APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110018-4
1. Topography
Denmark consists mostly of flat to gently rolling plains and small areas of rolling to dissected plains. The flat to gently rolling surfaces (Figure 2) predominate in western and northern Jutland, northern Fyn, most of Sjaelland, Lolland, Falster, southern Bornholm (Figure 3), and the smaller Danish islands. On Jutland, broad, shallow, flat-bottomed, marshy valleys, commonly several hundred feet wide, cross these plains; in many places the valley sides are steep. The west coast is bordered by a belt of sandy beaches, bluffs, sand dunes, lagoons, and reclaimed land. Except for the stream valleys, isolated rounded hillocks, and rows of sand dunes, there are few surface irregularities. Rolling to slightly dissected plain surfaces are prevalent in eastern Jutland, southern Fyn, parts of Sjaelland, and northern Bornholm. These areas contain steep-sided, flat-bottomed, wide valleys that compartment the plains and steep or rounded hillocks and ridges. In most of Denmark slopes are less than 10% and in many areas are less than 2%. Sand dunes, steep-sided valley walls, hillocks, and ridges have slopes of 10% to 45%, and some slopes, especially in the dune belt, are as steep as 100%. Differences in elevation between interstream areas and adjacent valley bottoms are everywhere less than 500 feet; in the large areas of flat to gently rolling plains, differences are generally less than 200 feet, and in the rolling to dissected plains, they are between 200 and 500 feet. Most of Denmark is low lying; about 99% of the land is less than 300 feet above sea level, and more than half is less than 100 feet. The highest point, in east-central Jutland, is only 564 feet above sea level.
The principal drainage features are small streams; numerous wet areas, some of which are crisscrossed by drainage ditches and canals; numerous lakes; and many ponds. In coastal areas lagoons and estuaries are common. The many streams are short, shallow, narrow, and sluggish, and meander across the low-lying plains (Figure 4); no stream is more than 100 miles in length. Most streams are less than 60 feet wide, and many are less than 30 feet; only a few are more than 90 feet wide, mostly near the mouths. Streams are mainly less than 3.5 feet deep, but in their lower courses are as much as 6 to 10 feet deep. The Gudena, in eastern Jutland, is the longest and largest stream in Denmark. It is more than 60 feet wide and 5 to 10 feet deep only in its lower course; the stream has a depth of 3 feet or less in the upper stretches. It meanders through a poorly drained, nearly flat valley that contains several elongated lakes. The high water period for most streams and lakes is from early December through April; low water occurs from early June through August. Banks are primarily low and muddy, although steep in places, and bottoms are mostly soft. Wet areas, including bogs, marshes, and wet meadows (many crossed by narrow drainage ditches), are numerous but mostly small. Most of the bogs have been reclaimed, but many remain soft and waterlogged much or all of the time. Marshes are common along most streams and in many valley bottoms. On eastern Jutland and on the islands many poorly drained depressions are on the irregular surfaces between the valleys. There are also numerous large wet areas, in addition to the depressions and marshy areas along streams; concentrations are along the west coast of Jutland, in the southwest, in the north, and along the northeastern coast of Jutland. Drainage ditches and canals (Figure 5) are numerous in several parts of Denmark, especially along the west coast. Main drainage canals in the extensive reclaimed marshes are as much as 30 feet wide and 5 feet deep; connected to these canals are many small drainage ditches. Lakes and ponds are also numerous; most of them, however, are small and shallow. The larger lakes are along the western Jutland coast behind the sand dunes, in east-central Jutland, and on northeastern Sjaelland. The smaller lakes and ponds are most numerous in the northwestern part of Jutland and in the rolling areas of eastern Jutland and the islands, chiefly Fyn and Sjaelland, where they are in depressions among the hillocks or in the valleys.
The vegetation of Denmark consists mostly of cultivated fields (Figure 6) and smaller areas of forest, meadow, heath, and bog. Cultivated vegetation is distributed over wide expanses surrounding small, isolated areas of forest, meadow, or heath. The fields are bordered by a belt of trees (commonly spruce), some dwarfed, and by shrubs, especially in western Jutland; in places fields are bordered by stone fences. Grains, including barley, oats, rye, and wheat, are the most extensively planted crops. Forests are evenly distributed in most of the country, characteristically as isolated woodlots. Coniferous evergreen plantations, mainly spruce, occupy about half of the forest area and predominate in northern and western Jutland and on the islands. The deciduous forests are in leaf between April and October. Meadows occupy only small areas, most commonly along streams and around lakes and bogs. Many meadows have been established by providing artificial drainage, especially in the
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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110018-4
