1. Western Europe Northern Region

2. Nordic Nations Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark Known as: Land of fire and ice Land of the midnight sun

3. Iceland Capital: Reykjavik Language: Icelandic Climate: Temperate due to warming by the North Atlantic Current Government: Unitary Parliamentary Republic Economy: Free market, wealthy, highly developed Currency: Icelandic Krona Geology: Mountains, Sandy plateaus, Glaciers, Fjords, Volcanoes, Geysers

4. Iceland Religion Freedom of Religion National Church – Lutheran 81% belong to National Church 8% other Christian Requires teaching Christianity in schools

7. Norway Capital: Oslo Language: Norwegian Climate: Warmed by Gulf Stream, but still cold and snowy in winter Government: Unitary Parliamentary Democracy & Constitutional Monarchy Economy: Mixed Economy, 2nd wealthiest nation in world, High standard of living, High cost of living Currency: Norwegian Krone Geology: Mountains, Glaciers, Fjords,

8. Norway Religion Freedom of Religion National Church – 79% belong to national church, but most aren’t true believers 2% attend church regularly 72% do not believe in a “personal God” One of the most secular countries in the world

10. Sweden Capital: Stockholm Language: Swedish Climate: Temperate, warmed by Gulf Stream Government: Unitary Parliamentary Democracy & Constitutional Monarchy Economy: Mixed Economy, Wealthy, High taxes Currency: Swedish Krona Geology: Long coastline, large country

11. Sweden Religion Freedom of Religion since 1951 Highly secular – only 2% attend church Large Muslim population – about 5% practice Islam 46% - 85% atheistic, but many still maintain church membership

13. Finland Capital: Helsinki Language: Finnish, Swedish Climate: Warm summers, freezing winters Government: Parliamentary Republic Economy: Mixed Economy, Wealthy Currency: Euro Geology: Mostly flat with thousands of lakes, largely forested

14. Finland Religion Freedom of Religion 80% - Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland 2% attend church regularly

16. Denmark Capital: Copenhagen Language: Danish Climate: Temperate with mild winters and cool summers Government: Unitary Parliamentary Democracy & Constitutional Monarchy Economy: Mixed Economy, Wealthy, Income Equality, World’s Highest Income Tax Currency: Danish Krone Geology: Mostly surrounded by coastline, flat

17. Denmark Religion Freedom of Religion 81% - Danish National Church (Lutheran) 4% Muslim 43% - 80% atheistic

19. Major Landforms Glaciers shaped land – created fjords Baltic Shield 2 peninsulas Scandinavia – Norway and Sweden Jutland - Denmark

20. Water Systems Only Denmark connected to Europe by land Baltic Sea Separated Scandinavia North Sea Valuable for fishing, oil, and natural gas

21. Midnight Sun Northern latitude leads to extremely long summer days and short winter days At northern most latitudes, In summer, the sun won’t set for weeks In winter, the sun never truly rises Winter is prime opportunity to view Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights

23. Climate

24. Gulf Stream