Scandinavian Mountains

Scandinavian Mountains
Mount Áhkká in Stora Sjöfallet National Park, northern Sweden
Highest point
Peak	Galdhøpiggen, Lom
Elevation	2,469 m (8,100 ft)[1]
Coordinates	61°38′11″N 08°18′45″E / 61.63639°N 8.31250°E / 61.63639; 8.31250
Dimensions
Length	1,700 km (1,100 mi)[2]
Width	320 km (200 mi)[2]
Naming
Native name	Fjellet, Kjølen (Norwegian) Skanderna, Fjällen (Swedish) Skandit, Köli (Finnish)
Geography
The Scandinavian Mountains
Countries	Finland, Norway and Sweden
Range coordinates	65°N 14°E / 65°N 14°E / 65; 14

The Scandinavian Mountains or the Scandes is a mountain range that runs through the Scandinavian Peninsula. The western sides of the mountains drop precipitously into the North Sea and Norwegian Sea, forming the fjords of Norway, whereas to the northeast they gradually curve towards Finland. To the north they form the border between Norway and Sweden, reaching 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) high at the Arctic Circle. The mountain range just touches northwesternmost Finland but are scarcely more than hills at their northernmost extension at the North Cape (Nordkapp).

The mountains are relatively high for a range so young and are very steep in places; Galdhøpiggen in South Norway is the highest peak in mainland Northern Europe, at 2,469 metres (8,100 ft); Kebnekaise is the highest peak on the Swedish side, at 2,104 m (6,903 ft), whereas the slope of Halti is the highest point in Finland, at 1,324 m (4,344 ft), although the peak of Halti is situated in Norway.

The Scandinavian montane birch forest and grasslands terrestrial ecoregion is closely associated with the mountain range.