Geography and topography
Located in northern Europe, Norway occupies the western and northern portions of the Scandinavian peninsula. It is bordered to the north by the Barents Sea, to the north-east by Finland and Russia, to the east by Sweden, to the south by the Skagerrak Strait and to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, known as the Norwegian Sea. More than three times larger than Iceland, Norway covers a total land mass of 323,900 square kilometres. This includes the volcanic island of Jan Mayen to the north east of Iceland, and a portion of Antarctica lying between longitude 20° west and 45° east, known as Queen Maud Land. Also included is Svalbard, an archipelago which lies between Greenland and the Barents Sea. Norway is a mountainous country, with nearly one-third of the country lying north of the Arctic Circle. From the inland mountains and mountain plateaux, the landscape falls sharply towards a coastline dotted with innumerable islands. The country has traditionally been divided into five principal regions – Nord Norge (North Norway), Trøndelag/Midt-Norge (Trondheim Region/Mid-Norway), Vestlandet (West Country), Østlandet (East Country) and Sørlandet (South Country).