Geography of Denmark

Characteristics of Denmark

Denmark is one of the Nordic countries and is located on the Jutland peninsula in western Europe. The east and west coasts of Denmark are lined by the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. The southern end of Denmark shares a 69 km boarder with Germany and, while they do not actually come in physical contact with each other, Norway and Sweden are to the north, separated by the Skagerrak and Kattegat Seas. Most of Denmark is coastline, having over 7,000 kilometers of the Danish boarder as shoreline. Denmark is 43,094 square kilometers large. Mainland Denmark is a peninsula and there are 443 islands, 73 of which are inhabited, and its largest island is Zealand.

There is little flux in elevation throughout Denmark, with the average elevation at 31 meters above sea level. There is a hilly region in the southwest called Yding Skovhoj, which are on average 500 to 600 feet tall. There are many large forests in Denmark, most are Atlantic mixed forests or Baltic mixed forests. Boreal grasslands cover the Faroe Islands northwest of Denmark.

Climate

Denmark has a temperate climate, the winters are not too cold and the summers are not too hot. There is an average of 120 days of precipitation per year; autumn is the rainiest season and spring is the driest. The amount of sunlight per day does vary greatly in Denmark. The winter has the shortest days, which last from sunrise to sunset, a total of six and a half hours. The longest days in the summer last a total of eighteen hours. There are cultural celebrations for both the shortest and longest days; the shortest day usually corresponds with Christmas Eve and the longest, or Midsummer Day usually takes place in mid June.

Land Divisions

Denmark is partitioned into five different regions and amongst these regions there are 98 municipalities. These lines were drawn in 2007 during a large land reform that combined smaller municipalities in order to form larger ones; the number of municipalities was brought down from 270. The Faroe Islands and Greenland are considered to be autonomous regions that are within the Kingdom of Denmark. They are, for the most part, self-governing and each have two seats in the Danish Parliament.