Scandinavia

== Geography ==
{{see also|Geography of Denmark|Geography of Finland|Geography of Iceland|Geography of Norway|Geography of Sweden}}
[[File:GaldhøpiggenFromFannaråki.jpg|thumb|[[Galdhøpiggen]] is the highest point in Scandinavia and is a part of the [[Scandinavian Mountains]].]]
The geography of Scandinavia is extremely varied. Notable are the [[list of Norwegian fjords|Norwegian fjord]]s, the [[Scandinavian Mountains]] covering much of Norway and parts of Sweden, the flat, low areas in Denmark and the [[archipelago]]s of Finland, Norway and Sweden. Finland and Sweden have many lakes and [[moraine]]s, legacies of the [[Last Glacial Period|ice age]], which ended about ten millennia ago.

The southern regions of Scandinavia, which are also the most populous regions, have a [[temperate climate]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Alderman|first=Liz|date=9 November 2019|title=Scandinavian Wine? A Warming Climate Tempts Entrepreneurs|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/09/business/wine-scandinavia-climate-change.html|access-date=26 March 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=11 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411182907/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/09/business/wine-scandinavia-climate-change.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Scandinavian Countries 2021|url=https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/scandinavian-countries|access-date=26 March 2021|website=worldpopulationreview.com|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414152835/https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/scandinavian-countries|url-status=live}}</ref> Scandinavia extends north of the [[Arctic Circle]], but has relatively mild weather for its latitude due to the [[Gulf Stream]]. Many of the Scandinavian mountains have an [[alpine tundra]] climate.

The climate varies from north to south and from west to east: a marine west coast climate ([[Köppen climate classification#Group C: Temperate/mesothermal climates|Cfb]]) typical of [[western Europe]] dominates in Denmark, the southernmost part of Sweden and along the west coast of Norway reaching north to 65°N, with [[orographic lift]] giving more mm/year [[precipitation]] (<5000&nbsp;mm) in some areas in western Norway. The central part – from [[Oslo]] to [[Stockholm]] – has a [[humid continental climate]] (Dfb), which gradually gives way to [[subarctic climate]] (Dfc) further north and cool marine west coast climate (Cfc) along the northwestern coast.<ref name="Battaglia2019">{{Cite journal|title = Shifting Weather Patterns in a Warming Arctic: The Scandes Case|journal = Weatherwise|date = 2 January 2019|pages = 23–29|volume = 72|issue = 1|doi = 10.1080/00431672.2019.1538761|first = Steven M.|last = Battaglia| bibcode=2019Weawi..72a..23B |s2cid = 192279229}}</ref> A small area along the northern coast east of the [[North Cape (Norway)|North Cape]] has tundra climate (Et) as a result of a lack of summer warmth. The Scandinavian Mountains block the mild and moist air coming from the southwest, thus northern Sweden and the [[Finnmarksvidda]] plateau in Norway receive little precipitation and have cold winters. Large areas in the Scandinavian mountains have [[alpine tundra]] climate.

The warmest temperature ever recorded in Scandinavia is 38.0&nbsp;°C in [[Målilla]] (Sweden).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.smhi.se/klimatdata/meteorologi/temperatur/1.2484|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100826081952/http://www.smhi.se/klimatdata/meteorologi/temperatur/1.2484|url-status=dead|title=Högsta uppmätta temperatur i Sverige|archive-date=26 August 2010}}</ref> The coldest temperature ever recorded is −52.6&nbsp;°C in [[Vuoggatjålme]], [[Arjeplog]] (Sweden).<ref name="smhi.se">{{Cite web|url=http://www.smhi.se/cmp/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=7522&a=20978&l=sv|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081228105150/http://www.smhi.se/cmp/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=7522&a=20978&l=sv|url-status=dead|title=Lägsta uppmätta temperatur i Sverige|archive-date=28 December 2008}}</ref> The coldest month was February 1985 in Vittangi (Sweden) with a mean of −27.2&nbsp;°C.<ref name="smhi.se" />

Southwesterly winds further warmed by [[foehn wind]] can give warm temperatures in narrow Norwegian fjords in winter. [[Tafjord]] has recorded 17.9&nbsp;°C in January and [[Sunndal]] 18.9&nbsp;°C in February.