Baltic Shield

Also known as: Fennoscandian Shield, Scandinavian Shield

Learn about this topic in these articles:

Arctic

  • Arctic Ocean
    In Arctic: Geology

    The Baltic (or Scandinavian) Shield, centred on Finland, includes all of northern Scandinavia (except the Norwegian coast) and the northwestern corner of Russia. The two other blocks are smaller. The Angaran Shield is exposed between the Khatanga and Lena rivers in north-central Siberia and the Aldan…

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Atlantic Ocean

  • The Baltic Sea, the North Sea, and the English Channel.
    In Baltic Sea: Coastal features

    …ancient rock mass of the Baltic Shield outcrop along the northern coasts, partly obscured by glacial drift and marine deposits, they are often fringed by the low, rocky islands known as a skerry guard. These are most numerous in the Saltsjön (Salt Bay) between Stockholm and the open waters of…

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composition and age

  • Norway
    In Norway: Land

    …occupies part of northern Europe’s Fennoscandian Shield. The extremely hard bedrock, which consists mostly of granite and other heat- and pressure-formed materials, ranges from one to two billion years in age.

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Europe

  • Europe
    In Europe: Geologic history

    …in the continent is the Baltic Shield, which has been eroded down to a low relief. The youngest rocks occur in the Alpine system, which still survives as high mountains. Between those belts are basins of sedimentary rocks that form rolling hills, as in the Paris Basin and southeastern England,…

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location and extent

  • In continental shield

    The Baltic, or Fennoscandian, Shield occupies most of Finland and Sweden, as well as eastern Norway. It is bordered on the west by the Caledonian Belt of younger, folded rocks. Shield areas are not recognized in central Europe, but farther south nearly one-half of the continent…

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Precambrian rocks