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Småland

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Småland

Småland (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈsmǒːland] ) is a historical province (landskap) in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means "small lands", referring to many small historic provinces from which it was composed. The Latinized form Smolandia has been used in other languages. The highest point in Småland is Tomtabacken, at 377 metres (1,237 ft). In terms of total area, Småland is similar in size to Belgium.

Whilst the traditional provinces of Sweden no longer serve any governmental purpose per se, they do retain historical and cultural importance. The province of Småland today is divided almost entirely into the three administrative counties of Jönköping, Kalmar, and Kronoberg. Some few small portions of historic Småland are situated in Halland and Östergötland Counties.

The current coat of arms, granted in 1569, displays a rampant red lion carrying a crossbow, all on a golden background. The arms may be surmounted by a ducal coronet. The blazon in English would be, "Or, a lion rampant gules, langued and armed azure, holding in its front paws a crossbow of the second, bowed and stringed Sable with a bolt argent."

The population of Småland was 780,389 as of 31 December 2023.

The land is dominated by a forested high plain in which the soil is mixed with sand and small boulders, making it barren in all but the coastal areas and unsuited for agriculture except in certain locations, most notably the Kalmar plains. The province is rich in lakes and bogs. The coast is marked by bays in the north (with an island archipelago offshore) and cultivated flatlands in the south. In total, cultivated land covers 14%, meadows cover 7%, and forests cover 50% of the surface of the province. Other than lacking deep valleys, the landscape is similar to the Norrland terrain found further north in Sweden.

The largest towns are Jönköping in the north-west, Växjö in the south, and Kalmar on the east coast near Öland Island.

Småland comprises the central, eastern, and southern parts of the South Swedish highlands. In detail, the topography of Småland is a series of flat surfaces built upon or deformed by a geological dome. The elevated terrain thought to be a buckle formed as result of far-away forces transmitted to Sweden. The main surfaces are the Sub-Cambrian peneplain, the South Småland peneplain and the "200 m peneplain". These surfaces and others are arranged in a stepped sequence called a piedmonttreppen. In eastern Småland, the Sub-Cambrian peneplain dips gently to the sea. To the West, this part of the Sub-Cambrian peneplain terminates along a north–south escarpment (running slightly to the east of Växjö) that separates it from other flat surfaces. Central and northwestern Småland contains strings of isolated hills.

The lakes and rivers of Småland are associated to zones of weak rock, either fractured, weathered, or both. The many lakes in Småland owe their existence to the creation of basins through the stripping of an irregular mantle of weathered rock by glacial erosion. The Lagan and the Nissan drain western Småland, following for most of their courses zones of weak rock associated with the Protogine Zone. Rusken, Rymmen, and Möckeln lakes are aligned with a more eastern branch of the Protogine Zone. Canyons cut into the bedrock are common in central and northern Småland, with the area near Mörlunda containing various particularly narrow (<50 m) canyons.

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