by the river Torneå and its affluent, the Muonio. Almost the whole of the eastern side is washed by the Gulf of Bothnia and the Baltic Sea; this last also beats against its short southern coast. The longest line, from north to south, measures little short of 1000 miles, the greatest breadth 300; the area is 170,644 sq. m.; the coast-line is about 1550 miles. Besides the skerry-islands (see below) Sweden owns Gothland (q.v.) and Eland (q. v. ). Physical Features.-The country may be generally described as a broad plain sloping south-eastwards from the Kjölen Mountains (see NORWAY) to the Baltic. The only mountainous districts adjoin Norway; the peaks sink in altitude from 7000 feet in the north to 3800 in 61° 30′ N. lat. Immediately south of this point a subsidiary chain strikes off to the south-east, and, threading the lakeregion of central Sweden, swells out beyond into a tableland with a mean elevation of 850 feet and maximum of 1240 feet. Fully two-thirds of the entire surface lies lower than 800 feet, and onethird lower than 300 feet, above sea-level.

By far the greater portion of Sweden is built up of crystalline gneisses and granite of the Azoic era, and of limestones, sandstones, clay-slates, and other slates of the Lower Silurian epoch. The nonfossiliferous formations, which fill the western, northern, and large portions of the southern parts of the country, lie as a rule close to the surface or are actually exposed. The Silurian strata are spread out in broad thin sheets, regularly disposed, but broken by large islands of granite, gneiss, eruptive trap (diabase), porphyry, greenstone. The Triassic and Cretaceous systems have just touched the southern end of the country. During the Glacial epoch the whole of Sweden was covered with ice. Its melting accounts for extensive deposits of glacial sand, clay, and gravel, as well as for the gigantic boulders and erratic blocks with which several districts are plentifully strewn, and the long narrow ridges of smooth stones, called åsar, that cross the country for many miles in a south or south-easterly direction. The eastern or Bothnian coast, like the western coast of Norway, is gradually rising; whilst the coast of Scania, in the extreme south, tends on the whole to subside. The islands of the skerry-fence (Skärgård) are nearly all small in size, low, bare of vegetation, and polished by the

sea.

The climate of Sweden is continental in the north, along the Norwegian frontier, and on the southern plateau; the regions that border on the sea are more maritime. Yet both summer and winter, in all parts alike, are liable to considerable fluctuations from year to year. The difference between the winter and summer temperatures is of course much greater in the continental parts; for instance, in the extreme north as much as 49° F., whereas at Lund in the south it does not, as a rule, exceed 30°. The lakes in the colder (continental) districts of the north are ice-bound for some 220 days in the year; in the south for only about 90 days. The rainfall is greatest on the coast of the Cattegat (30 inches yearly), and decreases from west to east, and from south to north, being only 16 inches yearly in Norrland. The south-east corner is, how ever, exceptionally dry (17 inches).

Sweden is separated politically and geographically into three great divisions-Norrland, Svealand, and| Gothland.

Norrland in the north is a region of vast and lonely forests and short, rapid mountain-streams. These torrents, none of them 300 miles long, reach the Gulf of Bothnia along narrow parallel valleys running to the south-east; as they drop from level to level they form cascades and waterfalls, some of remarkable grandeur. Many of the valleys are filled for many miles with ribbon-like

5

lakes, some of great size; whilst their slopes, and the ridges that lie between them, are clothed with dense forests of pine, fir, and birch, with wild berry bushes and similar low shrubs growing in between the trees and around the moss-carpeted blocks of granite and porphyry. Besides the Lapps with their reindeer herds, and the Swedish woodcutters and miners, the only denizens of these forest tracts are wild animals (reindeer, bears, wolves, lynxes, gluttons, foxes, lemmings), birds of prey (hawks, eagles, falcons, owls), hares, and game birds (ptarmigan, blackcock, heath-cock, hazelgrouse, snipe). The innumerable aquatic birds and the gnats of Lapland must not be forgotten. Numerous little seaports, where the lumber, floated down the streams, is cut up, and the iron ore from Gellivara and other mines is melted, nestle at the mouths of the rivers. This division is very rich in mineral resources, but iron ore is almost the only one that is extracted. Norrland is crossed by the most northerly railway in Europe (see LULEÅ).

The central division of Svealand, or Sweden proper, is a region of big lakes, and contains most of the mines. Lakes occupy nearly 14,000 sq. m., or 8.2 per cent. of the total area; but in Svealand several of the largest, as Vener, Vetter, Hjelmar, Mälar, are grouped together. Lake Mälar bears on its bosom a vast number (1300) of islands, many of them beautifully wooded, with royal palaces or noblemen's castles gleaming through the trees. Its shores too are studded with prosperous towns, castles, palaces, and factories. These great sheets of water are connected together by rivers and navigable canals, and by the same means have communication with the Baltic on the one side and with the Cattegat on the other. In spite of the fact that several rivers pour their floods into these lakes, a process of slow desiccation is going on throughout the region. Indeed the waters of Lake Mälar are at so low an elevation that at certain seasons there is an inflow from the Baltic. There is a pretty large area of forest in central Sweden, especially around the reed-fringed lakes. The firs of these districts are highly prized for ships' masts. Svealand possesses almost inexhaustible stores of iron and copper, and in less quantities silver, manganese, nickel, zinc, cobalt, and others.

Gothland, the southern division, contains a much higher proportion of cultivated land than either Norrland or Svealand. Wide plains stretch from the lakes to the Cattegat, and these as well as the southern coast provinces are all under agriculture. The rivers are short; the most important is the Göta, which, after forming the picturesque Trollhätta Falls, pours the waters of Lake Vener into the Cattegat at Gothenburg. Iron occurs in certain districts: Mount Taberg, for instance, the culminating point of the plateau, near the southern end of Lake Vetter, is a solid mass of magnetic iron ore. In Scania some 10,000 tons of coal are extracted annually, and large quantities of turf are dug. Turf moors cover fully 9 per cent. of the area of the country.

Population. Since the middle of the 18th century the population has increased at a steady, though not very rapid, rate. In 1750 it numbered 1,785,727; in 1800 it was 2,347,303; in 1850, 3,482,541. The figures for 1880 and 1890 are given in the subjoined table (with the areas). By nationality the people are all Swedes, except some 17,000 Finns, 6000 Lapps, and 18,000 foreigners. The greater part of the people live in rural dis tricts, only 20 per cent. being counted as 'townsfolk.' In 1890 there were eight towns whose population exceeded 20,000-Stockholm (q.v.), Gothenburg (104,657), Malmö (48,504), Norr köping (32,826), Gefle (23,484), Upsala (21,511),