Varangerhalvøya National Park

Varangerhalvøya National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
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Location	Finnmark, Norway
Nearest city	Vadsø
Coordinates
Area	1,804.1 km2 (445,800 acres)
Established	2006
Governing body	Directorate for Nature Management

Varangerhalvøya National Park (Norwegian: Varangerhalvøya nasjonalpark) lies on the Varanger Peninsula in Finnmark county, Norway. It is located in the municipalities of Båtsfjord, Nesseby, Vadsø, and Vardø, in the northeasternmost part of Norway. The peninsula is the largest area within the Arctic climate zone in mainland Norway.

Flora and fauna

Since species from the Arctic, eastern Siberia, and more southerly areas all occur together on the Varanger Peninsula, the plant life is distinctive. The small deciduous woodlands in the area are among the northernmost in the world.

Lime-rich bedrock and soil in the north supports rich pockets containing rare species like Papaver dahlianum (a poppy), field fleawort, Svalbard snow cinquefoil, and Arenaria pseudofrigida (a sandwort).

The peninsula still has a complete alpine ecosystem with reindeer (domesticated), wolverine, and Arctic fox. The latter is the most endangered mammal species of Norway. A special programme based on reducing the number of the dominant red fox has shown very good results (per 2008) for the small Arctic fox population.

Name

The last element is the finite form of halvøy ("peninsula"). The meaning of the first part of the name is originally the name of a fjord, (Old Norse: Ver(j)angr). The first part is ver meaning "fishing village" and the last part is angr which means "fjord".