Sjalland

or Zealand, an island in the Baltic Sea, part of Denmark. Area, 7,016 sq km (according to other figures, 7,544 sq km).

The shores of Sjælland are mostly low and cut in numerous places by bays and gulfs (the Ise-fjord, the Sejerø Bugt). Sjælland is formed of limestones and clays overlaid with glacial deposits. It is a hilly, mostly morainal plain up to 126 m in height, with some regions in the northwest lying below sea level. Sjælland’s many lakes include Arresø, the largest lake in Denmark. The beech and oak forests have been mostly destroyed. There is agriculture (feed grasses, wheat, sugar beets) and dairy cattle raising. Rail ferries connect Sjælland with Fyn Island and with Sweden. The city of Copenhagen is located on the eastern coast of Saælland and on the nearby island of Amager.