- Vennekretsen Lodge 3-678 »
- Genealogy »
- Fylke »
- Finnmark fylke or Finnmárkku fylka, Norway
Finnmark fylke or Finnmárkku fylka, Norway
Finnmark or Finnmárku (Sami language) is a county in the extreme northeast of Norway. By land it borders Troms county to the west, Finland (Lapland) to the south and Russia (Murmansk Oblast) to the east, and by water, the Norwegian Sea (Atlantic Ocean) to the northwest, and the Barents Sea (Arctic Ocean) to the north and northeast.
The county was formerly known as Finmarkens amt or Vardøhus amt, and since 2002, has had two official names: Finnmark (Norwegian) and Finnmárku (Sami language). It is part of the Sápmi region, which spans four countries, as well as the Barents Region, and is the largest and least populated county of Norway.
Situated on top of Europe, where Norway swings eastward, Finnmark has always been an area where east meets west, in culture as well as in nature and geography. Vardø, the easternmost municipality in the country, is located further east than both St. Petersburg and Istanbul.
Finnmark is the northern- and easternmost county of Norway (Svalbard is not considered a county). In area, Finnmark is Norway's largest county, and is larger than Denmark. However, with a population of only 72,000, it is also the least populated.
Knivskjellodden in Nordkapp municipality (on Magerøya island) is the northernmost point of Europe; Kinnarodden at Nordkyn is the northernmost point on the European mainland.Now Honningsvåg, former Hammerfest, is the northernmost city of the world, and Vardø is the easternmost town in Norway and western Europe, and is actually east of Istanbul.
The coast is indented by large fjords, which in a strict sense are false fjords, as they are not carved out by glaciers. Some of Norway's largest sea bird colonies can be seen on the northern coast, the largest are Hjelmsøystauran in Måsøy and Gjesværstappan in Nordkapp. The highest point is located on the top of the glacier Øksfjordjøkelen (Øksfjord glacier, 45 km²). Both Øksfjordjøkelen and Seilandsjøkelen (Seiland glacier) are located in the western part of Finnmark.
The Øksfjord plateau glacier calved directly into the sea (Jøkelfjorden) until 1900, the last glacier in mainland Norway to do so. The central and eastern part of Finnmark is generally less mountainous, and has no glaciers. The land east of Nordkapp is mostly below 300 m.
The nature varies from barren coastal areas facing the Barents Sea, to more sheltered fjord areas and river valleys with gullies and tree vegetation. About half of the county is above the tree line, and large parts of the other half is covered with small Downy birch.
The most lush areas are the Alta area and the Tana (river) valleys [2], and in the east is the lowland area in the Pasvik valley in Sør-Varanger, where the pine and Siberian spruce forest is considered part of the Russian taiga vegetation [3]. This valley has the highest density of Brown bears in Norway, and is the only location in the country with a population of musk-rats. Lynx and elk are common in large parts of Finnmark, but rarely on the coast.
In the interior is the Finnmarksvidda plateau, with an elevation of 300 - 400 m, with numerous lakes and river valleys, and famous for its tens of thousands of reindeer owned by the Sami, and swarms of mosquitos in mid-summer. Finnmarksvidda makes up 36% of the county's area. Stabbursdalen national park ensures protection for the world's most northern pine forest.[4]
Tanaelva, which partly defines the border with Finland, gives the largest catch of salmon of all rivers in Europe, and also has the world record for Atlantic salmon, 36 kg. In the east, Pasvikelva defines the border with Russia.
The municipalities in Finnmark
- Alta
- Berlevåg
- Båtsfjord
- Gamvik
- Hammerfest
- Hasvik
- Kárášjohka - Karasjok
- Guovdageaidnu - Kautokeino
- Kvalsund
- Lebesby
- Loppa
- Måsøy
- Unjárga - Nesseby
- Nordkapp
- Porsanger or Porsángu or Porsanki
- Sør-Varanger
- Deatnu - Tana
- Vadsø
- Vardø
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnmark
