Sweden's topography slopes broadly from the mountainous west toward the east and southeast, where lower lands meet the Baltic coast. Much of the country's surface was shaped by repeated glaciation, producing smoothed bedrock, rolling uplands, depressions filled by lakes, and elongated ridges of sand and gravel.
## Key topographic features
- **Highest point:** Kebnekaise in Lapland, approximately 2,096 m above sea level, though the exact summit elevation can vary slightly over time because its glacier-covered peak has changed. - **Lowest point:** Sea level along the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Kattegat, and Skagerrak coasts. - **Mountain regions:** The Scandinavian Mountains form Sweden's western spine along the Norwegian border, especially pronounced in Norrbotten, Västerbotten, Jämtland, and Härjedalen. - **Plateaus and uplands:** Much of central and northern Sweden consists of forested uplands rather than dramatic high mountains. - **Plains:** Southern regions, particularly in Skåne and parts of Östergötland and Västergötland, contain some of the country's most productive agricultural plains. - **Lakes and basins:** Glacial action created broad lake basins, including Vänern, Vättern, Mälaren, and Hjälmaren. - **Coastal topography:** Sweden has long, indented coastlines with skerries, inlets, and archipelagos. The Stockholm Archipelago is particularly notable. - **River valleys and floodplains:** Northern rivers descending from the mountains toward the Gulf of Bothnia form broad valleys important for hydropower and settlement.
Sweden has no major desert or canyon landscapes in the conventional sense, but it does contain steep river valleys, rocky coasts, wetland systems, and extensive peatlands. In low-lying southern and central areas, flood risk can affect riverine and coastal settlements, while post-glacial land uplift continues to reshape parts of the northern Baltic coast.
