The Varanger Peninsula (; ; ) is a

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

Finnmark Finnmark (; ; ; ; ) is a counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. By land, it borders Troms county to the west, Finland's Lapland (Finland), Lapland region to the south, and Russia's Murmansk Oblast to the east, and by water, the Norweg ...

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 in the northeasternmost part of Norway, along the

Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; , ; ) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territorial waters.World Wildlife Fund, 2008. It was known earlier among Russi ...

. 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 Vadsø or Vadso may refer to: Places * Vadsø Municipality, a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway *Vadsø (town) (Norwegian language, Norwegian; ), (Northern Sami language, Northern Sami; , or is a List of towns and cities in Norway, tow ...

, Båtsfjord, Berlevåg,

Vardø Vardo or Vardø may refer to: Places * Vardø Municipality, a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway *Vardø (town) (Norwegian language, Norwegian; ), , or is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the administrative centre of Vard� ...

, Tana, and Nesseby share the peninsula. Nesseby and Tana are only partially on the peninsula, with the rest being entirely on the peninsula. The Varangerhalvøya National Park protects most of the land on the peninsula.

Geography

The area has rugged mountain terrain with altitudes of up to . Much of the relief of the peninsula is a

paleic surface The paleic surface or palaeic surface (, ) is an erosion surface of gentle slopes that exist in South Norway. Parts of it are a continuation of the Sub-Cambrian peneplain and Muddus Plains found further east or equivalent to the strandflat co ...

similar to the one found in the highlands of southern Norway. In the peninsula the paleic surface is made up of an undulating

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...

between the altitudes of 200 and 600 m.a.s.l. The higher parts of the undulating plateau are made up by erosion-resistant rocks like

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tecton ...

. The lower parts are made up by weak rocks like

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of Clay mineral, clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g., Kaolinite, kaolin, aluminium, Al2Silicon, Si2Oxygen, O5(hydroxide, OH)4) and tiny f ...

and

mudstone Mudstone, a type of mudrock, is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Mudstone is distinguished from ''shale'' by its lack of fissility.Blatt, H., and R.J. Tracy, 1996, ''Petrology.'' New York, New York, ...

. At intermediate levels

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

is common. Some parts of the paleic surface in Varanger Peninsula are a re-exposed

unconformity An unconformity is a buried erosional or non-depositional surface separating two rock masses or strata of different ages, indicating that sediment deposition was not continuous. In general, the older layer was exposed to erosion for an interval ...

that underlie sedimentary rock of Vendian ( Late Neoproterozoic) age. The paleic surface might have been uplifted as much as 200–250 meters since middle Pliocene times. Landforms resulting from

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...

periglaciation Periglaciation (adjective: "periglacial", referring to places at the edges of glacial areas) describes geomorphic processes that result from seasonal thawing and freezing, very often in areas of permafrost. The meltwater may refreeze in ice wedg ...

are recurrent across the peninsula. Among the most common are block fields and solifluction lobes. Blockfields are most extensive on the northern half of the peninsula, chiefly in the plateau area.Malmström & Palmér 1985, pp. 91–92. Polygonal ground is found in some places, but there are no known modern

ice wedge An ice wedge is a crack in the ground formed by a narrow or thin piece of ice that measures up to 3–4 meters in length at ground level and extends downwards into the ground up to several meters. During the winter months, the water in the gr ...

Permafrost Permafrost () is soil or underwater sediment which continuously remains below for two years or more; the oldest permafrost has been continuously frozen for around 700,000 years. Whilst the shallowest permafrost has a vertical extent of below ...

was as of 1985 only known from

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

s, and in a few places this permafrost had originated

thermokarst Thermokarst is a type of terrain characterised by very irregular surfaces of marshy hollows and small hummocks formed when ice-rich permafrost thaws. The land surface type occurs in Arctic areas, and on a smaller scale in mountainous areas such ...

depressions.

Geology

The peninsula gave its name to the

Varangian The Varangians ( ; ; ; , or )Varangian
," Online Etymology Dictionary were

glaciation A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate be ...

episode. It is largely composed of

Neoproterozoic The Neoproterozoic Era is the last of the three geologic eras of the Proterozoic geologic eon, eon, spanning from 1 billion to 538.8 million years ago, and is the last era of the Precambrian "supereon". It is preceded by the Mesoproterozoic era an ...

Paleozoic The Paleozoic ( , , ; or Palaeozoic) Era is the first of three Era (geology), geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma a ...

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock formed by the cementation (geology), cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or de ...

s, locally overlying crystalline basement of the

Baltic Shield The Baltic Shield (or Fennoscandian Shield) is a segment of the Earth's crust belonging to the East European craton, East European Craton, representing a large part of Fennoscandia, northwestern Russia and the northern Baltic Sea. It is composed ...

