The History Of Norway

Norway is known for its unique culture, beautiful landscapes, interesting people, and rich history. Norway also moved from being one of the poorest nations to being one of the richest in 1959 because of its large amount of oil. Norway is located in Scandinavia and is north of Denmark and west of Sweden and has 323,802 square kilometers of land with 25,148 km of coastline. The capital is Oslo, which is located on the southern coast of the country. The national languages are Bokmal Norwegian and Nynorsk Norwegian, although English is widely spoken (CIA World Factbook, 2014).

Out of all of the Scandinavian countries, Norway is the most mountainous and has one of the coldest environments. Two-thirds of Norway is covered in very high mountains and is usually very rainy. In the north, Norway has mostly glaciers and large tundra areas. The coastline is indented with fjords (bay like areas of water), and over 50,000 islands surround the coast. The climate is temperate on the coast, but it’s much colder in the interior. Norway has many petroleum and natural gas deposits in the north tundra areas. Some of their other natural resources are iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, titanium, pyrites, nickel, fish, timber, and hydropower (CIA World Factbook, 2014).

Norway has a very strong economy due to its large deposits of oil in the northern areas. Because of the severe temperatures and the highly mountainous areas, Norway doesn’t have a large amount of agriculture. They do grow barley, wheat, and potatoes as well as raise livestock for pork, beef, veal, and milk. However, Norway does have a very large fishing industry due to the many islands surrounding it. What Norway lacks in agriculture it makes up for in manufacturing and industry. Norway’s main...

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... these islands and experience culture much different than any of the other 50,000 islands. One particular island is called Svalbard. Svalbard is the closest island to the Arctic Circle, so they have many glaciers and polar bears. There are actually more polar bears than people up there! There are also many mountains in the interior of Norway. These mountains are great places to go skiing, take long hikes, and even see the northern lights. Many little villages are nestled into the mountains and along the coastlines. These villages are good for tourists to buy little souvenirs and take a glimpse at the rural culture that is very predominant in Norway. From the early Vikings to the modern Norwegians who fought for independence, Norway’s struggles and triumphs have shaped the culture and the people into the fair, kind, and just people they are now (Lonely Planet, 2014).