N o r w a y

1. Norway Joe Sortino 7-G

2. Fast Facts: • Population: 4,973,029 • Capital: Oslo • Major Cities: Bergen, Trondheim, Stavanger. • Religion: 80% of people belong to the Church of Norway. • Currency: Norwegian Krone

3. Landforms/Bodies of Water • Before the last Ice Age ended about 10,000 years ago, Norway was covered by a thick ice sheet. When the ice melted its movement across Norway formed islands, lakes, rivers, and mountains. It also etched out deep valleys forming Norway’s fjords. Norway is one of Europe’s most mountainous countries, and it is dominated north to south by the Scandinavian Mountains. There are about 150,000 lakes in Norway. Most of them are very small. The largest lake is Lake Mjosa. Some of the rivers in Norway are the Dramselva, the Lagen, the Tana, and the Glomma which is the longest.

5. Tourist Attractions • Northern Lights: Throughout the ages, onlookers have created hundreds of stories and theories, trying to explain and understand their fantastic visions of this captivating light in the sky. The Norwegian scientist Kristian Birkeland was the first to explain the source of the aurora and by his discovery a new field in science was created which is the Sun-Earth connection. The aurora still fascinates everyone that get to see it and for some countries it has become an amazing tourist attraction.

6. Winter Sports • Over the years Norway has been the world's second most successful nation at winter sports: only the former Soviet Union has won more Olympic medals. This success can be attributed to winter sports' long traditions and broad-based popularity in Norway. • Norwegians have practically unlimited access to skiing and skating.

7. Norway’s Nature • Norwegian adoration of nature is a vital ingredient in the country's national identity. Over half of the population have ready access to a cabin, the schools arrange annual obligatory ski days, and most postcards produced by the tourist industry depict nature scenes rather than cultural attractions.

8. Vigelandsparken Sculpture Park • Vigelandsparken is a must-see in Oslo. The famous park is filled with 212 sculptures and locals enjoying summer life. Gustav Vigeland did all the modeling himself, and also designed the architectural setting and the layout of the park. Vigelandsparken is one of the most popular places to meet for people living in Oslo. At summertime you will find hundreds of Norwegians having dinner or playing among the famous sculptures.

9. The Viking Ship Museum • The Viking Ship Museum presents great Viking ship discoveries from Gokstad, Oseberg, and Tune as well as other finds from Viking tombs around the Oslo Fjord. The museum displays the world's two best-preserved wooden Viking ships built in the 9th century.

10. Language • Norway’s official language is Norwegian, which is a northern Germanic language that is closely related to Danish and Swedish.

11. Norway’s Leader and Government • Norway has a Constitutional Monarchy. • The current leader of Norway is King Harald V.

12. Norway’s Economy • Norway has a mixed economy. • Norway is a highly developed country.

13. Holidays • Norway’s national holiday is Constitution Day which is celebrated on May 17, it celebrates Norway’s Constitution which was adopted in 1814. • They celebrate New Year’s day on January 1, it is celebrated to bring in the New Year. • They celebrate Christmas on December 25, it is celebrated to remember the birth of Jesus Christ.

14. Interesting Facts • Norway’s full name is the Kingdom of Norway. • Norway is regarded as the birth place of modern skiing. • The original cheese slicer was invented in Norway. • Norway is nicknamed ”The Land of the Midnight Sun.” • Hydropower accounts for 99 per cent of the electricity generated in Norway. • In Norway, education is free, even college and university education.