Finnmark
Finnmark (
Sami Finnmárkku,
Finnish Ruija) is a
county in the extreme northeast of
Norway, bordering
Troms county to the west,
Finland (
Lapland) to the south and
Russia (
Murmansk Oblast) to the east. The county was formerly known as
Vardøhus amt. Finnmark borders the
Norwegian Sea (
Atlantic Ocean) to the northwest, and to the north and northeast is the
Barents Sea (
Arctic Ocean). Finnmark is also part of the
Lapland region, which spans four countries, as well as the
Barents Region. It 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 - nature as well as culture.
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 73,000, it is also the least populated.
Knivskjellodden in
Nordkapp municipality (on
Magerøya island) is the northernmost point of Europe;
Kinnarodden at
Nordkyn is the northermost point on the European mainland.
Vardø is the easternmost town in
Norway and
western Europe, and is actually east of
Istanbul.
|
Øksfjord in Loppa, western coast of Finnmark |
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 birds colonies can be seen on the northern coast, the largest are
Hjelmsøystauran in
Måsøy and
Gjesværstappan in
Nordkapp. The highest mountains, including
Svartfjell (
Black mountain, 1218 m, the highest in the county) and glaciers like
Øksfjordjøkelen (
Øksfjord glacier, 45 km²) 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 (
), 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 (
). 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 (
).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.
Finnmarksvidda in the interior of the county has a
continental climate with the coldest
winter temperatures in Norway: the coldest temperature ever recorded was -51.4 °C (-60.5 °F) in
Karasjok January 1 1886. The 24-hr averages for January & July at the same location are -17.1 °C (1.2 °F) and 13.1 °C (55.6 °F), year average is -2.4 °C (28 °F) and precipitation is only 366 mm (14.43 in)/year (
1). Karasjok has recorded up to 32.4 °C (90.3 °F) in July, this gives a possible year amplitude of 84 °C (151 °F), which is rare in
Europe. Finnmarksvidda has annual mean temperatures down to -3 °C (27 °F) (Sihcajavri in
Kautokeino), this is the coldest in mainland Norway (except for higher mountains areas), and is even colder than
Jan Mayen and
Bjørnøya. However, Sihcajavri has also recorded the warmest temperature ever in
Northern Norway: 34.3°C (93.8°F) on June 23 1920.
Due to the proximity to the ice-free ocean, winters are much milder in coastal areas (and more windy);
Loppa has average January & July temperatures of -2 °C (28 °F) and 11.6 °C (52.9 °F) respectively, with an annual mean of 3.6 °C (38.5 °F) (
2), despite being further north. The year average temperature difference between Loppa and Karasjok (6 °C) is comparable to the difference between Loppa and
London (
).
In the
Köppen climate classification, the climate in Karasjok - and most of the lowland areas in Finnmark - corresponds to the Dfc category, while the Loppa climate corresponds to the Cfc category.
|
Kjøllefjord on the northeastern coast. |
The northeastern coast, from
Nordkapp east to
Vardø, have
arctic tundra climate (Köppen: ETf), as the average July temperature is below 10 °C (50 °F). Furthermore, elevations exceeding approximately 100 - 200 m in coastal areas in western Finnmark and 300-500 m in the interior result in an
alpine tundra climate, and in the northeast this merges with the arctic tundra climate.
The climate in sheltered parts of fjord areas (particularly Altafjord) is usually considered the most hospitable: winters are not as cold as in the interior, and summer warmth is comparable. Even if winter temperatures are milder in coastal areas, the coast is more exposed to winter
storms, which often complicate or shut down road and air communications.
Situated far north of the
arctic circle, Finnmark has
midnight sun from middle of May until late July. And in two months of the winter, from late November to late January, the county experiences
polar nights where the sun is always below the horizon. As a consequence, there is continuous daylight from early May to early August. At midwinter, there are only a bluish
twilight for a couple of hours around noon, which can almost reach full daylight if there are clear skies to the south.
