Editing Geography of Sweden (section)

== Terrain ==
[[File:Map of Sweden Cities (polar stereographic).png|left|thumb|upright|Map of Sweden]]

Much of Sweden is heavily forested, with 69%<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sweden.se/nature/preserving-nature-in-sweden/ |title=Swedes love nature |publisher=sweden.se |date=2014-08-20 |access-date=2014-08-26 |archive-date=2014-08-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140805005950/https://sweden.se/nature/preserving-nature-in-sweden/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> of the country being forest and woodland, while farmland constitutes only 8% of land use.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.scb.se/en_/Finding-statistics/Statistics-by-subject-area/Environment/Land-use/Land-use-in-Sweden/Aktuell-Pong/12857/Behallare-for-Press/Land-use-in-Sweden-2010/|title=Land use in Sweden 2010|work=Statistiska Centralbyrån|access-date=2018-02-09|language=sv}}</ref> Sweden consists of 39,960&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> 
of water area, constituting around 95,700 lakes.<ref>[http://www.smhi.se/sgn0102/n0204/dbsjo01.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090619172338/http://www.smhi.se/sgn0102/n0204/dbsjo01.htm|date=June 19, 2009}}</ref>{{efn-ua|The great number of lakes in southern Sweden could according to [[Alfred Gabriel Nathorst]] be indebted to the creation of basins due to the stripping of an irregular mantle of [[weathering|weathered rock]] by [[glacier erosion]].<ref name=Karnaetal1999>{{cite book |last1=Lidmar-Bergström |first1=K. |last2=Olsson |first2=S.|last3=Roaldset |first3=E.|author-link=Karna Lidmar-Bergström |date=1999 |chapter= Relief features and palaeoweathering remnants in formerly glaciated Scandinavian basement areas |title=Palaeoweathering, Palaeosurfaces and Related Continental Deposits |editor-last=Thiry |editor-first=Médard |editor-last2=Simon-Coinçon |editor-first2=Régine |publisher=Blackwell Science Ltd |pages= 275–301 |isbn=0-632-05311-9 |volume=27|series=Special publication of the International Association of Sedimentologists }}</ref>}} The lakes are sometimes used for [[water power]] plants, especially the large northern rivers and lakes.

Most of northern and western central Sweden consists of vast tracts of hilly and mountainous land called the [[Norrland terrain]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=De Geer |first=Sten |author-link=Sten De Geer|date=1926 |title=Norra Sveriges landforms-regioner |language=sv |journal=[[Geografiska Annaler]] |publisher=Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography |volume=8 |pages=125–136 }}</ref> From the south the transition to the Norrland terrain is not only seen in the relief but also in the wide and contiguous [[Taiga|boreal forests]] that extend north of it<ref>{{cite book |last=Sporrong |first=Ulf |chapter=The Scandinavian landscape and its resources |editor-last=Helle |editor-first=Knut|date=2003 |title=The Cambridge History of Scandinavia |url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgehistory01hell |url-access=limited |publisher=Cambridge University Press |issue=1 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgehistory01hell/page/n655 22] |isbn=9780521472999 }}</ref> with [[till]] and [[peat]] being the overwhelmingly most common [[soil type]]s.<ref name=Lundq1969>{{cite book |last1=Lundqvist |first1=Magnus |last2=Lundqvist |first2=Jan |last3=Rystedt |first3=Gunnar |last4=Malmer |first4=Nils|last5=Ulfstrand |first5=Staffan |last6=Behrens |first6=Sven |last7=Fries |first7=Jöran |last8=Larsson |first8=Erik |last9=Segnestam |first9=Mats |last10=Landell |first10=Nils-Erik |last11=Persson |first11=Göran |last12=Rosén |first12=Bo |author-link2=Jan Lundqvist |author-link1=Magnus Lundqvist | chapter=Landskapet| date=1969 |title=Det Moderna Sverige |publisher=[[Bonniers]] |pages=64–67 |language=sv}}</ref>

