Chapter 11

Sec 4 and 5

Nordic Countries

• The northern most parts of Europe is made up of five countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland.

• They have some of the highest standards of living in the country.

Norway

• Norway’s long jagged Atlantic coastline has many Fjords. Fjords give Norway protected harbor and scenic views.

• Norway is mostly cold the southern coastline is warmer though and most people live near it.

• The North Atlantic Current brings warm winds from the south to these parts of Norway and other Nordic countries.

• Norway is has wealth from oil and natural gas that it gets from beneath the north sea.

• Norway is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy.

Sweden

• Sweden is wealthy as well and is an industrial country.

• They produce a lot of goods from their abundant natural resources.

• About 8% of the land is used for farming. The farmers use modern techniques and technology to efficiently grow enough food for the entire country.

• Sweden is also a welfare state- a country that uses high tax rates to provide services to people who are sick, needy, jobless, or retired.

• Sweden is a parliamentary democracy.

Finland

• Finland holds some of the largest unspoiled wilderness in Europe.

• Most of its wealth comes from the forests where they use the trees to make paper and wood products.

• They also have heavy industry- or industry where machinery is made, that has driven the economy in recent years.

• Most people live on the southern coast.• The country has snow on the ground for about

half a year and the people do a lot of outdoor activities.

• They also enjoy saunas- or wooden rooms heated by water sizzling on hot stones.

Denmark and Iceland

• Denmark ruled Iceland for many centuries. So the two countries are closely related.

• Most of Denmark is made up of a peninsula called Jutland.

• It also includes about 500 islands although only 100 have people living on them.

• Denmark is kind of like a connecting place for the Nordic countries and the rest of Europe.

• Denmark’s capital is Copenhagen and is home to the Little Mermaid statue. It is based on a novel by Hans Christian Andersen written in the 1800s.

Iceland

• Iceland is in the North Atlantic Ocean and is a land of hot springs and geysers- springs that shoot hot water and steam into the air.

• The people make the most of this and use geothermal energy- or heat produced by natural underground sources, to heat their homes, buildings, and swimming pools.

• The geothermal activity is caused by Iceland sitting on a fault line.

• The heat is released from volcanoes. • Iceland has constant volcanic activity and

every few years one of the 200 volcanoes in Iceland Erupts.

• The volcanoes also heat the springs that appear all over Iceland.

• Iceland’s economy depends heavily on fishing.• The people worried that overfishing could

cause economic problems so they have begun to introduce manufacturing and service industry to the area.

• About 99% of the 320,000 Icelanders live in urban areas. More than half live in the capital of Reykjavík.