Surely you already know something about a country like Norway. On a world map you can find this state, located on the Scandinavian Peninsula, in Northern Europe. We offer to deepen knowledge by studying the minerals, climate, nature and industry of this country.
From the southeast and east, Norway borders on Finland (736 km), Sweden (1630 km) and Russia (196 km). It is washed by the Norwegian Sea from the north-west , the Barents Sea from the northeast, and the North Sea from the south. 25,148 km are the coastline.
The territory of this state includes the Bouvet and Jan Mayen Islands , as well as the Svalbard archipelago, a special administrative unit that includes the Bear Island. Norway on the world map is presented below.
As you can see, the country's territory stretches in a narrow strip (less than 420 km is its widest part) along the Scandinavian Peninsula, its northwestern coast. It also includes all rocks, islands and islets located in territorial waters.
According to 1984 data, the state’s population was 4.14 million. The capital is the city of Oslo. The country of Norway is divided into 18 regions. They are called fyulke. Norwegian is the official language. Norwegian krone is the monetary unit. This country has been a member of the European Free Trade Association since 1960.
Oil and gas reserves
Gas production in Norway is an important sector of the economy. Large reserves of natural gas and oil are concentrated in the North Sea, in its Norwegian sector. They are estimated at 765 billion cubic meters. m and 1.5 billion tons, respectively. There are 3/4 of the total oil fields and reserves in Western Europe. Large reserves of oil have also been found in the waters north of the Arctic Circle. Norway in their number takes 11th place in the world. Half of all gas in Western Europe is concentrated here. In this regard, Norway came to 10th place in the world. The minerals of this country are richly and widely represented. 16.8 billion tons reach promising oil reserves, and gas - 47.7 trillion cubic meters. m. Oil production in Norway is an industry in which more than 17 thousand inhabitants of this country are involved.
More than a quarter of Norwegian investments go to the construction of drilling platforms, which are located west of Bergen, in the North Sea. Here is one of the largest natural gas fields. The largest drilling platform in the world was built by the Norwegians. Its displacement is 1 million tons. The height of the platform is 465 meters.
Coal
In this state are the largest deposits of coal in the Arctic part of Europe. They are located on the islands of the Svalbard archipelago (Norway). Coal is available in significant quantities. As of 2002, the resources of coal in this area are estimated by Norwegian geologists at 10 billion tons. Probable and reliable reserves of them are approximately 135 million tons. Reliable - 35 million tons. Most of the coal reserves are located in the Barentsburg and Gora Pyramida deposits. Longyear (Paleocene), Grumant City. The main coal region with 4 mines is located in the central part of the island of East Svalbard (Norway).
Minerals are not limited to the above. We will tell about some others.
Zheleznyak
Iron ore is the main metal resource that Norway has. The minerals of this country were evaluated in 1999. According to this year, Norway ranks 6th-7th among all other European countries in terms of ore reserves. The three main types are iron ore deposits in Norway. These are pre-Cambrian age ferruginous quartzites (Bjornevatn deposit, where the total reserves are 1 billion tons, including 100 million tons - reliable), magnetite-hematite ores of the Cambrian-Silurian age (deposits near Dunderland, Ford Rana), as well as hematite-magnetite ores ilmenite-magnetite formation (Ryodsann, Telnes, Kodali, etc.).
Vanadium
In terms of reserves, vanadium takes the 2nd place in Western Europe (after Finland) Norway. The minerals from which it is extracted (since pure vanadium is not found in nature) are mainly concentrated in the Ryodsann deposit. The amount of ore is estimated at about 12-15 million tons.
Titanium
Norway holds the leading place among other European countries in reserves of this mineral. The main industrial interest is the anorthosite province of Eigersund. Here are the largest deposits of this type in Europe. The Telnes deposit, the largest in Europe in terms of ilmenite reserves (pictured below), is also important.
Copper
Copper is mainly mined in the far north. Pyrite deposits are also located here, which are used in the chemical industry to extract sulfur compounds. In addition, deposits are being developed for various types of building stone, including marble and granite.
In terms of copper ore reserves, the country is among the ten countries in Europe, according to 1999 data. The copper ore regions of industrial importance in Norway are: Sulitjelma (Sulikhelma), Trondheim (Fosdalen, Tverfjellet, Llokket et al.), Grong (Skuruvatn, Yoma).
Other minerals
In Norway, among other minerals, there are silver ores. There are silver ores in Kongsberg, and lead-zinc deposits from which this metal is extracted are located in Blakewassley and the Mufjelliet. Also in this country there are reserves of gold (pyritic deposits), graphite (on the island of Senya, Skalann), phosphate ores (Kodali deposit), nepheline syenite (Skhernjo island), feldspar (Glamsland area), olivine sand (Aheim), talc (Gudbrandsdalen Valle, Filit Altenmarku), limestones (Dalen, Slemestad, Kirholt), marble (Lyngstad), dolomite (Kragerjo region).
Norwegian industry
Norway currently ranks 26th among other countries in terms of GDP (according to 2006 data). The well-being of residents is largely dependent on the oil refining and gas industries.
