|
|
|
 |
The mountains - barren beauty
Nowhere else in Europe, except perhaps in parts of the former Soviet Union, can you find such vast areas of untouched and pristine nature as in the mountainous regions of Sweden. The mountains cover almost a fifth of Sweden's surface area, while seven per cent of the country's area lies above the tree line. For the most part, the mountains lack roads, people and economic
development. In parts of the Lapland mountains, it is fifty kilometres to the nearest road.
The characteristics of the different mountain areas vary greatly. From the low, gently rounded mountains of Dalarna in the south, to the high, sharply carved peaks with their sheer drops in the mountains of Jamtland and Lapland. The highest peak, Kebnekaise with its 2,111 metres, is to be found in the Lapland mountains.
The Swedish mountain chain varies greatly with its mix of majestic snowclad summits, extensive naked plateaus of stone and gravel, inaccessible alpine massifs, vast mats of verdigris lichen, open, bleak heaths of thin brush and grass, and luxuriant dales with mountain birch, low thickets and orchids.
Several hundred thousand tourists visit the mountains every year. For those wishing to hike or ski, there is a system of public routes comprising more than 5,000 kilometres of marked paths. While following the paths, you can spend the nights in your tent, but there are mountain stations and cabins for overnight use if you want to travel light.
Modern life is stamping its mark more and more clearly on the sensitive mountain environment. Its untouched character is under threat. The expansion of hydro-electric power, mining, tourist facilities and roads have already left gaping wounds in previously inviolate terrain.
New types of mountain tourism, such as trekking with Icelandic ponies or mountain bike riding, increase both deposits of rubbish and wear and tear in the sensitive mountain environment. The increasing use of snowmobiles, planes
and helicopters is causing constant strife between those anxious to experience the silence of the mountain world and those in a hurry to get somewhere. The responsible public agencies are now trying to find new ways of limiting the nuisance.
|
|
