The North Sea is, however, an enclosed one, and little more than a bay of the Atlantic. Its swell is not so great, nor its storms so violent, as those of the open sea beyond, towards the north and west; where the Atlantic breaks on one side against Greenland and North America, and on the other against Norway, Scotland, and Ireland. The sand-banks and shoals which form a sufficient defence for Jutland against the North Sea, would there scarcely be able to resist the open and agitated ocean. On the extreme north-western coasts of Europe, the Atlantic has completely washed away the earth and sand; the bare cliffs, which often rise to a considerable height, alone remain, and still defy the fury of the waves. These rocky coasts, with their numerous towering and ragged crags, with their many and deeply-indented fiords, convey an idea of the power and greatness of the sea as striking as it is true. Everywhere outside lie rocky islands, which, like outposts, stop the advancing waves, and only allow them, if with increased speed, yet with diminished power, to approach the land through narrow channels, or sounds. During violent storms some of the islands are flooded by the sea, which, as it rolls forwards, strives to overtop the cliffs; whence it glides back, again to repeat the same vain attempt. The firm, rocky, isle-bound coasts of Norway, Scotland, and Ireland, are evidently for Europe what the sand-banks and shoals of Jutland are for Denmark. It is natural, therefore, that those countries which in the north-westernmost part of Europe lie farthest out towards the Atlantic Ocean—such as the Scandinavian Peninsula, Scotland, Ireland, and part of England—should have their highest and wildest mountains and cliffs towards the west, and in the neighbourhood of the sea. This is more clearly seen the farther we proceed northwards: namely, in the Scandinavian Peninsula and in Scotland.