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Northern Europe, bordering the North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden.
Geographic coordinates:
62 00 N, 10 00 E
Map references:
EuropeArea:
total:
land:
water:
Area - comparative: slightly larger than New Mexico
Land boundaries:
total:
border countries:
Coastline:
25,148 km (continental); 83,281 km (including islands) [1]Maritime claims:
contiguous zone:
10 NM
continental shelf:
200 nm
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
territorial sea:
4 nm
Climate: temperate along coast, modified by North Atlantic Current; colder interior; rainy year-round on west coast
Terrain: glaciated; mostly high plateaus and rugged mountains broken by fertile valleys; small, scattered plains; coastline deeply indented by fjords; arctic tundraIn physical geography, tundra is an area where tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes from the Finnish word tunturia which means treeless plain. There are three types of tundra: arctic tundra antarctic in north
Elevation extremes:
lowest point:
highest point:
Natural resources:
petroleum, copper, natural gas, pyrites, nickel, iron ore, zinc, lead, fish, timber, hydropowerLand use:
arable land:
3%
permanent crops:
0%
permanent pastures:
0%
forests and woodland:
27%
other:
70% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 970 km² (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: NA
Environment - current issues: water pollution; acid rain damaging forests and adversely affecting lakes, threatening fish stocks; air pollution from vehicle emissions
Environment - international agreements:
party to:
signed, but not ratified:
Major cities/towns (ranked by size):
Geography - note: about two-thirds mountains; some 50,000 islands off its much indented coastline; strategic location adjacent to sea lanes and air routes in the North Atlantic Ocean; one of most rugged and longest coastlines in world.