South of the Norrland terrain lies the [[Central Swedish lowland]] which forms a broad east-west trending belt from [[Gothenburg]] to [[Stockholm]].<ref name=Naten>{{cite web|url=http://www.ne.se/uppslagsverk/encyklopedi/l%C3%A5ng/mellansvenska-s%C3%A4nkan|title=Mellansvenska sänkan - Uppslagsverk - NE.se|website=www.ne.se|access-date=10 April 2018}}</ref><ref name=Worldregional/> This is the traditional heartland of Sweden due to its large population and [[agriculture in Sweden|agricultural resources]].<ref name=Worldregional/> The region forms a belt of fertile soils suitable for agriculture that interrupts the [[Scandinavian and Russian taiga|forested]] and [[till|till-coated]] lands to the north and south.<ref name=Ytbildning/> Before the expansion of agriculture, these fertile soils were covered by a [[broad-leaved tree]] forest where [[Acer platanoides|maples]], [[oak]]s, [[Fraxinus excelsior|ash]]es, [[tilia cordata|small-leaved lime]] and [[Corylus avellana|common hazel]] grew. The Central Swedish lowland does however also contain soils of poor quality, particularly in hills where [[Scots pine]] and [[picea abies|Norway spruce]] grow on top of thin till soils.<ref name=Ytbildning/> Agriculture aside, the region benefits also from the proximity of [[hydropower]], forest and [[bergslagen]]'s mineral resources.<ref name=Worldregional>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yAgGHnENHjoC&q=central+swedish+lowland&pg=PA127|title=World Regional Geography|chapter=Northern Europe: Prosperous, wild and wired|page=127|editor-last=Hobbs|editor-first=Joseph J.|edition=6th|date=2009|isbn=9780495389507 }}</ref> Sweden's four largest lakes, [[Vänern]], [[Vättern]], [[Lake Mälaren|Mälaren]] and [[Hjälmaren]], lie within the lowlands.<ref name=Ytbildning>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://runeberg.org/sverig15/1/0047.html |chapter=Ytbildning|author-last=Andersson|author-first=Gunnar|date=1915|editor-last=Guinchard|editor-first=Joseph|pages=13–14|title=Sveriges land och folk: historisk-statistisk handbok|language=sv }}</ref>

To the south of the Central Swedish lowland lies the [[South Swedish highlands]]<ref name=Naten/> which except for a lack of deep valleys is similar to the [[Norrland terrain]] found further north in Sweden.<ref name=Lundq1969/> The highest point of the highlands lies at 377 m.<ref name=LB2013>{{cite journal |last1=Lidmar-Bergström |first1=Karna |last2=Bonow |first2=Johan M. |last3=Japsen |first3=Peter |author-link=Karna Lidmar-Bergström|date=2013 |title=Stratigraphic Landscape Analysis and geomorphological paradigms: Scandinavia as an example of Phanerözoic uplift and subsidence |journal=[[Global and Planetary Change]] |volume=100 |pages=153–171 |doi= 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2012.10.015|bibcode=2013GPC...100..153L }}</ref> Poor soil conditions have posed significant difficulties for agriculture in the highlands, meaning that over time small industries became relatively important in local economies.<ref name=skogskunskap>{{cite web |title=Kulturspår på sydsvenska höglandet |url=https://www.skogskunskap.se/planera-skogsbruk/kulturmiljohansyn/kulturspar-i-olika-landskap/kulturspar-pa-sydsvenska-hoglandet/ |website=Skogskunskap |access-date=May 10, 2019 |language=sv |date=November 6, 2016 |archive-date=May 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514211452/https://www.skogskunskap.se/planera-skogsbruk/kulturmiljohansyn/kulturspar-i-olika-landskap/kulturspar-pa-sydsvenska-hoglandet/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> 

