The scandinavian mountains most important ones belong to the Scandinavian peninsula located in the northeast of Europe. This area is made up of Norway (40% of the total area of the country), Sweden (55% of the total area of the country) and the part of Finland that separates the Norwegian and Swedish lands (5% of the Finnish territory).
The name of this peninsula comes from "Scania", an ancient term used by the Romans in their travel letters, which referred to the Nordic countries. About 25% of the peninsula is in the north of the Arctic Circle. With an area of 1,850 km from north to south, 1,320 m from east to west and an area of more than 750,000 square km, this is the largest peninsula on the European continent..
The peninsula is surrounded by various bodies of water. To the north, by the Barents Sea; to the southwest, by the North Sea (including the Straits of Kattegat and Skagerrak); to the east by the Baltic Sea (including the Gulf of Bothnia) and to the west by the Norwegian Sea.
Furthermore, the region is bordered by the island of Gotland and the Autonomous Islands of Alland (which lie between Sweden and Finland).
The region is rich in iron, titanium, and copper. Similarly, oil and natural gas deposits have been found off the coast of Norway. The presence of these deposits is closely related to the ancient structure of the tectonic plates and the magma that penetrated the plates.
The territory of the Scandinavian peninsula is mountainous par excellence; in fact, half of the area is covered by hilly terrain that belonged to the ancient Baltic Shield, a rock formation that originated about 400 million years ago, made up of crystalline metamorphic rocks.
Most of these mountainous areas are located in Norway, while in Sweden, mountainous areas are concentrated in the west of the country. For their part, the Finnish peaks are the lowest.
As a curiosity, the peninsula has a great variety of geographical formations, which include coasts, lakes, glaciers and fjords. The latter are valleys in the shape of a "V" created by glacial erosion and occupied by the waters of the sea; Norway's fjords are the most iconic.
To the northwest of the region, are the Scandinavian mountains, also called "the mountains of more than 2000 m". Due to their great height, the Scandinavian mountains function as landmarks that mark the border between Norway, Sweden and Finland to the north.
In the Scandinavian peninsula, there are more than 130 mountains that exceed 2000 m. These mountains are distributed in seven zones known as: Jotunheimen, Breheimen, Reinheimen, Dovrefjell, Rondane, Sarek and Kebnekaise. Most of the mountains are concentrated in Jotunheimen, in South Norway.
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The highest peaks on the Scandinavian Peninsula are in Norway. The ten highest mountains in the country are distributed between Oppland and Song og Fjordane counties.
Among them, Mount Galdhøpiggen stands out, at 2469 m, it is the highest peak in Norway and the Scandinavian Peninsula.
The second place is occupied by Mount Glittertind with 2465 m at its highest point. It was previously considered the highest mountain, since the measurements included a glacier that was at the top of the formation.
However, over the years, the glacier has melted, making Galdhøpiggen the highest peak. The next highest peaks in Norway are:
On the other hand, in Sweden there are twelve Swedish peaks that exceed 2000 m. Eight of these are in the Sarek National Park and in the northern region of Kebnekaise the Kebnekaise peak stands out at 2103 m (Lapland).
This is the highest Swedish peak considering the glaciers that cover it. If melted, the highest peak would be the Kebnekaise Nordtoppen.
In turn, behind this great peak other large ones can be located, such as the following:
As for the Finnish peaks they are below 1500 m and the most prominent are located in Finnish Lapland.
Mount Halti stands out with 1,324 m. This is the highest point of the Halti and is located in Norway, a country with which Finland shares the mountain formation.
In recent years, a group of Norwegians, led by Bjorn Geirr Harsson, launched a campaign that seeks to move the country's border 200 m to the east and 150 m to the north to make the highest peak of the Halti belong to Finnish territory..
This campaign is carried out on the occasion of the centenary of the anniversary of the independence of Finland, which will be celebrated in 2017. The proposal could face some legal problems since it would mean the transaction of a part of the Norwegian territory.
Within Finland it is important to name other peaks that make up this beautiful European landscape such as:
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