The countries of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland make up the Nordic nations of Europe. The name Nordic comes from the word Norden, which is an ancient word that means “northlands.”

The features of the Nordic nations today are a result of glaciers that moved across the area during the last ice age. These glaciers caused the area to be made up of a collection of peninsulas and islands with many seas, gulfs, and oceans in between. The large Scandinavian peninsula is the largest continuous body of land in the northlands.

Jagged coastlines are evident along the Scandinavian peninsula. The glaciers carved deep valleys along the coast. And when they melted, the water filled in those valleys creating fjords. These flooded valleys are so deep that ships can sail into them from the ocean. The glaciers also created thousands of lakes in the region.

As the glaciers moved across Scandinavia, it removed much of the topsoil which was eventually deposited in Denmark and in other parts of Western Europe. The lack of this topsoil means that Scandinavia is fairly rocky and the land is not suited to agriculture. It also means that Denmark is fairly flat. Its highest point is less than 600 feet above sea level, while Norway is one of the most mountainous nations in Europe.

Iceland is known as “the land of fire and ice” because glaciers and volcanoes are both present in the area. Iceland uses this unique feature to produce geothermal energy by harnessing the heat from inside the earth. In fact, Iceland does not import any petroleum because most of the nation uses geothermal energy.