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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R00200090020-4

Elevations are mostly between 1,500 and 2,000 feet in the hills and between 2,000 and 5,000 feet in the mountains, although several mountain peaks exceed 5,000 feet. The highest peak in the country has an elevation of 7,051 feet and is in northern Sweden about 20 miles from the Norway border. Local relief (differences in elevation between valley bottoms and adjacent crests) is less than 300 feet in the plains, 500 to 1,000 feet in most of the hills, and between 3,000 and 5,000 feet in the mountains. The hills adjacent to the mountains have a local relief of 1,700 feet. The hills and mountains commonly have rough rocky or bouldery surfaces.

The principal drainage features are numerous streams and thousands of lakes and wet areas (marsh, swamp, and bog). The larger streams generally originate in the mountains and flow southeasterly to the Gulf of Bothnia. Rapids and waterfalls are common in the upper and middle courses. Most streams are 250 to 500 feet wide on their upper courses and 500 to 1,000 feet in the lower courses. In their upper courses, many streams widen into elongated lakes that are 2 to 10 miles wide. All major streams are over 3.5 feet deep throughout the year except in rapids, and depths generally exceed 6 feet in wide sections and in lower courses. In the southern plains, the streams are 65 to 250 feet wide except near their mouths where most are 250 to 500 feet. Streambanks are predominantly low and gentle in the plains, and gorges are common in hills and mountains.

FIGURE 3. Level cultivated plains interspersed with forests are typical of most of southern Sweden. The cultivated areas of the plains present few problems for the construction of roads and airfields. (C) (photo)

FIGURe 4. Rounded rocky summits are typical of the mountains of northwestern Sweden. The higher parts of the mountains are bare or covered by low shrubs, grass, and lichens. (U/OU) (photo)

Bottoms are rocky and boulders in the upper courses and in rapids and predominantly sandy, silty, and clayey in the middle and lower courses. Lakes and ponds range in depth from about 1 feet to 725 feet. The lakes range in size from less than 1 square mile to over 2,000 square miles and generally have steep banks. Vattern, the largest lake, is 90 miles long, 50 miles wide, and covers 2,111 square miles. Most drainage features are frozen from early November to mid-May in the northern part of the country and from mid-December to mid-March in the southern part. Flooding is common during the spring thaw, which annually begins in mid-March in the south and mid-May in the north; however, variation in stream flow has been reduced by large-scale harnessing of streams for hydroelectric power.

The plains and hills are mostly covered by dense needleleaf forest (mostly spruce and pine), however, in the south there are small scattered areas of moderately dense broadleaf deciduous forest (mostly birch, oak, and beech). Open forests of low birch occupy a zone on the western foothills and mountains between the needleleaf forest at lower elevations and the alpine vegetation consisting of low shrubs, grass, and lichens at higher elevations. Cultivated vegetation, chiefly grass and small grains, is concentrated in the plains to the south but occurs also in the north, mainly in the river valleys.

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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R00200090020-4