The manufacturing industry is developing at a slow pace in the country of interest to us. This is due to limited capital inflows, as well as a narrow domestic market. 26% of the gross output, as well as 17% of the employees, are in the energy, construction and manufacturing industries. Energy-intensive industries have been developed in recent years. The industry of Norway includes the following leading sectors: electrochemical, electrometallurgical, radio-electronic, pulp and paper, shipbuilding. The highest level of industrialization is observed in the Oslo Fjord. About half of all industrial enterprises in Norway are concentrated here.
The leading industry of this country is electrometallurgy. It relies on the widespread use of cheap hydropower. Aluminum, the main product, is made from aluminum oxide, which is imported.
Chemical industry
In the province of Telemark at the beginning of the 20th century, an electrochemical production was created. This laid the foundation for the chemical industry in the country.
Today Norway exports industrial products of explosives, nitrogen fertilizers, varnishes, paints, alginates. In their production, it occupies leading positions not only in Europe, but even in the world. Petrochemicals has been developing rapidly in recent years. On its basis, the production of plastics, as well as other synthetic materials.
Nitrogen fertilizers are one of the main products that the electrochemical industry produces. The nitrogen required for this is extracted using large amounts of electricity from the air. A substantial portion of the obtained nitrogen fertilizers is exported.
Forest industry
37% of the country is covered by forests. The most common tree species in the forests of Norway are birch, Scottish pine and spruce. Timber reserves in the country are currently 2 times greater than 100 years ago. Mostly farms are family, at the same time leading forestry and agriculture. There are a lot of them in this country. In Norway, family forestry is personalized and small in size. This creates good conditions for the conservation of biological diversity in the country. An important industrial sector of the country is also the pulp and paper industry.
Engineering
About 25% of all industrial workers are engaged in the production of transport equipment and various machines. The most important areas of activity are ship repair and shipbuilding, production of equipment for the transmission and production of electricity. Engineering is a fairly young industry in this state. In the post-war years, large shipyards were created with the participation of foreign capital, as well as factories specializing in the production of hydraulic turbines, offshore oil drilling platforms, domestic and industrial electronic and electrical equipment.
Sewing, food and textile industry
The food, clothing and textile industries export few products. They satisfy the bulk of the state’s needs for clothing and food. About 20% of all industrial workers in Norway are employed in these sectors.
Fish industry
For Norway, it is almost as important as gas and oil production. The main centers of fish processing are Bergen, Stavanger, Trondheim, Aalesund. A significant part of Russian fishermen gives their catch to Norway for processing. Russia is also one of the largest consumers of fish products. Norwegian aquaculture has developed rapidly over the past three decades. Extensive experience was gained in the production of various equipment for fish growing, monitoring, as well as production technologies in the field of fish processing.
Country relief
The relief and minerals of Norway, like any other country, are interconnected. It depends on the relief in many respects what wealth a particular state possesses. Norway is a country with a large area covered by mountainous terrain. Scandinavian mountains - this is more than 70% of the state. They stretched from southwest to northeast for 1,700 km. The average height of the Scandinavian mountains is 1600-1900 m (maximum - 2469 m, Mount Halhepiggen). A narrow coastal strip (the so-called stranflat) is occupied by lowlands. Their width is 40-50 km. They are found mainly in the south of the country, in small areas, in the Oslo Ford area. The fjords (plateaus) are divided by fjords (valleys) of the mountain. The north of the country is a low hilly plateau called Finmarken. Its height is 300-500 meters. 1,139 meters reach individual peaks (the city of Chuokkarassa), with forest-tundra and mountain-tundra landscapes. The fjords are in sharp contrast with the deeply dissected and steep slopes of the Scandinavian mountains. Here are mainly taiga forests. As you can see, the nature of Norway is diverse.
There are many islands in this country (Sere, Magere, Senya, Westerolen, Lofoten). The largest rivers are: Logen (Gudbransdal), Glomma, Logen (Nuedal). The nature of Norway is also characterized by the presence of lakes. They occupy about 4% of the territory. These lakes are mostly glacial. The largest is Miesa. About 27% of the state is forest. The Spitsenbergen archipelago (Western Svalbard, Edge Island, Northeast Land, Medvezhy, Barents, etc.) are characterized by the alternation of plains, mountain ranges and wide valleys. Fjords indented its coast. The largest peak here is Newton (height - 1712 m). More than half of the archipelago is covered by ice sheets. Permafrost is developed everywhere.
Climate
Despite the fact that, like other countries in northern Europe, Norway does not differ in the warm summers, it has a favorable climate. This is the result of the Gulf Stream. The climate in this state is temperate, subarctic - in the far north, oceanic - in coastal areas. The country of Norway is also characterized by very mild winters. In January, the average temperature is from -12 ° C in the north, and in the south - +2 ° C. Summer is cool (+6 ... + 15 ° C), often there are strong winds and rains. The amount of precipitation varies from 300 mm per year (in the east) to 3000 mm (mainly on the western slopes of the mountains). On the eastern slopes in the intermontane basins, continental climate is manifested. Covering glaciers carry many fjords. The total area of these glaciers is approximately 5000 square meters. km The coastline is indented by fjords.
Seismicity
Finishing the description of Norway, we add a few words about seismicity. The country is located within a zone characterized by weak seismic activity. Basically, the epicenters of many weak earthquakes run along the Atlantic coast.