Norrbotten County

National parks and nature reserves in Norrbotten County

Norrbotten County has 538 nature reserves and 8 national parks. Sweden’s largest county reaches from high mountains on the Norwegian border across immense forests and river valleys to an archipelago still emerging from the Bothnian Bay.

Mountains on a continental scale

The western uplands contain Sweden’s highest mountains and some of its largest glaciers. Sarek gathers six of the country’s highest summits and almost one hundred glaciers around the Ráhpaädno and the branching delta of Rapadalen. Padjelanta/Badjelánnda is broader and gentler, a country of great lakes, heath and flower-rich ground. It is Sweden’s largest national park and, with Sarek, part of the Laponia World Heritage Site.

Laponia is inseparably natural and cultural. Sámi communities have lived with the seasonal movement of reindeer across this land for generations. Stora Sjöfallet/Stuor Muorkke also records a more recent transformation: the five powerful falls that named the park were diminished after boundaries were altered and water diverted for hydropower.

Contrasting climates, forests and waters

Mountain conditions vary sharply across Norrbotten. The Abiskojåkka passes from mountain birch through a canyon and delta into Torneträsk, Scandinavia’s largest mountain lake. A dry local climate and lime-rich Njullá support exceptional flora. Farther south, Pieljekaise preserves extensive mountain birch, while Atlantic-influenced Vadvetjåkka receives far more precipitation and contains caves, calcareous plants and a broad bird delta.

East of the mountains, forest and mire take over. Muddus/Muttos combines ancient pines, wetlands, ravines and a forty-two-metre waterfall within one of Sweden’s few large roadless areas. Acoustic surveys have placed it among the quietest locations in the country. Beyond it, major unregulated rivers cross the forest region towards the coast, maintaining habitats for salmon, otter and river species over long distances.

An archipelago only fifteen centuries old

At the Bothnian Bay, old forest meets a remarkably young shore. Islands in Haparanda Skärgård National Park first appeared above the sea about fifteen hundred years ago. Uplift, wind and waves have since built dunes, shingle ridges and raised beaches; a sand spit extends for three kilometres from Sandskär.

The eight national parks are therefore far more than variations on mountain scenery. They span Abisko’s alpine flora, Sarek’s glaciers, the open lake country of Badjelánnda, altered waterfalls at Stuor Muorkke, the quiet forests of Muttos, Haparanda’s rising islands, Pieljekaise’s birch woods and the wet calcareous uplands of Vadvetjåkka. Together they explain how elevation, climate, ice and water shape Norrbotten within a continuous Sámi homeland.

National park in the county

Abisko National Park

Abisko National Park follows the River Abiskojåkka through mountain birch woodland, a canyon and a delta at Torneträsk, Scandinavia’s largest mountain lake. A dry local climate and lime-rich rock on Njullá support exceptionally diverse alpine flora.

Kiruna

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