Norway

Norway is a country in northern Europe. It sits on the western side of a large peninsula called Scandinavia, next to Sweden, Finland, and Russia. Norway is long and narrow. Its coast faces the North Atlantic Ocean. About 5.5 million people live there. The capital city is Oslo.

Norway is famous for its fjords. A fjord is a long, deep arm of the sea that reaches far inland between tall cliffs. Fjords were carved by glaciers during the last Ice Age. The ice slowly scraped out deep valleys. When the ice melted, seawater flooded in. Norway has more than a thousand fjords. The longest, Sognefjord, stretches about 127 miles inland. That is about as long as the distance from New York City to Philadelphia and back.

Much of Norway is covered in mountains, forests, and lakes. Only about three percent of the land can be farmed. Because the country is so far north, the weather can be cold and snowy, especially in winter. But a warm ocean current called the Gulf Stream keeps the coast from freezing over. This is why Norway is warmer than most places at the same latitude.

The northern part of Norway reaches above the Arctic Circle. Up there, summer and winter are strange. For weeks in summer, the sun never sets. This is called the Midnight Sun. In winter, the sun never rises for weeks. During those dark months, people often see the northern lights. These are glowing green and pink ribbons of light that dance across the sky.

Norway has a long history with the sea. More than a thousand years ago, Norwegian sailors called Vikings raided, traded, and explored across Europe. They sailed as far as North America, about 500 years before Columbus. Today, fishing is still important, and so is oil. Large amounts of oil and natural gas were found under the North Sea in the 1960s. Norway used the money wisely. It saved much of it in a giant national fund, which is now one of the largest in the world.

Norway is a kingdom, with a king as its symbol and a parliament that makes the laws. It is often ranked as one of the happiest countries on Earth. Schooling and healthcare are free. Kids grow up skiing, hiking, and camping. Norwegians have a word, friluftsliv, which means "open-air living." It captures how people in Norway feel about their mountains, forests, and sea.