Kautokeino, contrasted with 205 at Vardö. In the S. uplands (as at
Fjeldberg) there is an average of 200 such days, and at Christiania
about 120. On the S.W. coast there is no day of which the mean
temperature falls below 32°; the most westerly insular stations,
however, such as Utsire and Skudeness off Bukken Fjord, record frost
during some part of 60 days. The lowest winter average temperature
is found in a centre of cold in the N. which extends over Swedish and
Russian territory as well as Norwegian. The Norwegian station
of Karasjok, within it, records 4° during December, January and
February, and in this area there have also been observed the extreme
minima of temperature in the country, e.g. 60·5° below zero at
Karasjok. The contrast with the S.W. coast may be continued.
Here at some of the island stations, the coldest month, February,
has an average about 35°, and the lowest temperature recorded at
Ona near Christiansund is 10·5°. It may be noted here that in several
cases the lower-lying inland stations in the south show a distinctly
lower winter temperature than the higher in the immediate vicinity.
Thus the average for Röros (2067 ft.), 13°, contrasts with 11° for
Tönset; at Listad in Gudbrandsdal (909 ft.) it is 16·5°, but at Jerkin
in the Dovre Fjeld (3160 ft.) it is 17·5°. The summer is hottest in
S.E. Norway (Christiania, July, 62·5°). On the other hand, the lowest
summer average in the interior of Finmarken is not less than 53·5°
in July; but at Vardö it is only 48° in August, usually the warmest
month on this coast. In the lofty inland tracts of the S.E. the July
temperature ranges, from 59° in the valleys, to as low as 49° at the
high station of Jerkin. The interior having a warm summer and a
cold winter, and the coast a cool summer and a mild winter, the
annual range of temperature is remarkably greater inland than on the
coast.
An important result of the warm Atlantic drift is that the fjords are not penetrated by the cold water from the lower depths of the outer ocean, and in consequence are always ice-free, except in winters of exceptional severity in the innermost parts of fjords, and along shallow stretches of coast.
The sun is above the horizon at the North Cape continuously from the 12th of May to the 29th of July, and at Bodö, not far from the The “midnight sun.” Arctic circle, from the 3rd of June to the 7th of July. Even at Trondhjem there is practically full daylight from the 23rd of May to the 20th of July. Even in the extreme S. of Norway there is no darkness from the end of April to the middle of August. In winter, on the other hand, the sun does not rise above the horizon at the North Cape from the 18th of November. to the 23rd of January, and at Bodö from the 15th to the 27th of December. There is only a twilight at midday. In the extreme S. the sun is above the horizon for 612 hours at mid-winter.
The prevailing winter winds are from the land seaward, while the system is reversed in summer. The winds in Norway may therefore be roughly classified according to locality thus:—Winds.
| South-east Coast (Skagerrack). |
West Coast. | North. | |
| Winter | N.E. | S. | S.W. |
| Summer | S.W. to W. | N. | N. |
The force of the wind is greater in winter on the coast; inland, on the contrary, the winter is normally calm; and at all seasons, on the average, the periods of calm are longer inland than on the coast. The average annual number of stormy days, however, ranges from ten to twenty on the S. coast, from forty-five to sixty-two on the coast of Finmarken, and sixty to seventy at Ona; whereas in the interior of Finmarken the average number is four, while in the S. inland districts stormy days are rare. December and January are the stormiest months. Hailstones are rare and seldom destructive. Thunderstorms are not frequent. They reach a maximum average of ten annually in the Christiania district.
The number of days on which rain or snow falls is greatest on the coast from Jæderen to Vardö, least in the S.E. districts and the interior of Finmarken. At the North Cape, in Lofoten, and along the W. coast between the Stad and Sogne Fjord, precipitation occurs on about 200 days in the year, although by contrast in the inner part of Sogne Fjord there is precipitation only on 121 days. On Dovre Fjeld and the SE; coast the average is about 100 days. Snowfall occurs least frequently in the S. (e.g. at Mandal, 25 snowy days out of 116 on which precipitation occurs), increasing to 50 at Christiania, or Dovre Fjeld, and about the mouth of Trondhjem Fjord, to 90 at Vardö, and to 100 at the North Cape. From Vardö to the Dovre Fjeld and in the upland tracts, snow occurs at least as frequently as rain. Snowfall has been recorded in all months on the coast as far S. as Lofoten. The amount of precipitation is greatest on the coast, where, at certain points on the mainland between Bukken Fjord and Nordfjord, an annual average of 83 in. is reached or even exceeded. On the outer islands there is a slight decrease; inland the decrease is rapid and great. In Dovre Fjeld a minimum of 12 in. is found. In the extreme S. of the country the average is 39 in., N. of Trondhjem Fjord 53 in. are recorded, and there is a well-marked maximum of 59 in. at Svolvær in Lofoten, N. of which there is a diminution along the coast to 26 in. at the North Cape. In the northern interior a minimum of 16 in. is recorded. Strongly marked local variations are observed.
