Utsjoki
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Utsjoki (Northern Sami: Ohcejohka, Inari Sami: Uccjuuhâ, Skolt Sami: Uccjokk) is a municipality in Finland. It is located in Lapland and borders Norway as well as the municipality of Inari. The municipality was founded in 1876. It has a population of 1,385 (2003) and covers an area of 5,370.50 km², of which 202.93 km² is water. The population density is 0.3 inhabitants per km².
Utsjoki has two official languages: Northern Sami and Finnish. It is the municipality in Finland with the largest portion of Sami speakers; 45,8% of the population.
The border to Norway follows the river Teno which flows into the Arctic Sea. The river is a popular site for recreational fishing because it is rich in salmon. The most northern village in Finland is Nuorgam (Njuorggán in Northern Sami) which is also the most northern land border crossing in the world.
The Nature reserve Kevo is located in the municipality. It covers a territory of 712 km² and there is a 63 km long hiking trail. The trail partly follows the edge of the Kevo canyon.
