Finnmark

Finnmark
Finnmark
Population (2004)	73,210

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 - in nature as well as in culture.

Geography and environment

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.
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 ^[1], 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 ^[2]. 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.^[3]

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.

Climate

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 ^[4]. 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 North 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) ^[5], despite being further north. The year average temperature difference between Loppa and Karasjok (6 °C) is comparable to the difference between Loppa and London ^[6].

In the Köppen climate classification, the climate in Karasjok - and most of the lowland areas in Finnmark - corresponds to the Dfc category (subarctic climate), while the Loppa climate corresponds to the Cfc category.

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.

Midnight Sun and Northern Light

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.

Administration and Economy

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^[7] as a consequence of Statoil's construction of the large land-based LNG site at Melkøya^[8], which will get natural gas from the Snøhvit field. A new oil field was recently discovered just 45 km off shore ^[9], ^[10], close to the Snøhvit field.

There is 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 ^[11].

History

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 ^[12].

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, ^[13] 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 ^[14]).

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.

Etymology

The Norse forms of the name was Finnmork. The first element is finn(ar), the Norse name for the Sámi people. The last element is mork f 'woodland, borderland'. In Norse times the name was referring to any places where Sámi people were living (also parts of Southern Norway).

Coat-of-arms

The coat-of-arms is from modern times (1967). It shows the old Vardøhus festning.

Demographics

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 8000 years,while some claim only 2500 years. 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 ^[15] and settled in Finnmark. These immigrants originally spoke the Finnish Kven (also known as Kven, Kveen, Quen, Queen) dialect with some Norwegian influences. 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.

Municipalities

References

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)

External links

[1] Norwegian Nature Directorate

[2] Øvre Anarjóhka National Park

[3] Reference to Finnmarksvidda plateau

[4] 1 Norwegian Meteorological Records

[5] 2 Meteorological data

[6] Meteorological data

[7] Arctic booms as climate change melts polar ice cap

[8] Snøhvit home page

[9] Aftenpost article

[10] Aftenpost article

[11] Norwegian environmental group Bellona

[12] BioOne article

[13] Norwegian military article Template:No icon

[14] NewsMax Russia Threatens Norway Over Radar Base; Says Base Targeted with Nuclear Missiles

[15] Den kvenske folkevandringen til Troms og Finnmark Template:No icon

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