The amount of cloudiness is on the whole great. The coast of Finmarken has over three cloudy days to one clear day; in the interior of the country clear and cloudy days are about equally divided. Fog is most frequent on the W. and N.W. coasts in summer; on the S.E. coast in winter. In winter a frosty fog often occurs about the heads of the fjords during severe cold or with a breeze from the land.
Flora.—The forests of Norway consist chiefly of conifers. The principal forest regions are the S.E. and S. Here, in the Trondhjem district, and in Nordland there are extensive forests of pine and fir. In the coastal and fjord region of the W. the pine is the only coniferous forest tree, and forests are of insignificant extent. In S. Norway the highest limit of conifers is from 2500 to 3000 ft. above sea-level; in the inland parts of the Trondhjem region it is from 1600 to 2000 ft. (though on the coast only from 600 to 1200); farther N. it falls to 700 ft. about 70° N. The birch belt reaches 3,000 to 3500 ft. Next follow various species of willows, and the dwarf birch (betula nana), and last of all, before the snow-line, the lichen belt, in which the reindeer moss (cladonia rangiferina) is always conspicuous. A few trees of the willow belt sometimes extend close up to the snow-line. In the S. and less elevated districts the lowest zone of forests includes the ash, elm, lime, oak, beech and black alder; but the beech is rare, flourishing only in the Laurvik district. The snow ranunculus and the Alpine heather are abundant. The Dovre Fjeld is noted as the district in which the Arctic flora may be studied in greatest variety and within comparatively narrow limits. On the coastal banks the marine flora is very finely developed.
Fauna.—The great forests are still the haunt of the bear, the lynx, and the wolf. Bears are found chiefly in the uplands N. of Trondhjem, in the Telemark and the W. highlands, but the cutting of forests has limited their range. The wolves decreased very suddenly in S. Norway about the middle of the 19th century, probably owing to disease, but are still abundant in Finmarken, and the worst enemy of the herds of tame reindeer. The elk occurs in the eastern forests, and northward to Namdal and the Vefsen district. The red deer is confined chiefly to the W. coast districts; its principal haunt is the island of Hitteren, off the Trondhjem Fjord. On the high fjelds are found the wild reindeer, glutton, lemming and the fox (which is of wide distribution). The wild reindeer has decreased, though large tame herds are kept in some parts, especially in the N. The lemming is noted for its curious periodic migrations; at such times vast numbers of these small animals spread over the country from their upland homes, even swimming lakes and fjords in their journeys. They are pursued by beasts and birds of prey, and even the reindeer kill them for the sake of the vegetable matter they contain. Hares are very common all over Norway up to the snow-line. The beaver still occurs in the Christiansand district.
Game birds are fairly abundant in most districts. The most notable are the two sorts of rype, the skov or dal rype (willow grouse, lagopus albus) and the fjeld rype (lagopus alpina). Black grouse are widely distributed; hazel grouse are found mainly in the pine forests of the E. and N., as are capercailzie. Woodcock and snipe are fairly common. The partridge is an Avifauna. immigrant from Sweden, and occurs principally in the E. and S.E. A severe winter occasionally almost exterminates it. A very large proportion of the Norwegian avifauna consists of geese and ducks, various birds of prey, golden plover, &c. These birds, at the autumn migration, leave by three well-defined routes—one from Finmarken into Finland, one by the Christiania valley, and one by the W. coast, where they congregate in large numbers on the lowlands of Jæderen. The Lapland bunting and snow bunting (plectrophanes laponica and nivalis), the snowy owl (mgetea scandiaca) and rough-legged buzzard (archibuteo lagopus) and sea-birds are exceedingly numerous. In some localities such birds as the puffin and kittiwake form great colonies (fugleberge, bird cliffs).
The common seal is very frequent; and arctic seals and occasionally the Walrus visit the northern coasts; among these the harp seal (phoca groenlandica) is believed to be particularly destructive to the fisheries. These last are of great importance; a large number of the best food-fisheries occur along the coasts, including cod, herring, mackerel, coal-fish, &c. Marine fauna. The basking shark was formerly of some economic importance; the Japanese shark, a strictly local variety, also occurs in the neighbourhood of Vardö. Various small species of whales visit the coast; among these the lesser rorqual may be mentioned, as an antique method of hunting it with bow and arrows is still practised in the neighbourhood of Bergen. In the fjords many invertebrates as well as fish are found. Of fresh-water fish the salmonidae are by far the most important. Next to these, perch, pike, gwyniad and eel are most common.
As regards insect life, Norway may be divided into three areas, the S. being richer than the W., while the N. is distinct from either in the number of peculiarly arctic insects.
Sport.—Norway is much frequented by British anglers. Moderate rod-fishing for trout is to be obtained in many parts. But most of the owners of water rights have a full appreciation of the value of good fishing to sportsmen, especially when netting rights are given up for the sake of rod-fishing. The same applies to good shooting. Foreigners may not shoot without a licence, the cost of which is 100 kroner (£5 : 11 : 0) whether on crown lands or on private properties, whose owners always possess the shooting rights.
