Utsjoki
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Utsjoki (Northern Sami: Ohcejohka, Inari Sami: Uccjuuhâ, Skolt Sami: Uccjokk) is a municipality in Finland. It is located in Lapland and it is the northernmost municipality of Finland and of the European Union. It borders Norway and the municipality of Inari. The municipality was founded in 1876. It has a population of 1,385 (2003) and covers an area of 5,370.50 km², of which 202.93 km² is water. The population density is 0.3 inhabitants per km².
Utsjoki has two official languages: Northern Sami and Finnish. It is the only municipality in Finland where Sami speakers are a majority of the population.
The border to Norway follows the river Teno which flows into the Arctic Sea. The river is a popular site for sports fishing because it is rich in salmon. The most northern village in Finland is Nuorgam (Njuorggán in Northern Sami) which is also the most northern land border-crossing in the world.
In the municipality is located Nature reserve Kevo. It covers a territory of 712 km² and there is 63 km long hiking trail. The trail follows partly the edge of the Kevo canyon.
