The Scandinavian Mountain Range

Coastlines, forests, fjords, lakes, and tundra: this is the varied landscape of Northern Europe’s Scandinavian Mountain Range. The western side of the range drops steeply into the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea. To the northeast, the mountains curve towards Finland. To the north, they form the border between Norway and Sweden. The mountains’ peaks are relatively low compared to other European ranges.

The highest is Galdhøpiggen in southern Norway, at 2,469 metres. The fairly flat tops of these mountains give rise to different theories about how they were formed. Some experts believe the rocks in the mountains formed around 400 to 500 million years ago. They were worn down over time by weather and ice -- eroded. Then, they were pushed up by the Earth's crust 50 million years ago to form the mountains we see today.

Others believe the mountains themselves have existed for 400 million years, and were slowly eroded to their modern-day shape. The climate of the Scandinavian Mountains is affected by weather systems that form over the Atlantic Ocean. High pressure often builds in the spring, leading to daytime temperatures of 10 to 15 degrees Celsius from late April to late June. At night, the temperature drops, often to below zero in higher valleys. Summer weather is mixed.

During periods of high pressure, temperatures can climb to 30 degrees. But by the end of August, other Atlantic weather fronts occasionally drop snow on some summits. In autumn, temperatures gradually drop again. By late October, strong winds, gales, are common. In winter, the gales lessen and snow falls.

Temperatures are usually -10 to -15 degrees in January, but can drop to -30 during occasional periods of high pressure. The plants and wildlife of the Scandinavian Mountains have to be able to cope with the variations in climate. In summer, plants thrive in the warm temperatures and long days. Willow shrubs support hosts of insects who in turn provide food for birds like the willow warbler. Field voles and lemmings feed on the summer shrubbery too, and are prey for pine martens and arctic foxes.

But in winter’s sub-zero temperatures and short days, nothing grows for months. Plants are buried under a deep layer of snow. Some animals, like the Eurasian brown bear, hibernate. Others, like the least weasel, chase prey into burrows under the snow. Snipes and cuckoos leave Scandinavia altogether to migrate to warmer climates.

Reindeer migrate down the mountain sides to forested areas where they are sheltered by Norway spruce and aspen trees. The first people who lived in these mountains, in prehistoric times, hunted reindeer. They followed the deer across the ranges and caught them by driving them into pit traps. Eventually these hunters transitioned to farming, growing crops on the fertile valley floors and herding sheep and goats in higher pastures. During the 1500s, more and more people settled in the mountains.

It became hard to find enough land for everyone. People cleared trees for farms. Others were forced to build on narrow mountain shelves. In the eighteen and nineteen hundreds, the Scandinavian Mountains, unlike other mountains in Europe, weren’t developed with new roads, railways, mining or manufacturing. So farming families moved to towns and cities to find jobs.

Mountain farms were abandoned. Recently, many old farms have been restored as cabins. They host visitors who come to hike, cycle, and camp in the mountains known today as “Europe’s last wilderness”.