588 



LAPLAND. 



Lapland, way, contains, besides grey wacke, alum slate, clay 

 yw' s ] a { e , limestone, and other rocks, well known to mine- 

 ralogists as members of that class ; as granite, which 

 sometimes contains hornblende; syenite, which con- 

 tains Labradore felspar, and numerous crystals of zir- 

 con; porphyry; amygdaloid; basalt; sandstone. 10. 

 The transition limestone of Norway is sometimes 

 granular foliated, like that which occurs in primitive 

 countries, and contains much tremolite. The coun- 

 try abounds in mines of iron ; and furnishes several 

 also of copper. Lead, zinc, and arsenic, are not un- 

 common ; and native gold has been found at Svappa- 

 wara, in Torneo-Lapmark. But the rich iron ores form 

 the chief treasures of the country, and might assist to 

 introduce cultivation in those desert regions. The ore 

 is found in thick beds in the gneiss, and, when the sur- 

 rounding substance is . worn down, appears in many 

 places above the surface like mountains of iron. The 

 bed of Junos Siwando, on th boundary between West- 

 em Bothnia and Lapland, is from fourteen to fifteen 

 fathoms in thickness. At Luossovara and Svappawara, 

 several miles lower on the banks of the Torneo river, 

 are beds of the extraordinary thickness of 34 and 38 fa- 

 thoms. But even this is still exceeded by the iron hill 

 of Kerunaoara, about eleven English miles to the west 

 of Jukasjerfivi, where the pure ore has been seen to 

 the extent of 800 Paris feet. All these treasures, how- 

 ever, have hitherto been turned to little account, as the 

 ore must be conveyed by a land carriage of 46 English 

 miles with reindeer, and in small Laplandish pulkers; 

 and the furnaces cannot be erected nearer the mines, 

 in consequence of the want of wood. The ore itself, 

 though exceeding in richness that of Sweden, is very 

 difficultly fusible, and yields an iron which becomes 

 brittle when cold, unless it has been smelted with some 

 of the better sorts of ore from Uto or Dannemora. 



The principal rivers of the country are, the Tana, 

 which rises in the distant mountains of Lapland, and, 

 after running through East Finmark in a north-east 

 direction, empties itself into a bay, or rather sound 

 of the same name, in the North Sea ; the Alien, which 

 runs through West Finmark in a north-west direction, 

 and empties itself into a bay, or rather sound, of the 

 same name, which opens into the ocean ; the Pitea, 

 which rises in the Lapland Alps towards the west, 

 about 67 North Latitude, and running in a south- 

 easterly direction, falls into the sea at Pitea, near the 

 65 of North Latitude; the Lulea, which proceeds 

 from a long succession of lakes in the Lapland Alps, 

 and, running nearly parallel to the Pitea, falls into the 

 sea at Lulea, in 65^ North Latitude ; the Tornea, which 

 is formed by a number of streams uniting in one chan- 

 nel, and running nearly due south through a long 

 course, falls into the northern extremity of the Both- 

 nian Gulf at Tomeo. Most of the rivers in Lapland 

 are of small size during winter ; but, when the snows 

 melt in summer, they swell to an extraordinary height, 

 and frequently inundate large tracts of country. 



The lakes of Lapland are very numerous, and many 

 of them of great extent. The most worthy of notice 

 are Virih-jaur and Vastinjaur, to which no others with- 

 in the alpine range can be compared, either in breadth 

 or height, which amounts to 1862 feet. Hence these 

 lakes may be considered as the centre of the alpine 

 country of Lapland. 



The climate of Lapland is singular, especially as it 

 affects vegetation. The temperature of the air is regu- 

 lated, not as in other parts of the world, by the latitude 

 of the place, but by the height above the level of the sea, 



Dims. 



LVc. 



Climate. 



and the distance from the Gulf of Bothnia. Hence the 

 temperature is remarkably similar through the whole ex- 

 tent of country between the Bothnian" gulf and the al- 

 pine ridge of mountains, about 69 of N6>jh Latitude. 

 But in those parts which lie between the Lapland Alps 

 and the Northern Ocean, the heat, excepting in some 

 of the vallies, is almost entirely regulated by the lati- 

 tude. In point of temperature, therefore, Lapland may 

 be divided into two regions, the inland and the mari- 

 time. In the former, the winter is very severe, and the 

 summer very hot ; in the latter, the winter is compa- 

 ratively mild, and the summer cold ; the one being in- 

 fluenced by the temperature of the Frozen Ocean, and 

 the other screened from its action by^the alpine ridge, 

 forming a circle round it. The following Table fur- 

 nishes a comparative view of the mean temperature in 

 both regions, by Fahrenheit's thermometer. 



Cliraa: 



Though the menu temperature at Enontekis is nearly 

 6 lower than at the North Cape, yet is the former place 

 better calculated for vegetation than the latter, and 

 even brings to maturity certain kinds of corn, which is 

 quite out of the question at the Cape. The reason is, 

 that the mean temperature, during the summer months, 

 is much higher at Enontekis than at the Cape ; and the 

 power of vegetation is regulated more by the heat of 

 summer, than the cold of -winter. In those countries, 

 also, where the ground is long covered with snow, the 

 temperature of the earth is considerably higher than 

 that of the air, and this preserves it in a proper state 

 for vegetation, in spite of the intense winter-cold of the 

 atmosphere. Thus, at Enontekis the ground is con- 

 stantly covered with snow, from the beginning of Oc- 

 tober to the beginning of May ; while at the Cape, in 

 consequence of the vicinity of the sea, it is more fre- 

 quently exposed to thaws. Sometimes it happens in 

 the Lapland Alps, that, when a colder summer than 

 usual occurs, the snow lies during the whole year, and 

 all kinds of vegetables are completely destroyed, except 

 a few lichens, polytricha, and peltidea crocea/ 

 is an event which occurs more frequently in Norwegian 

 Lapland, where there are greater rains during summer, 

 which reduce the temperature of the air, and prevent 

 the dissolution of the snow, or even convert it into ice. 

 The progress of the seasons may be readily perceived 

 from the following Table of Observations, made at Uts- 

 jocki, upon the river Tana, in 69 53' North Latitude. 



1797. 

 Jan. 21. The sun's half disk seen above the horizon. 



May 5. First rain fell. 



June 5. The ice disappeared upon the over 1 ana- 



