Norway comprises the western part of
Scandinavia in
Northern Europe. The rugged coastline, broken by huge
fjords and thousands of
islands, stretches 25,000 kilometres (16,000 mi) and 83,000 kilometres (52,000 mi) including fjords and islands. Norway shares a 1,619-kilometre (1,006 mi) land border with
Sweden, 727 kilometres (452 mi) with
Finland and 196 kilometres (122 mi) with
Russia at the east. To the north, west and south, Norway is bordered by the
Barents Sea, the
Norwegian Sea, the
North Sea and
Skagerrak.
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At 385,252 square kilometres (148,747 sq mi) (including
Svalbard and
Jan Mayen), (and 323,802 square kilometres (125,021 sq mi) without) much of the country is dominated by mountainous or high terrain, with a great variety of natural features caused by prehistoric
glaciers and varied
topography. The most noticeable of these are the fjords: deep grooves cut into the land flooded by the sea following the end of the
Ice Age. The longest is
Sognefjorden at 204 kilometres (127 mi).
Sognefjorden is the world's second deepest fjord, and the world's longest.
Hornindalsvatnet is the deepest lake in all
Europe.
[47] Frozen ground all year can be found in the higher mountain areas and in the interior of
Finnmark county.
Numerous glaciers are found in Norway.
Norway lies between latitudes
57° and
81° N, and longitudes
4° and
32° E.
The land is mostly made of hard
granite and
gneiss rock, but
slate,
sandstone and
limestone are also common, and the lowest elevations contain marine deposits. Because of the
Gulf Stream and prevailing westerlies, Norway experiences higher temperatures and more precipitation than expected at such northern latitudes, especially along the coast. The mainland experiences four distinct seasons, with colder winters and less precipitation inland. The northernmost part has a mostly maritime
Subarctic climate, while Svalbard has an
Arctic tundra climate.
Because of the large latitudinal range of the country and the varied topography and climate, Norway has a larger number of different
habitats than almost any other European country. There are approximately 60,000 species in Norway and adjacent waters (excluding bacteria and virus). The Norwegian Shelf large marine ecosystem is considered highly productive.
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