. Two ancient fault systems divide the geology of the peninsula into three groups, where the NE side of the peninsula (North Varanger region) is separated from the SW by the Trollfjord-Komagelva

strike-slip fault In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...

, and the SW side is divided approximately NNE-SSW by thrusting of the Scandinavian Caledonides over the Baltic Shield. MWH 0623

Barite crystals in the Smalfjord Formation

In the North Varanger region, sedimentary rocks were deposited during the

Tonian The Tonian (from , meaning "stretch") is the first geologic period of the Neoproterozoic era (geology), Era. It lasted from to Mya (million years ago). Instead of being based on stratigraphy, these dates are defined by the International Commissi ...

/early-mid

Cryogenian The Cryogenian (from , meaning "cold" and , romanized: , meaning "birth") is a geologic period that lasted from . It is the second of the three periods of the Neoproterozoic era, preceded by the Tonian and followed by the Ediacaran. The Cryoge ...

(Barents Sea Group), followed by a depositional hiatus that lasted until the late

Ediacaran The Ediacaran ( ) is a geological period of the Neoproterozoic geologic era, Era that spans 96 million years from the end of the Cryogenian Period at 635 Million years ago, Mya to the beginning of the Cambrian Period at 538.8 Mya. It is the last ...

, when the Løkvifjell Group was deposited. Notable strata of the Barents Sea Group are the Kongsfjord and Båsnæring formations, which form prominent ridges and cliffs along the Fv341 road. Outcrops of the overlying Båtsfjord Formation are generally not as prominent, but are notable for containing molar tooth structures, as well as

teepee structure Teepee (also spelled tepee or tipi) structures are sedimentary structures interpreted to represent formation in Intertidal zone, peritidal environments. Teepees are largely the result of evaporation of water and subsequent Precipitation (chemistry ...

s, desiccation cracks, flaser bedding, and other sedimentary structures that indicate deposition in an inter-tidal, intermittently exposed environment. Stable carbon isotope ratio

chemostratigraphy Chemostratigraphy, or chemical stratigraphy, is the study of the chemical variations within sedimentary sequences to determine stratigraphic relationships. The field is relatively young, having only come into common usage in the early 1980s, but ...

has been used to correlate the Annijokka Member of the Båtsfjord Formation with other Neoproterozoic successions around the world, suggesting it was deposited approximately 811 million years ago, during the Bitter Springs carbon isotope excursion. Strata deposited on the SW half of the Varanger Peninsula mostly formed during the mid-late

, and

. Notably, this includes glacial diamictite sedimentary rocks that formed during the Marinoan '

Snowball Earth The Snowball Earth is a historical geology, geohistorical hypothesis that proposes that during one or more of Earth's greenhouse and icehouse Earth, icehouse climates, the planet's planetary surface, surface became nearly entirely freezing, fr ...

' (Smalfjord Formation of the Vestertana Group), and the overlying ' cap carbonate' of the Nyborg Formation (Vestertana Group). Small outcrops of

barite Baryte, barite or barytes ( or ) is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate (Ba S O4). Baryte is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of the element barium. The ''baryte group'' consists of baryte, celestine (strontium sulfate), ...

crystals related to 'Snowball Earth' deglaciation are found locally on outcrops of the Baltic Shield.

Climate

A part of the peninsula, including the town of

(located on an island just off the coast of the peninsula), earlier had an Arctic

tundra In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...

climate but with the updated 1991-2020 climate normals, this is mostly gone. However, much of the peninsula is at some altitude and are

alpine tundra Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets ...

. On the south coast, including the town of

, there is sufficient summer heat for birch trees to grow.

Fauna

Arctic fox The Arctic fox (''Vulpes lagopus''), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small species of fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Tundra#Arctic tundra, Arctic tundra biome. I ...

exist, and 79 cubs were registered in 2023.https://www.sagat.no/nyheter/rekordmange-fjellrevvalper/19.42068. Sagat.no. Retrieved 2023-12-28 The

Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management The Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management (, DN) was Norway's national governmental body for preserving Norway's natural environment, including establishing and regulating national parks and other protected areas until 2013 when it was merged ...

has a project on the peninsula for the reintroduction and protection of the

, which is

critically endangered An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...

on the Norwegian mainland. In addition to introducing animals into nature, the larger and stronger

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...

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.

Media gallery

File:Hamningberg strand.jpg, The Arctic beach at Hamningberg File:E75-Varanger-Vardø-2012-07-07-16-30-03.jpg, On the northern shore of the Varangerfjord between Vardø and Vadsø File:E75-Varanger-Vardø-2012-07-07-16-30-14.jpg, Highway from Vardø to Hamningberg

References

External links

{{Authority control Berlevåg Båtsfjord Vardø Vadsø Nesseby Peninsulas of Finnmark