Lemmenjoki-Nationalpark

Lemmenjoki National Park is a national park in northern Finland. It is located in the province of Lapland at the border to Norway mostly in the municipality of Inari, to a lesser extent in Kittila. His name is the National Park of the river Lemmenjoki. The national park managed by the Finnish Forest Service Metsähallitus was founded in 1956 and expanded twice. Today it is 2,850 square kilometers (more than the size of Luxembourg ) is the largest national park in Finland. On the Norwegian side, the Øvre - Anarjohka National Park continues.

Nature

Lemmenjoki National Park is one of the greatest human and roadless wilderness areas in Europe (excluding Russia ). The landscape of the National Park is characterized by the Lemmenjoki River, which flows past the fells Maarestatunturi and Viipustunturi, and numerous smaller rivers. In the valley of the River Lemmenjoki grow pine trees, mainly birches elsewhere. At higher altitudes dominates a tundra - like vegetation. The spruce in the southern reaches of the park 's northern border of their range. In addition, there are extensive bogs in Lemmenjoki National Park. In the national park is home to large populations of brown bears, golden eagles and moose, isolated wolves. In addition, are to be found approximately 7,500 semi-domesticated reindeer in Lemmenjoki National Park, whose breeding is the traditional livelihood of the seeds.

Visitor

The National Park is divided into a " base area" and a " wilderness area ". The base area is a 60 km -long network of trails with specially designated fire pits. In the wilderness there are no designated trails. In smaller protected areas is allowed to move only restricted to marked trails. The visitors are in the National Park shelters are available. In the village Njurkalahti there is a nature center and a 4.5 km long nature trail.

History

Until the 19th century lived in the valley of Lemmenjoki forest seeds that hunted the wild forest reindeer means of pitfalls. After the forest reindeer in the 19th century was extinct, the reindeer herding culture spread in the area. At the same time the first time a settlement was settled in villages like Njurkulahti, who still live mainly of reindeer herding.

Already at the beginning of the 19th century gold had been washed on Lemmenjoki. After the Second World War, in the 1940s a veritable gold rush over 100 claims. To date, gold is washed in the National Park, now also using mechanical methods.