, , or is a village in

Storfjord Municipality , (Northern Sami; ), or is a municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hatteng. Other villages in Storfjord include Elvevoll, Oteren, and Skibotn. The municipality is the 54th l ...

Troms Troms (; ; ; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. It borders Finnmark county to the northeast and Nordland county in the southwest. Norrbotten Län in Sweden is located to the south and further southeast is a shorter border with ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It is located on the southeastern shore of the

Lyngen Lyngen may refer to: Places * Lyngen Municipality, a municipality in Troms county, Norway *Lyngen (fjord) , , or is a fjord in Troms county, Norway. The long fjord is the longest fjord in Troms county and it is often used as the dividing line ...

fjord in

Northern Norway Northern Norway (, , ; ) is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the three northernmost counties Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the largest towns in Northern Norway (from south to no ...

. The village area is located at the crossroads of the

European route E6 European route E6 (, , or simply E6) is the main north–south thoroughfare through Norway as well as the west coast of Sweden. It is long and runs from the southern tip of Sweden at Trelleborg, into Norway and through almost all of the countr ...

and European route E8 highways. The distance by road to Kilpisjärvi, the northernmost community in the western "arm" of

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, is approximately . Skibotn Chapel is located in the village. The village has a population (2023) of 539 and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

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

Kven people Kvens (; ; ; ; ) are a Balto-Finnic ethnic group indigenous to the northern regions of Norway, Sweden, Finland and parts of Russia. In 1996, Kvens were granted minority status in Norway, and in 2005 the Kven language was recognized as a mino ...

and

Sami people Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...

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

Name

The village is named after the old ''Skibotn'' farm. The first element probably comes from the word which means "

ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...

", likely referring to the old harbor in the village. The last element is which means "bottom", in the sense of the "bottom" or "innermost" part of the fjord. The other official names and both refer to the bottom of the fjord off of the main

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 (mineral), lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of Science, scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcare ...

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. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Earth ...

. 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, James Keeler, said, astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the ...

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

located in Skibotn.

Notable people

Nils-Aslak Valkeapää Nils-Aslak Valkeapää, known as Áilu in the Northern Sami language, Northern Sámi language and with the stage name of Áillohaš (23 March 1943 – 26 November 2001), was a Finnish-born Norwegian Sámi people, Sámi writer, musician and artis ...

, the well known Sami writer lived in Skibotn for a significant part of his life * Leonhard Seppala, the dog sled racing legend was grew up in Skibotn * Astrid Båhl, the designer of the first official Sámi flag (based on an unofficial flag by Synnøve Persen) 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