Motorhome Swap Travel Destination - Denmark - Geography and Climate
Denmark - Motorhome / RV / Campervan Swap International Travel Destination.
Denmark is the smallest country in Scandinavia.Denmark's northernmost point is Skagens point, the southernmost is Gedser point, the westernmost point is Blåvandshuk, and the easternmost point is Østerskær. This is in the archipelago Ertholmene 18 kilometres northeast of Bornholm. The distance from east to west is 452 kilometers, from north to south 368 kilometers.
Denmark consists of the peninsula of Jutland and 443 named islands (1419 islands above 100 m² in total (2005)). Of these, 72 are inhabited (2008), with the largest being Zealand and Funen. The island of Bornholm is located east of the rest of the country, in the Baltic Sea. Many of the larger islands are connected by bridges; the Øresund Bridge connects Zealand with Sweden, the Great Belt Bridge connects Funen with Zealand, and the Little Belt Bridge connects Jutland with Funen. Ferries or small aircraft connect to the smaller islands. Main cities are the capital Copenhagen, Århus, Aalborg, Esbjerg, and Odense.
The country is flat with little elevation; having an average height above sea level of only 31 meters and the highest natural point is Møllehøj, at 170.86 meters. Other hills in the same area southwest of Århus are Yding Skovhøj at 170.77 meters and Ejer Bavnehøj at 170.35 meters. The area of inland water is: (eastern Denmark) 210 sq km ; (western D.) 490 sq km.
Denmark is split into one peninsula and 443 named islands which results in a long coastline, 7,314 km. A feature that shows the close connection between the land and ocean is that no location in Denmark is further from the coast than 52 km. The size of the land area of Denmark cannot be stated exactly since the ocean constantly erodes and adds material to the coastline, and because of human land reclamation projects (to counter erosion). On the southwest coast of Jutland, the tide is between 1 and 2 m, and the tide line moves outward and inward on a 10 km stretch.
Phytogeographically, Denmark (including Greenland and the Faroe Islands) belongs to the Boreal Kingdom and is shared between the Arctic, Atlantic European and Central European provinces of the Circumboreal Region. According to the WWF, the territory of Denmark can be subdivided into two ecoregions: the Atlantic mixed forests and Baltic mixed forests. The Faroe Islands are covered by the Faroe Islands boreal grasslands, while Greenland hosts the eco-regions of Kalaallit Nunaat high arctic tundra and Kalaallit Nunaat low arctic tundra.
The climate is in the temperate zone. The winters are not particularly cold, with mean temperatures in January and February of 0.0 °C, and the summers are cool, with a mean temperature in August of 15.7 °C. Denmark has an average of 121 days per year with precipitation, on average receiving a total of 712 mm per year; autumn is the wettest season, and spring the driest.
Because of Denmark's northern location, the length of the day with sunlight varies greatly. There are short days during the winter with sunrise coming around 9:00 a.m. and sunset 4:30 p.m., as well as long summer days with sunrise at 4:00 a.m. and sunset at 10 p.m. The shortest and longest days of the year have traditionally been celebrated. The celebration for the shortest day corresponds roughly with Christmas (Danish: jul) and modern celebrations concentrate on Christmas Eve, 24 December. The Norse word jól is a plural, indicating that pre-Christian society celebrated a season with multiple feasts. Christianity introduced the celebration of Christmas, resulting in the use of the Norse name also for the Christian celebration. Efforts by the Catholic Church to replace this name with kristmesse were unsuccessful. The celebration for the longest day is Midsummer Day, which is known in Denmark as sankthansaften (St. John's evening). Celebrations of Midsummer have taken place since pre-Christian times.
Explore Denmark with travel through an RV / Motorhome / Campervan international exchange.
Thursday, 9 February 2012
