South Swedish highlands

Except for a lack of deep valleys, the landscape is similar to the Norrland terrain found further north in Sweden.

The highlands are centered on Småland but cover also large swathes of Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and Blekinge.

[5] The South Swedish highlands have been populated since the Nordic Stone Age as evidenced by cist findings.

[7] Poor soil conditions have posed significant difficulties for agriculture in the highlands, meaning that over time small industries became relatively important in local economies.

Vestiges of abandoned fields can be recognised through the highlands by the characteristic piles of stones made when areas were cleared for cultivation.

This is due to orographic precipitation caused by southwestern wind forcing moist air over the highlands.

[9] Ljungby in the southwestern parts of the highlands holds the monthly precipitation record for Småland with 347 mm in August 1945.

[17] Damage was exacerbated by the planting of spruces and practice of clearcutting, which left many trees exposed to the wind.

[5] The South Swedish Dome has subsided and been uplifted multiple times by epeirogenic movements during the Phanerozoic.

[18][19] The Sub-Mesozoic hilly relief covers the southern and western fringes of the dome, corresponding roughly with the counties of Halland, Blekinge and northeastern Scania.

[23] At present various lakes in the South Swedish highlands contain planktonic crustacean species that are relics from the time the Weichselian Ice Sheet left the area about 12,000 years ago.