Skibotn ( se, Ivgubahta,

Kven KVEN (1520 AM, "La Voz 1520 AM & 96.3 FM") is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Port Hueneme, California and serves the Ventura County area. The station is owned by Gold Coast Broadcasting and broadcasts a Spanish-language news/ta ...

: ''Yykeänperä'') is a village in Storfjord Municipality in

Troms og Finnmark Troms og Finnmark (; sme, Romsa ja Finnmárku ; fkv, Tromssa ja Finmarkku; fi, Tromssa ja Finnmark, lit. Troms and Finnmark in English), is a county in northern Norway that was established on 1 January 2020 as the result of a regional reform. ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. It is located on the southeastern shore of the

Lyngen Lyngen ( se, Ivggu suohkan; fkv, Yykeän komuuni) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Lyngseidet. Other villages include Furuflaten, Lattervika, Nord-Lenang ...

fjord in Northern Norway. The village area is located at the crossroads of the European route E6 and

European route E8 The European route E8 is a European route that goes from Tromsø, Norway to Turku, Finland. The length of the route is . * E8: Tromsø – Nordkjosbotn – Skibotn – Kilpisjärvi – Kaaresuvanto – Muonio – Tornio – Keminmaa – Kemi ...

highways. The distance by road to

Kilpisjärvi Kilpisjärvi (; se, Gilbbesjávri ) is a village in the municipality of Enontekiö, Lapland, Finland. It is located in Finland's northern "arm" near the very northwesternmost point of Finland. Although Kilpisjärvi is one of the largest village ...

, the northernmost community in the western "arm" of

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, is approximately . Skibotn Chapel is located in the village. The village has a population (2017) of 524 which gives the village a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

of . The modern day residents of Skibotn are mostly either descendants of the

Kven people Kvens (; fi, kveeni; no, kvenar, kvener; sv, kväner; se, kveanat) are a Balto-Finnic ethnic minority in Norway. They are descended from Finnish peasants and fishermen who emigrated from the northern parts of Finland and Sweden to Norther ...

and Sami people, or immigrants—and their descendants—from Southern and Central Norway.

Name

The last element is ''botn'' means "bottom" (in the sense "the innermost part of a fjord"). The first element probably comes from ''skip'' which means "ship" - referring to the harbour here. The other official names ''Ivgobahta'' (Northern Sami) and ''Yykeänperä'' (Kven) both refer to the bottom of the fjord off of the Lyngen fjord. An alternate Kven name is ''Markkina'', but that one is not an official name. ''Markkina'' refer to the market located at Skibotn.

Geography

Skibotn is located in a valley, surrounded by large mountains including ''Nallagais'', ''Imagais'', ''Steindalsbreen'', ''Balggesvarr'', and ''Storfjellet''. The river Skibotnelva empties into the fjord at Skibotn. Skibotnelva river flows from the lakes Rihpojávri and Gálggojávri. Skibotn is known for its dry climate with frequent clear skies in the Skibotn valley, and the

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an ad ...

pine forests, with rare

orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

. Due to the climate with few clouds, there is an

astrophysical Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...

observatory located in Skibotn.

Notable residents

The well known Sami writer Nils-Aslak Valkeapää lived in Skibotn for a significant part of his life.

Leonhard Seppala Leonhard "Sepp" Seppala (; September 14, 1877 – January 28, 1967) was a Norwegian-American sled dog breeder, trainer and musher who with his dogs played a pivotal role in the 1925 serum run to Nome, and participated in the 1932 Winter Olympi ...

, the dog sled racing legend, was born in Skibotn. Astrid Båhl, who designed the first official Sámi flag (based on an unofficial flag by Synnøve Persen), also lived in Skibotn. *

Media gallery

Seppala Monument.JPG, Seppala Monument in Skibotn Skibotn Church 2010.JPG, Skibotn Chapel Seppala plaque.JPG, Seppala plaque

References

External links

Nordiclichensociety: About Skibotn valleyUniversity of Tromsø: The rich lichen flora of Skibotn
{{authority control Storfjord Villages in Troms