Finnmark is situated in the
Aurora Borealis zone, and because of the dry climate with frequent clear skies, Alta was early chosen as a location for the study of this strange light phenomenon. For this reason, Alta is sometimes referred to as the city of the northern light.
|
Vadsø with the church, February 2004 |
Vadsø is the capital city of the county of Finnmark, although
Alta has the largest population.
Fisheries have traditionally been the most important way of living along the coast, where the majority of the Norwegian population live. The red
king crab, originally from the northern
Pacific ocean but brought to the Barents sea by the Russians, have invaded from the east and are now being exploited commercially (especially in
Varangerfjord). To prevent the crab from spreading too far south, crab fishing west of Nordkapp is totally unregulated. The
slate industry in Alta is well known, and have sold to customers as far away as
Japan.
Kirkenes grew into a town as the exploitation of the
iron ores started, but AS Sydvaranger closed down their iron ore activities in 1996.In more recent years,
tourism has grown in importance, with Nordkapp (
North Cape), Alta and Hammerfest as the most important destinations.
There are two
hospitals in Finnmark, located in
Kirkenes and
Hammerfest. There are several smaller airports (with flights to
Tromsø), but only Alta and Kirkenes have airports with direct flights to
Oslo. In addition,
Lakselv Airport, Banak in
Porsanger is used for training purposes by the
Royal Norwegian Air Force and other
NATO allies, in conjunction with the nearby
Halkavarre shooting range, which allows for practice with precison guided munitions.
Garnisonen i Porsanger is also located near Halkavarre training area. There is also the
Garnisonen i Sør-Varanger (
Gsv) in the east, which guards the border with Russia. Hammerfest is now experiencing an economic boom (
) as a consequence of
Statoil's construction of the large land-based
LNG site at
Melkøya (
), which will get natural gas from the
Snøhvit field. A new
oil field was recently discovered just 45 km off shore (
,
), close to the Snøhvit field.There are also optimism in the eastern part of the county, as the growing
petroleum activity in the Barents Sea is expected to generate increased economic activity on land as well (
).
People have lived in Finnmark for at least 10 000 years (see
Komsa,
Pit-Comb Ware culture and
Rock carvings at Alta).
Gjesvær in Nordkapp is mentioned in the
Sagas (
Heimskringla) as a northern harbor in the
viking age, especially used by vikings on the way to
Bjarmaland (see
Ottar from Hålogaland), and probably also for gathering food in the nearby seabird colony. Coastal areas of Finnmark were colonized by Norwegians beginning in the 10th century, and there are stories describing clashes with the
karelians. The first known
fortification in Finnmark is
Vardøhus festning, first erected in 1306 by King
Haakon V Magnusson. This is
the world's most northern fortress. In the 17th century, 88 young women were burned as witches in Vardø, an extremely high number compared to the total population in this area at the time (
).
|
Fra Hammerfest by Peder Balke (1851) |
Finnmark first became a subject of major colonization in the 18th and 19th century. Norway, Sweden and Russia all claimed control over this area. Finnmark was initially a Norwegian
colony, but became an integrated part of the Kingdom in the early part of the 19th century, when it was elevated to
Amt (county). For a time, there was a vibrant trade with Russia (
Pomor Trade), and many Norwegians settled on the
Kola Peninsula (see
Kola Norwegians).
Towards the end of
World War II, the Germans used the
scorched earth tactic in Finnmark and northern
Troms to halt the victorious
Red Army. As a consequence of this, few houses survived the war, and a large part of the population was forcefully evacuated further south (Tromsø was crowded), but many hid and waited until the Germans were gone, then inspected their burned homes. However, after liberating Kirkenes on
October 25 1944 (as the first town in Norway), the Red Army did not attempt further offensives in Norway. The town was peacefully handed over to Norway as the war ended.
The
Cold War was a period with sometimes high tension in eastern Finnmark, at the 196 km long border with the
Soviet Union. To keep tensions from getting too high, Norway declared that no
NATO exercises would take place in Finnmark. There were, however, a lot of military intelligence activity, and Norwegian
P-3 Orion maritime surveillance aircraft were often the first to get pictures of newly built Soviet submarines and aircraft. A purpose built
ELINT vessel, the Marjata, was always stationed near the border, and the current Marjata (7500 t,
) is still operating out of the ports in eastern Finnmark. As recent as 2000, Russian generals threatened to target nuclear missiles at the
Globus II Radar in
Vardø (
).
