The history of hydrogeology in Norway

To understand the history of hydrogeology in Norway, a brief introduction to the country’s geology, hydrology and demography is useful. Norway is situated on the western margin of the Precambrian Fennoscandian shield. The Caledonian orogenic belt runs as a backbone through the country, from the southwest to the northeast. In Permian and Carboniferous times, the region around Oslo was affected by extensional rifting and volcanism. Therefore, practically all of the country is underlain by igneous, metasedimentary or metamorphic bedrock.