The mean temperature at North Cape is 32°, the greatest cold arising from north-east winds. Thunder-storms occur in winter, while west winds cause dense fogs.
At the conclusion of Forbes’s “Norway” will be found a most interesting map, with isothermal lines passing through those places which have the same temperature in the months of January and July; and it is very striking to notice that the July temperature of the north of Ireland and Edinburgh is maintained through Norway as far as the Arctic Circle, when it begins to deflect to the eastward, where the gulf stream’s influence ceases.
Stabur and Wooden Tankards.
Again, the waterfalls are a great feature of this country. Some one has depicted Norway thus
, and the Alps thus
. There is much truth in this. The valleys running down to the fjords produce immense precipices, down which rush the many waters of the high plateaux of 3,000 or 4,000 feet; and in some parts these falls are strengthened by the waters of the vast stretch of sneebræden, or snow-fields, of which the Justedal and the Folgefond are the most extensive.
The casual observer, looking at the map of Norway, would think it well populated, but a few years ago its inhabitants numbered hardly more than one-fourth those of London and its suburbs.[8] The names on the map frequently represent mere stations, farms, præstegaarden, or rectories, and villages are seldom seen. As in Scotland, the farmer takes the name of his land. In fact, Norway and Scotland are very closely allied to each other in many respects.