Norway: minerals. Nature, climate, industry of the country

Surely you already know something about a country like Norway. On the world map, you can find this state, located on the Scandinavian Peninsula, in Northern Europe. We suggest deepening our knowledge by studying the minerals, climate, nature and industry of this country.

From the southeast and east, Norway borders Finland (736 km), Sweden (1,630 km) and Russia (196 km). It is washed from the northwest by the Norwegian Sea, the Barents Sea by the north-east, and the North Sea by the south. 25,148 km is the length of the coastline.

The territory of this state includes the islands of Bouvet and Jan Mayen, as well as the Spitsbergen archipelago, a special administrative unit that includes the Bear Island. Norway on the map of the world is presented below.

As you can see, the country's territory stretches along a narrow strip (less than 420 km is its widest part) along the Scandinavian Peninsula, its north-western coast. It also includes all the rocks, islands and islets that are in territorial waters.

According to 1984 data, the population of the state was 4.14 million people. The capital is the city of Oslo. The country of Norway is divided into 18 regions. They are called fjulke. Norwegian is the official language. The Norwegian krone is a monetary unit. This country has been a member of the European Free Trade Association since 1960.

Oil and gas reserves

Gas production in Norway is an important branch of the economy. Large reserves of natural gas and oil are concentrated in the North Sea, in its Norwegian sector. They are estimated at 765 billion cubic meters. M and 1.5 bn tons respectively. There are 3/4 of the total deposits and oil reserves in the whole of Western Europe. In the waters north of the Arctic Circle, large oil reserves have also been found. Norway takes 11th place in the world according to their number. Half of all gas in Western Europe is concentrated here. In this regard, came out on the 10th place in the world of Norway. The minerals of this country are represented richly and widely. 16.8 billion tons reach the prospective oil reserves, and gas - 47.7 trillion cubic meters. M. Oil production in Norway is a branch in which more than 17 thousand inhabitants of this country are involved.

More than a quarter of Norwegian investment goes to the construction of drilling platforms, which are located to the west of Bergen, in the North Sea. One of the largest natural gas fields is located here. The largest drilling platform in the world was built by the Norwegians. Its displacement is 1 million tons. The height of the platform is 465 meters.

Coal

In this state there are the largest deposits of coal in the Arctic part of Europe. They are located on the islands of the Spitsbergen archipelago (Norway). Coal is present in considerable quantities. As of 2002, the resources of hard coal in this area are estimated by Norwegian geologists at 10 billion tons. Probable and reliable reserves of them are about 135 million tons. Reliable reserves are 35 million tons. In the main, coal reserves are located in the Barentsburg, Piramida, Longir (Paleocene), Grumant City. The main coal-bearing region with 4 mines is located in the central part of the island of Eastern Spitsbergen (Norway).

Mineral resources are not limited to the above. Let's talk about some others.

Zheleznyak

Iron ore is the main metal resource that Norway possesses. The minerals of this country were estimated in 1999. According to this year's data, Norway holds the 6th-7th place among the reserves of the ore deposits among all other European countries. The three main types of deposits in Norway are iron ore deposits. This is the Precambrian age of ferruginous quartzites (the Bjornevatn deposit, where the total reserves are 1 billion tons, including 100 million tons-reliable), the magnetite-hematite ores of the Cambrian-Silurian age (deposits near Dunderland, Ford Rana), and hematite-magnetite ores Ilmenite-magnetite formation (Rhodesan, Telnes, Kodali, etc.).

Vanadium

In reserves, vanadium ranks second in Western Europe (after Finland) Norway. The minerals from which it is extracted (since vanadium in its pure form does not occur in nature), are mainly concentrated in the Rhodesan deposit. The amount of ore is estimated at about 12-15 million tons.

Titanium

Norway in terms of reserves of this mineral takes a leading place among other European countries. The main industrial interest is the anorthosite province of Eigersund. Here are the largest deposits of this type in Europe. The Telnes deposit, the largest in Europe by ilmenite reserves (pictured below), is also important.

Copper

Copper is mainly mined in the far north. There are also pyrite deposits, which are used in the chemical industry to extract sulfur compounds. In addition, the development of deposits of different types of building stone, including marble and granite.

According to the data of 1999, the country is among the ten states of Europe in terms of copper ore reserves. Industrial importance in Norway is copper ore areas: Suliljemma (Sulikhielma), Trondheim (Fosdalen, Tverfjellet, Llokket, etc.), Gron (Skuruvatn, Yoma).

Other minerals

In Norway, besides other minerals, there are ores of silver. In Kongsberg there are ores of silver proper, and in Blakequessley and Moufiellet - lead-zinc deposits from which this metal is extracted. Also in this country there are gold reserves (pyrite deposits), graphite (on the Senya Island, Skalann), phosphate ores (the Kodali deposit), nepheline syenite (the island of Ciugno), feldspar (Glamsland region), olivine sand (Achime), talcum (Gudbransdalen Valle, Filit Altenmarku), limestone (Dalen, Slemmestad, Kirchholt), marble (Lyngstad), dolomite (Kragero region).

Industry in Norway

At present, Norway is the 26th largest country in terms of GDP, compared to other countries (according to 2006 data). The well-being of residents is largely dependent on the oil refining and gas industry.

