Varangerhalvøya National Park

The Varangerhalvoya National Park (Norwegian Varangerhalvoya nasjonalpark, North Sami Várnjárga ) is a national park in Norway. The park belongs to the municipalities Båtsfjord, Nesseby, Vadsø and Vardo in the province of Finnmark.

The Varangerhalvoya covers an area of 1,804 square kilometers and was established in 2006 with its special landforms and deposits, the last ice age, the biodiversity of different ecosystems and cultural heritage of the seeds to preserve the unspoiled landscape and protect. The park is also adjacent to the Persfjorden - Syltefjorden nature reserve and the Syltefjorddalen nature reserve.

Geography, landscape and geology

The park is located in an arctic Hochfjelllandschaft on the Varanger peninsula, between the Syltefjord and the Varanger Fjord.

In the east-west direction, a low ridge, whose highest mountain, Skipskjølen runs, with 633 moh also the highest mountain of the national park is. The ridge is the watershed of the region.

Today's landscape was largely shaped by the glaciers of the last Ice Age movements.

Flora and Fauna

In the park, both typical and East Siberian Arctic plants occur, but also plants that normally grow much south. The young deciduous forest in the national park is one of the most northerly in the world.

The calcareous soils in the north of Varangerhalvoya favor this species richness. The rarest plant in the park is the Crepis multicaulis which was in Norway since 1943 to be extinct and was only rediscovered in 2008 in the National Park.

Since the area A of the National Parks ( in the municipality Nesseby ) through its lakes, marshes, swamps and wetlands an ideal habitat for many water birds, including some rare and endangered species offers, the field comes to a great scientific interest.

The entire peninsula is also an important habitat for the polar fox. The logo animal of the park is the Skua.

Heritage

In the National Park were found remains of Sami shrines, altars and hunting gear for the reindeer hunt, which were partially dated to an age of about 4,500 years.

The most important find is a stone built reindeer trap in the form of a circle, which was built in the 16th century.

Tourism and Management

Since the area is a pasture Sami reindeer for centuries, this is the seed still allows.

The area is well suited driving both in summer and in winter for various outdoor activities such as hiking, biking or canoeing and kayaking. The rivers and lakes in the park are popular fishing waters where especially at the respective fishing seasons of each species is a busy rush.