Traditionally, the Norwegians lived on the coast, where they made up the majority, and the
Sami people was in majority in the interior part of Finnmark, while the fjord areas were mixed. In essence, this still holds true today. The Sami were for many years victims of what is called
fornorskningspolitikken, which in essence was a deliberate attempt by the Norwegian society to make them "true" Norwegians and forget about their Sami way of life and religion, which was seen as inferior. As a result of this, the Sami living at the coast and in the fjords gradually lost much of their culture and often felt ashamed by their Sami inheritance. The Sami in the interior managed to preserve more of their culture. However, in the 1970s, instruction of Sami language started in the schools, and a new sense of consciousness started to grow among the Sami, and today most are proud of their Sami culture. In the midst of this awakening (1979), Norway's government decided to build a
dam in Alta to produce
hydropower, this provoked many Sami and
environmentalists, resulting in demonstrations and civil disobedience (
Altasaken), although at the end, the dam was built, and the salmon still
spawns in the river, but the Sami culture was now on the government's agenda. The
Sami parliament (
Sámediggi) opened in Karasjok in 1989.
The
Finnic Kven residents of Finnmark are largely descendants of
Finnish immigrants who arrived in the area during the 19th century - or before - from
Finland, suffering from
famine and war.
The
Scandinavian placenames
Finland, Finnmark,
Finnveden and
Finnskogen are all thought to be derived from
finn, an ancient Germanic word for
nomadic "
hunter-gatherers" (as opposed to sedentary farmers). This would explain the connection between these names and the modern nation called
Finns, few of whom were nomadic or semi-nomadic until the
Middle Ages beside the farming majority.
More recently,
Finnmark is also the older name for
Lapland in
Sweden and is used by some inhabitants in this region. The title comes from
Linné's expeditions in the northern
Nordic regions during the 1700s, and his choice of name was influenced by the history of the region.
The old
stoneage Komsa culture is very difficult to relate to the people living in Finnmark today. There are findings suggesting that the Sami people have been here for a long time, but exactly how long is unclear, some scholars claim 2000 years, but the Sami might have arrived much earlier. From the Middle Ages, starting in the 10th century, the coastal areas have been populated and visited by ethnic Norwegians, and Finnmark became part of the kingdom.
Much of the
Sami population of Norway is concentrated in Finnmark, where they constitute about one-quarter of the total population. The county and the municipalities
Kautokeino,
Karasjok,
Tana,
Nesseby,
Porsanger and
Kåfjord (in Troms) also have official names in the
Sami language.
In the 1800s, many
immigrants came from
Finland (
) and settled in Finnmark. These immigrants originally spoke the Finnish
Kven (also known as
Kven,
Kveen,
Quen,
Queen) dialect with some Norwegian influences. They are genetically related to the people of the province of
Kainuu in
Finland. Vadsø is often seen as the
Kven capital in Finnmark.
Lakselv in central Finnmark is sometimes referred to as
meeting place for three tribes. In recent years, with the Russian immigrants arriving in Kirkenes, this town is actually a meeting place for four cultures.
|
The municipalites in Finnmark |
*
Alta*
Berlevåg*
Båtsfjord*
Gamvik*
Hammerfest*
Hasvik*
Karasjok*
Kautokeino*
Kvalsund*
Lebesby*
Loppa*
Måsøy*
Nesseby*
Nordkapp*
Porsanger*
Sør-Varanger*
Tana*
Vadsø*
Vardø*
Norwegian Meteorological Institute (24-hr averages, 1961-90 base period)
* A.Moen:
Vegetasjon. Nasjonalatlas for Norge (1998)
* G. Bjørbæk:
Norsk Vær i 110 År (2003).
* J.I. Tollefsrud, E. Tjørve, P. Hermansen: ''Perler i Norsk Natur - En Veiviser (Aschehoug, 1991)
*
Stone age in Finnmark*
Finnmark county administration*
northcape.no - history and culture of the north cape area