The manufacturing industry in the country of interest is slowly developing. This is due to a limited inflow of capital, as well as a narrow domestic market. 26% of the gross output, as well as 17% of employment is energy, construction and manufacturing. Energy-intensive industries have developed in recent years. The industry of Norway includes the following leading industries: electrochemical, electrometallurgical, radio electronic, pulp and paper, shipbuilding. The highest level of industrialization is noted in the Oslo Fjord. About half of all industrial enterprises in Norway are concentrated here.

The leading branch of industry in this country is electrometallurgy. It relies on the widespread use of cheap hydroelectric power. Aluminum, the main product, is made from aluminum oxide, which is imported.

Chemical industry

In the Telemark province in the beginning of the 20th century, electrochemical production was created. This was the beginning of the chemical industry in the country.

Norway today exports industrial supplies of explosives, nitrogen fertilizers, varnishes, paints, alginates. In their production, it occupies not only the leading positions in Europe, but even in the world. Petrochemistry has been developing rapidly in recent years. On its basis there arose the production of plastics, as well as other synthetic materials.

Nitrogen fertilizers are one of the main products that the electrochemical industry produces. Nitrogen, which is necessary for this, is extracted using large amounts of electricity from the air. A significant part of the nitrogen fertilizers produced is exported.

Forest industry

37% of the country's territory is covered with forests. The most common tree species in Norway are birch, Scotch pine and spruce. The reserves of wood at present in the country are 2 times more than 100 years ago. The main farms are family, simultaneously leading forestry and agriculture. There are quite a lot of them in this country. In Norway, family forestry is characterized by an individual approach and a small size of possessions. This creates good conditions for the conservation of biological diversity in the country. An important sector of the country's industry is also the pulp and paper industry.

Mechanical engineering

About 25% of all industrial workers are engaged in the production of transport equipment and various machines. The most important areas of activity are ship repair and shipbuilding, the production of equipment for transmission and production of electricity. Mechanical engineering is a rather young industry in this state. With the participation of foreign capital in the postwar years, large shipbuilding yards were established, as well as factories specializing in the production of hydraulic turbines, offshore oil drilling platforms, household and industrial electronic and electrical equipment.

Sewing, food and textile industry

The food, sewing and textile industries supply little for export. They satisfy the bulk of the state's need for clothing and food. About 20% of all industrial workers in Norway are employed in these industries.

Fish industry

For Norway, it is important almost as much as the extraction of gas and oil. The main processing centers for fish are Bergen, Stavanger, Trondheim, Alesund. A significant part of Russian fishermen gives their catch to Norway for processing. Russia is also one of the largest consumers of fish products. Norwegian aquaculture has developed rapidly over the past three decades. A wealth of experience has been acquired in the production of various equipment for the cultivation of fish, monitoring, as well as production technologies in the field of fish processing.

Relief of the country

The relief and minerals of Norway, like any other country, are interrelated. It is from the relief that depends largely on what wealth this or that state has. Norway is a country with a large area of mountainous terrain. Scandinavian mountains are more than 70% of the state territory. They stretched from the south-west to the northeast by 1,700 km. The average height of the Scandinavian mountains is 1600-1900 m (maximum - 2469 m, Mount Galhepiggen). The narrow coastal strip (the so-called waflat) occupy lowlands. Their width is 40-50 km. They are found mainly in the south of the country, in small areas, in the Oslo-Ford area. The fjords (plateaus-peneplains) are dissected by fjords (valleys) of the mountain. The north of the country is a low hilly plateau, called Finnmarken. Its height is 300-500 meters. 1139 meters reach individual peaks (Chuokkarassa), with forest-tundra and mountain-tundra landscapes. With fjeldami sharp contrast are the deeply dissected and steep slopes of the Scandinavian mountains. There are mainly taiga forests here. As you can see, the nature of Norway is diverse.

In this country there are many islands (Sere, Magere, Senja, Vesterålen, Lofoten). The largest rivers are Logen (Gudbransdal), Glomma, Logen (Numedal). The nature of Norway is also characterized by the presence of lakes. They occupy about 4% of the territory. These lakes are mostly glacial. The largest is Miesa. About 27% of the state's territory is occupied by forests. The Spitsenbergen archipelago (Western Spitsbergen, Edge, North-Eastern Land, Bear, Barents, etc.) are characterized by an alternation of plateaus, mountain ranges and wide valleys. The fjords are riddled with its coast. The largest peak here is Newton (height - 1712 m). More than half of the archipelago is covered with glacial shields. Permafrost is developed everywhere.

Climate

Despite the fact that, like other countries in northern Europe, Norway does not have a warm summer, it has a favorable climate. This is the result of the Gulf Stream. The climate in this state is moderate, subarctic - in the extreme north, oceanic - in coastal areas. The country of Norway is also characterized by a very mild winter. In January, the average temperature is -12 ° C in the north, and in the south - +2 ° C. The summer here is cool (+6 ... + 15 ° C), often there are strong winds and rains. The amount of precipitation varies from 300 mm per year (in the east) to 3000 mm (mainly on the western slopes of the mountains). On the eastern slopes in the intermountain hollows the continentality of the climate is manifested. Cover glaciers bear many fjeldy. The total area of these glaciers is approximately 5000 square meters. Km. The coastline is cut by fjords.

Seismicity

Concluding the description of Norway, let us add a few words about seismicity. The country is located within a zone characterized by weak seismic activity. In general, the epicenters of many weak earthquakes pass along the Atlantic coast.