Baltic, the
Gulf of Finland, and the large lakes and plains which are found in the
Lowlands of Central Sweden. South of the last-named there still exists
a relic of the ancient continental plateau in the Småland Highlands,
bordered on the South by the Plains of Skåne; the latter are characterized
by more recent, sedimentary formations, productive of natural features
far removed in character from those of the Scandinavian-Finnish
ar-chæan rocks. The four regions named constitute the main
orogra-phical subdivisions of Sweden; it is proposed to give here a brief survey
of each of them in turn.
A) The Highlands and Alpine District of Upper Sweden. This
embraces by far the greater part of the country, inasmuch as it must be
considered to include, not only the whole of Norrland, but also Dalarne
and Vermland, and the north part of Dalsland. It should, however,
be noted, that the coast-district in North Sweden bears a strong
resemblance in physical features to the Lowlands of Central Sweden.
One of the chief physical features in North Sweden is the marked
contrast between the numerous river-valleys, which in comparison to
their length are remarkably large, and which flow through the country
in a general direction from north-west to south-east, and the
extensive mountainous and forest-clad territory that intervenes between them.
The names of the twelve most important rivers are given in Table 1.
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