Varanger Peninsula

Varanger Peninsula
Varangerhalvøya
Várnjárga

Hamningberg in Båtsfjord Municipality is an abandoned fishing village on the northern coast of the peninsula
Location Finnmark, Norway
Coordinates 70°29′01″N 29°32′26″E / 70.48361°N 29.54056°E / 70.48361; 29.54056Coordinates: 70°29′01″N 29°32′26″E / 70.48361°N 29.54056°E / 70.48361; 29.54056
Offshore water bodies Barents Sea, Tanafjorden, Varangerfjorden

Varanger Peninsula (Norwegian: Varangerhalvøya; Northern Sami: Várnjárga) is a peninsula in Finnmark county, Norway. It is located in the norteasternmost part of Norway, along the Barents Sea. The peninsula has the Tanafjorden to the west, the Varangerfjorden to the south, and the Barents Sea to the north and east. The municipalities of Vadsø, Båtsfjord, Berlevåg, Vardø, Tana, and Nesseby share the 2,069-square-kilometre (799 sq mi) peninsula. Nesseby and Tana are only partially on the peninsula, with the rest being entirely on the peninsula.[1]

The peninsula gave the name to the Varangian glaciation episode. A large part of this peninsula, including the town of Vardø (located on an island just off the coast of the peninsula), has an Arctic tundra climate. However, on the south coast, including the town of Vadsø, there is sufficient summer heat for birch trees to grow. The area has rugged mountain terrain with altitudes up to 633 metres (2,077 ft).[1]

The Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management has a project on the peninsula for the reintroduction and protection of the Arctic fox, which is critically endangered on the Norwegian mainland. In addition to introducing animals into nature, the larger and stronger Red fox is hunted down.

There are many species of sea birds along the coast of the peninsula; some arctic species of birds spend the winters along the coast of the peninsula. The Varangerhalvøya National Park protects a majority of the land on the peninsula.

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References

  1. 1 2 Store norske leksikon. "Varangerhalvøya" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2013-02-25.

External links

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