Scandinavia

Scandinavia a large peninsula in the north of Europe, bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean; on the west by the Atlantic, North Sea, Scager Rack, Cattegat, and Sound; on the south and east by the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Finland, with which it is connected by an isthmus 325 miles wide. This peninsula includes the two kingdoms Norway (q.v.) and Sweden (q.v.). The ancient Scandinavia, or Scandia, included Northern Denmark as well as the peninsula that still retains the name. It is first mentioned by Pliny, who, unaware that the peninsula was attached to Finland on the north, considered Scandinavia as an island.