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mouths. The Sognefjord, for example, is no less than 4100 ft.
deep at places. The fact appears rather to he that these basins
existed before the glacier era. They are generally narrow and
deep, and with the exception of those in E. Finmarken, they lie
at right angles to the axis of the mountains. On the banks of the
fjords usually extends a strip of fertile and sheltered land which
has attracted a considerable population.
The immense and intricate archipelago of the Skjærgaard
(skärgård), or island-belt, which affords admirable shelter to the
coasting steamers, accompanies nearly the whole of the
Scandinavian coast from Yadse to Haparanda. The only considerable
intervals are in the Arctic Ocean near the North Cape, off the mouth of
the Folden fjord (641/2tr), off Jædem and Lister (between 58° and
59°), and opposite the coasts of Halland and Skåne in Sweden.
Within the Arctic Circle are a considerable number of large islands,
the Kvalø, on which Hammerfest is situated, the Seiland, Søre,
Stjernø, Kaagø, Amø, Varnø, Ringseadsø, and Hualø; between
the last and the mainland is the Tromsø, with the town of that
name ; then Senjen and the Vesteraaten and Lofoden Islands. Of
the last-named group the first is the Hindø, the largest island in
Norway (644 Engl. sq. M.). to the S. of which there are others of
considerable size. All these islands, particularly those near the
Arctic Circle, are mountainous, and many of them present
strikingly picturesque forms. Among the finest are the Hestmandsø,
Threnen, Lovunden, Ålstenø with the lSeven Sisters’, and the
singular Torghættan, all of which are described in the Handbook
(pp. 234-238)
The great resource of the busy coast-population is the Cod
I Fishery, besides which the Herring, Oyster, and Lobster Fisheries
and Seal Hunting yield a considerable revenue. The great
fishing-banks of the Lofoden Islands are mentioned at p. 245. These
fisheries support a population of no less than 100,000 souls. The
annual yield of the cod-fishery is estimated at l,300,000i., and
that of the seal-hunting (Phoca vitulina) at 55,600i., while about
a million and a half of lobsters are annually exported to England
alone. Herrings formerly abounded near Stavanger, but
disappeared from 1784 to 1808, during which period cod were abundant
in that neighbourhood. In 1808 the cod in their turn disappeared
and the herring returned, but since 1869 the former have again
been found in their old haunts. The shoals of cod and herring are
usually attended by a kind of whale (Bulenoptera musculus), which
was formerly supposed to prey on the latter, but this is ascertained
to be erroneous. The oyster-fishery is chiefly carried on on the S.
coast near Kragerø, and on the W. coast near Finnaas in
Send-hordland, near Lindaas in Nordhordland, near Vestnas in the
Romsdalsfjord, by the Bjarø, and near Vigten in the Namsdal. The
Salmon Fishery is also of considerable importance. Among the
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