Jutland [key], Dan. Jylland, Ger. Jütland, peninsula, c.250 mi (400 km) long and up to 110 mi (177 km) wide, N Europe, comprising continental Denmark and N Schleswig-Holstein state, Germany. It is bounded by the Skagerrak in the north, the North Sea in the west, the Kattegat and Lille Bælt in the east, and the Eider River in the south. The term usually is applied only to the Danish territory. Danish Jutland, including adjacent islands, has an area of 11,441 sq mi (29,632 sq km) and contains about half the population of Denmark. The Limfjørd strait cuts across N Jutland. A glacial ridge extending through central Jutland divides the peninsula into two sections. Western Jutland is windswept and sandy and has poor soil. Its coast is marshy, with many lagoons, and Esbjerg is the only good port. The east coast of Jutland is fertile and densely populated. Dairying and livestock raising are the main occupations of E Jutland; Aarhus and Aalborg are the chief ports. The peninsula has many lakes and is traversed by the Gudenå, Denmark's principal river. Yding Skovhøj, the highest point (568 ft/173 m) in Denmark, is in E Jutland. Sønderjylland (South Jutland) or Nordslesvig is the name applied in Denmark to the northern part of the former duchy of Schleswig, including the towns of Åbenrå, Haderslev, and Sønderborg. Jutland was known to the ancients as the Cimbric Peninsula (Lat. Chersonesus Cimbrica). In 1916, off the coast of W Jutland, British and German fleets engaged in the largest naval battle of World War I (see Jutland, battle of).
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