Denmark Geography
According to educationvv, Denmark is a state located between 54 and 58 degrees north latitude and 8 and 15 degrees east longitude. In addition to Denmark proper, the Kingdom of Denmark comprises the Faroe Islands and Greenland. It is made up of the Jutland peninsula and 406 islands, of which 79 are inhabited. Among these islands, the largest and most densely populated is Zealand where the capital of Copenhagen is located, followed by the island of Funen.
Bordered to the west by Denmark is the North Sea, and the islands of Zealand and Funen separate the Baltic Sea from Kattegat. These islands are thus found on the maritime route from the Baltic to the great oceans and, at the same time, are located on the trade route between the Nordic countries and Central Europe.
Denmark has a coastline of about 7,300 kilometers in total and to the south, the country is linked to the European continent by the 68-kilometer land border with Germany. It is a mainly flat country, the highest point being a few 173 meters above sea level, but despite this, the landscape is rugged and very varied.
Climate
Cool summers with an average temperature of approximately 16 ° C, and mild winters with an average temperature of approximately 0.5 ° C. Denmark is thus situated in the temperate climatic zone.
The wind blows with greater force in winter and less in summer. It rains throughout the year, with the most abundant rainfall in the months of September, October and November and the least in February and April.
The regularity of the precipitations is due to the situation of the country in the zone of the winds of the west, where they blow, mainly winds of component west and southwest. The series of low pressures (cyclones), which often form in Newfoundland, are at the origin of the changing weather that characterizes Denmark: it is, for example, typically Danish that, in a matter of days, the weather passes from a regular rain followed from a warm front, to clear or slightly hazy weather, eventually accompanied by some drizzle in subsequent warmer air masses
Relief
The territorial core of Denmark, the Jutland peninsula and its adjacent islands, is a flat and low country, with an average altitude of about 30 meters above sea level. Its coast is protected from the onslaught of the sea, especially the North Sea, by means of a cordon of dunes and sandbanks, both natural and artificial. The highest point in the country is Mollehoj, 170.86 meters above sea level. Most of the Jutland peninsula and the adjacent islands is a sedimentary country, which is covered by limestones, marl and sandstones, which were deposited on the edges of the Fenoscandinavian base during the Cretaceous and Miocene.
The current Danish landscape is conditioned by the presence, until about 10,000 years ago, of glaciers and periglacial erosion. Traces of the three great ice ages are found, especially the last one (Würm). This translates into forms of glacial erosion such as whale backs, polished moors, lakes, fjords, very open U-shaped valleys and forms of periglacial accumulation: drumlins, moraines, loes, etc.
Greenland and the Faroe Islands. They are the territories furthest from the territorial nucleus, and have a clear glacial morphology. About 80% of the island (1,755,637 km²) is covered in ice. The ice-free surface occupies 410,449 km², which is more than most European countries. These ice-free lands are not only found on the south coast, but also on the north coast, since due to the aridity of the climate it hardly snows.
Hydrography
Danish rivers are short, slow and meandering. This is due to the dominant plain in the country and that all rivers develop entirely within its borders, both on the Jutland peninsula and on its islands. They are mighty rivers, largely navigable, the most important river being the Gudena, on the peninsula, which is 158 km long. It is born in Tinnet Krat, near the city of Torring, and empties into the Randers fjord, in front of the Kattegat strait. Other important rivers are the Stora, the Skjern, and the Varde, all of which flow into the North Sea.
More important are its lakes. They add up to a total of 435 km². They have two origins, one glacier, those in the center of the peninsula and the islands, and the other the marshes, on the coast, especially on the North Sea coast.
In the interior of the Jutland peninsula there are dozens of large lakes. The largest is Lake Arre, on the island of Sjaelland. It is 40.6 km² long and is located east of Frederiksvaerk, in the northeast of the island. The second largest lake in the country is the 19 km² Stadil Fjord in Jutland; and the third is Lake Esromsee with an area of 17.36 km². Limfjord (Lim fjord) that separates the island of Vendsyssel-Thy from the rest of the Jutland peninsula. It stretches from Thyboron in the North Sea to Hals in the Kattegat. It is about 180 kilometers long and has an irregular shape with several bays and islands, the largest of which is Mors. Its maximum depth is 24 meters.
Flora and fauna
Denmark is between two biocenosis, the deciduous forest of oak and beech, and the taiga of Conifers. In general, a mixed forest can be found, with a mixture of species from the two biocenoses, but the normal pattern is to find the deciduous forest in the temperate zones of the south and the coast and the taiga in the interior of the Jutland peninsula and the great islands. Peatlands appear in the worst drained areas. However, the natural vegetation is residual, since it has been replaced by crops. Anthropic action has affected the entire country.
The roe deer and the red deer are the only large mammals; among the little ones are foxes, squirrels and hares. There are 196 species of birds and 41 of fish (fresh and salt water) known; the cod, the herring and plaice form the basis of the fishing industry. There are 35 species in danger of extinction.