Southernmost Sweden contains a varied landscape with both plains and hilly terrain. A characteristic chain of elongated hills runs across Scania from northwest to southeast. These hills are [[horst (geology)|horsts]] located along the [[Trans-European Suture Zone|Tornquist Zone]].<ref name=NatenSkaneterrang>{{cite web |url=https://www.ne.se/uppslagsverk/encyklopedi/l%C3%A5ng/sk%C3%A5ne |title=Skåne: Terrängformer |last=Behrens |first=Sven  |website=[[Nationalencyklopedin]] |publisher=Cydonia Development |access-date=November 30, 2017 |language=sv}}</ref><ref name=NatenSkaneberggrund>{{cite web |url=https://www.ne.se/uppslagsverk/encyklopedi/l%C3%A5ng/sk%C3%A5ne |title=Skåne: Berggrund |last=Ahlberg |first=Per  |website=[[Nationalencyklopedin]] |publisher=Cydonia Development |access-date=November 30, 2017 |language=sv}}</ref> Some of the horsts are [[Hallandsås]]en, [[Römelåsen]] and [[Söderåsen]].<ref name=NatenSkaneterrang/> The plains of Scania and [[Halland]] make up 10% of Sweden's cultivated lands and are the country's main agricultural landscape. Productivity is high relative to the rest of Sweden and more akin to that of more southern European countries.<ref name=NatenProduktion>{{cite web |url=https://www.ne.se/uppslagsverk/encyklopedi/l%C3%A5ng/produktionsomr%C3%A5den |title=Produktionsområden |last=Granström |first=Birger  |website=[[Nationalencyklopedin]] |publisher=Cydonia Development |access-date=November 30, 2017 |language=sv}}</ref> The natural vegetation is made up of [[Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest|broadleaf forest]] although conifer plantations are common. Southern Sweden has Sweden's greatest animal and plant diversity.<ref name=NatenSkanebiota>{{cite web |url=https://www.ne.se/uppslagsverk/encyklopedi/l%C3%A5ng/sk%C3%A5ne |title=Skåne: Växtliv |last1=Olsson |first1=Olle G. |last2=Karlsson |first2=Thomas |website=[[Nationalencyklopedin]] |publisher=Cydonia Development |access-date=November 30, 2017 |language=sv}}</ref><ref name=NatenSkanedjur>{{cite web |url= http://www.ne.se/uppslagsverk/encyklopedi/lång/skåne/naturlandskap-och-kulturlandskap/djurliv |title=Skåne: Djurliv |website=[[Nationalencyklopedin]] |publisher=Cydonia Development |access-date=November 30, 2017 |language=sv}}</ref>

The two largest [[islands of Sweden|islands]] are [[Gotland]] and [[Öland]] in the southeast. They differ from the rest of Sweden by being made up of [[limestone]] and [[marl]] with an [[alvar]] vegetation adapted to the island's calcareous soils.<ref name=NatenGotlandterrang>{{cite web |url=https://www.ne.se/uppslagsverk/encyklopedi/l%C3%A5ng/gotland |title=Gotland: Terrängformer |last=Behrens |first=Sven  |website=[[Nationalencyklopedin]] |publisher=Cydonia Development |access-date=November 30, 2017 |language=sv}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ott |first1=S. |last2=Elders |first2=U. |last3=Jahns |first3=H.M. |date=1996 |title=Vegetation of the rock-alvar of Gotland. I. Microhabitats and succession |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285652574 |journal=[[Nova Hedwigia]] |volume=63 |issue=3 |pages=433–470 |access-date=November 25, 2017}}</ref> Gotland and Öland have [[landform]]s that are rare or absent in mainland Sweden. These include [[cliff|active cliff]]s seen in segments of their western coasts,<ref name="Rudberg1967">{{cite journal|last=Rudberg|first=Sten|author-link=Sten Rudberg|date=1967|title=The cliff coast of Gotland and the rate of cliff retreat|journal=[[Geografiska Annaler]]|volume=49|issue=2|pages=283–298|doi=10.2307/520895|jstor=520895}}<!--|access-date=13 July 2015--></ref> [[sea stack]]s called ''[[rauk]]s'' and [[Solutional cave|large cave systems]].
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