Nature: From sea to river valleys and mountain plateau
 The Coast, The Fjords, Alluvial Valleys and The Mountain Plateau.
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Anne Sofie Nielsen
20.11.2006 10:29
The Coast
Barren as it may seem, bleak and without trees, its waters are bountiful. The coast borders on the rich fishing grounds of the Barents Sea, and the ocean is home to a multitude of bird species. In central and eastern Finnmark, the cliffs give way to a more undulating scenery of plateaus. The peninsulas towards the east, particularly the Varanger peninsula, harbour vast fields of rock that may be termed deserts of stone. Further towards the west, the scenery takes on a more alpine appearance, with summits, deep valleys and the occasional glacier.
The Fjords
The Gulf Stream keeps the ice off the wide Finnmark fjords during winter. As land rose after the Ice Age, rivers carved beautiful terraces out of the landscape. Loose soil and sand has accumulated to form large shallows and beaches along which we may find arctic meadows and important feeding grounds for numerous water birds. The most significant of these areas are protected as natural reserves. The fjords harbour forests of the characteristic Mountain Birch. What is called, elsewhere in the country, mountain vegetation, grows here right down to the shore, more often than not intermixed with typical coastal plants. There is a distinctly oriental element in the Coastal vegetation.
Alluvial Valleys
Some rivers, such as the Alta River, have carved deep gorges out of the mountain, whereas the Tana River has left tremendous deposits of sand and is reminiscent of a Sibirian watercourse. Some of Europe's most notable salmon rivers are to be found in Finnmark. Salmon fishing, agriculture and utilization of rough pasture form the basis of life in the valleys. The most important agricultural areas are currently in the Tana, Alta and Pasvik valleys. The Stabbursdalen National Park has the world's northernmost pine forest. The pine forest along the upper Tana River and Kárá-Johka and the Anárjohka is an extension of the great Finnish forests, while that of Pasvik valley is a northern pocket of the Russian taiga. This is bear territory and the elk's winter habitat. Parts of these forests are protected national parks.
The Mountain Plateau
This is dry undulating highland hills covered with heather and sparse birch forests, dotted by numerous lakes and marshes. The marshes of the Finnmark highlands are key nesting areas for numerous waders, ducks, geese and the Whooper swan. Eastern fish species such as pike, powan and perch abound in the lakes in the southern area, whereas char and trout are found all over the county. For thousands of years, the Finnmark highlands have been the reindeer's habitat during the winter, when lichen is the animal's principal source of nourishment. Today, the carpet of lichen is depleted in parts of the county, because the reindeer population is too large.
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