THE ROAD TO SWEDEN

Written by MOTORBIKE EUROPE Road Writers -

Sweden, despite its northern location, has a mostly temperate climate, mainly because of the Gulf Stream. In southern Sweden, diciduous trees are in the majority. In the northern areas, spruce and birch dominate the landscape. In Sweden's mountainous north, the country has a subarctic climate, and in the northernmost part of the country, north of the Arctic Circle, the sun never sets in summer, and the night lasts all day, in winter.

East of Sweden, lies the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia, thus providing a long coastline. To the west is the Scandinavian mountain range, a range that separates Sweden from Norway. The southern part of the country is cultivated, with more and more forest, the more north you get. The population follows the same pattern, with a high population density in the south, especially around the valley of lake Mälaren, and the Öresund region, as well as the Gothenburg area. Further north, the population density is lower.

Forests cover 55% of the area, making it the dominant landscape element in all of Sweden, except around the plains of Scania. However, there are large areas of plains by the Great Lakes. The forests consist mainly of conifers, especially spruce, but also of pine. Oaks thrive right up to the north of the Great Lakes, while beech is mainly found in Scania, Blekinge and on the south coast. Timber production, including papermaking, is therefore a very important industry.

The bedrock lies just below the surface in most of Sweden, and especially in Bergslagen in central Sweden, where iron mining has taken place since the Middle Ages. Gotland and Öland are Sweden's largest islands.