Naming a mountain range

As a follow-up of my last blog and the comments I have received, these are the most common names used for parts of the ca. 2400 km long mountain range in Norway and Sweden.

Scandes: Used by some people in Sweden. It is also used by a few geologists (well, at least one) for the mountains formed during the Caledonian orogeny, about 410 million years ago.

The Scandinavian Mountains: I’m not sure if this is used as a descriptive term in Sweden, or as a proper name. It is not used in Norway as far as I know.

The Caledonides: The rocks of the current range were deformed (and partly formed) during the Caledonian orogeny, but the current topography is believed to be of an entirely different origin than the Caledonian range (at least by 99,9% of the geologists..).

Kjølen/Kjölen: Refers to the mountains along the border between Norway and Sweden, although many people think the name applies to the whole range. In my opinion, it doesn’t.


The Geological society of Norway has started the work on launching a name contest, and more info will follow soon, according to the society.

There are several independent initiatives as well:

http://www.norsk-klatring.no/Ute/Fjell/Fjellnavnekonkurranse

http://lydpoesi.wordpress.com/2012/02/05/alpane-uralfjella-pyreneane-og-fjellkjeda-utan-namn/