Fennoscandia

For the Fennoscandian Shield, see Baltic Shield.

Fennoscandia (Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian: Fennoskandia; Russian: Фенноскандия, romanized: Fennoskandiya), or the Fennoscandian Peninsula, is a peninsula in Europe which includes the Scandinavian and Kola peninsulas, mainland Finland, and Karelia.^[1] Administratively, this roughly encompasses the mainlands of Finland, Norway and Sweden,^[2] as well as Murmansk Oblast, much of the Republic of Karelia, and parts of northern Leningrad Oblast in Russia.

Fennoscandia

Fennoscandia in March 2002
Geography
Location	Northern Europe
Coordinates	63°N 17°E
Adjacent to	Arctic Sea, Atlantic Ocean
Highest elevation	2,469 m (8100 ft)
Highest point	Galdhøpiggen
Administration
Norway
Mainland
Sweden
Mainland
Finland
Mainland
Russia
Whole or part of the mainland area of Murmansk Oblast, Republic of Karelia, and Leningrad Oblast

Its name comes from the Latin words Fennia (Finland) and Scandia (Scandinavia).^[3] The term was first used by the Finnish geologist Wilhelm Ramsay in 1898.^[4]

Geologically, the area is distinct because its bedrock is Archean granite and gneiss with very little limestone, in contrast to adjacent areas in Europe.

The similar term Fenno-Scandinavia is sometimes used for Fennoscandia. Both terms are sometimes used in English to refer to a cultural or political grouping of Finland with Sweden, Norway and Denmark (the latter country is closely connected culturally and politically, but is not part of the Fennoscandian Peninsula), which is a subset of the Nordic countries.^[5][6]

See also

• Europe portal
• Geography portal

• Baltoscandia – Geopolitical concept
• Cap of the North – Region in Northern EuropePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Scandinavia – Subregion of Northern Europe
• Sápmi – Cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sami people