PHOTOS OF THE WEEK: March 15th, 2018:

The beauty of NORWAY !

I KEEP RUN INTO A LOT OF STUNNING PHOTOS AS I PUT THESE BLOGS TOGETHER, AND EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, I KEEP RUNNING INTO PHOTOS FROM NORWAY.  AND I THINK THAT THIS COUNTRY SEEMS TO BE OVERLY BLESSED WITH BEAUTY.  SO, I DID SOME RESEARCH AND FOUND A WEBSITE THAT DID IT’S DUTY IN SHOWING OFF THIS INCREDIBLE COUNTRY.   LET’S GO ON A JOURNEY INTO THIS AMAZING COUNTRY OF NORWAY:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometres (148,747 sq mi) and a population of 5,258,317 (as of January 2017).^[12] The country shares a long eastern border with Sweden (1,619 km or 1,006 mi long). Norway is bordered by Finland and Russia to the north-east, and the Skagerrak strait to the south, with Denmarkon the other side. Norway has an extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Attractive and dramatic scenery and landscape are found throughout Norway.^[95] The west coast of southern Norway and the coast of northern Norway present some of the most visually impressive coastal sceneries in the world. National Geographic has listed the Norwegian fjords as the world’s top tourist attraction.^[96] The country is also home to the natural phenomena of the Midnight sun (during summer), as well as the Aurora borealis known also as the Northern lights.^[97]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In western Norway conifers and broad-leaved trees abound in approximately equal numbers. The largest forests in Norway are found between the Swedish border and the Glåma River, east of Oslo. About half of the Østlandet region is forested. The region also has about half of Norway’s total forest resources and an equivalent share of the country’s total area of fully cultivated land. Nearly one-third of the area of Trøndelag is forested. North of the Arctic Circle there is little spruce, and pine grows mainly in the inland valleys amid their surprisingly rich vegetation. Wild berries grow abundantly in all regions; they include blueberries and cranberries of small size as well as yellow cloudberries, a fruit-bearing plant of the rose family that is little known outside Scandinavia and Britain.

Reindeer, wolverines, lemmings, and other Arctic animals are found throughout Norway, although in the south they live only in the mountain areas. Elk are common in the large coniferous forests, and red deer are numerous on the west coast. Just 150 years ago large animals of prey were common in Norway, but now the bear, wolf, and lynx are found only in a few areas, mainly in the north. Foxes, otters, and several species of marten, however, are common, and in many areas badgers and beavers thrive.

Most of the rivers and lakes have a variety of fish, notably trout and salmon. The latter are found in at least 160 rivers, often in an abundance that attracts anglers from throughout the world.

 

 

 

 

 

Oil and gas

By the mid-1990s Norway had become the world’s second largest oil exporter (behind Saudi Arabia), and it remained among the world’s most important oil exporters in the early 21st century. The first commercially important discovery of petroleum on Norway’s continental shelf was made at the Ekofisk field in the North Sea late in 1969, just as foreign oil companies were about to give up after four years of exploratory drilling. Intensified exploration increased reserves faster than production. Nevertheless, by the mid-1990s about half of export earnings and about one-tenth of government revenues came from offshore oil and gas. Export earnings from oil and gas continued to climb into the middle of the first decade of the 21st century, when they tapered off somewhat. By the first decade of the 21st century, oil and gas revenue accounted for about one-fifth of overall government revenue. Oil production peaked in 2001 but remained steady into the second decade of the 21st century, while that of natural gas has continued to increase significantly since 1993.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are so many more photos of Norway for you to enjoy.  Just go to this website:

https://www.facebook.com/norwayinhearth/