Varanger Peninsula
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Varanger Peninsula is a peninsula in Finnmark, north-eastern Norway, by the Barents Sea. The peninsula has the Tanafjord to the west, the Varangerfjord to the south and the Barents Sea to the north and east. Vadsø, Båtsfjord, Berlevåg, Vardø and Unjarga are the municipalities sharing the peninsula.
The area gave the name to the Varangian glaciation episode. A large part of this peninsula, including the town Vardø located on an island just east of the mainland, has an Arctic tundra climate. However, on the south coast, including the town Vadsø, there is sufficient summer heat for birch trees to grow.
Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management has a project on the peninsula for the reintroduction and protection of the Arctic fox, which is critically endangered on the Norwegian mainland. In addition to introducing animals into nature, the larger and stronger Red fox 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. The Varangerhalvøya National Park protects a large part of the peninsula.
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