Karigasniemi
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| Karigasniemi, Finland | |||
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| Population | |||
| - Total | 300 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | ||
Karigasniemi (Northern Sami: Gáregasnjárga) is one of the villages of Finland's most northern municipality of Utsjoki (Northern Sami: Ohcejohka). It lies at the foot of Mount Ailigás.
The village is situated on the border between Norway and Finland 18 kilometres south-east of Karasjok. It lies on the banks of the rivers Anarjohka and Karasjohka which, downstream of Karigasniemi, form the famous salmon fishing Tana river (Northern Sami: Deatnu Finnish: Teno).
Karigasniemi lies on the road between the Finnish villages Ivalo and Inari and the Norwegian villages of Karasjok and Lakselv on the north Finnmark coast. The Red Line bus between Ivalo and Lakselv makes a 15 minutes'stop in front of the Kalastajan Majatalo (Fisherman's Inn).
Karigasniemi is home to only a few hundred people, mostly Sámi, but has three shops, two petrol sations and five bars and restaurants, merely because a lot of border traffic from the Norwegian side.
Karigasniemi is also a junction point where travellers can choose the road to Nordkapp or other shores of the Arctic Ocean.
There has always been active trade across the border in Karigasniemi. Today, the village offers ample trade, catering, and accommodation services and takes pride in many buildings, maintenance, and repair firms in the area. There is, of course, a post office, a school and a small health care center in the village.
Karigasniemi has about 300 inhabitants of which more than half are Sami.
