Geography
Sweden is located in Northern Europe, between Finland and Norway. The vast Baltic Sea lies to the east of Sweden. Stockholm is the capital city and a major port. Gothenburg, Sweden's second city is also a port. Other ports and harbours are Gavle, Halmstad, Helsingborg, Hudiksvall, Kalmar, Karlshamn, Malmo, Solvesborg and Sundsvall.
Sweden mainly consists of plains and low lands. Most of these regions contain the major lakes, like Lake Vanern and Lake Vattern. However, to the west of the country the land elevates to form mountains. In fact, Sweden is separated from Norway in the northwest by the Kjolen Mountain range. The highest point of the Sewdish landscape, Mt. Kebnekaise, lies on this very range. Several rivers, which flow through Sweden, too originate from these mountains. Some of these rivers are Indal, Dal, Lule, Klor and Ume.
Off the long coasts on the Baltic to the east and the North Sea to the west are tens of thousands of archipelago islands. The most famous and the largest of the islands are Oland and Gotland. |