Utsjoki

Etymology

Originally, the name referred to a Sami village (siida) that extended north of the Teno river. Historical records include spellings such as Utzureka (1517), Utziuckei (1590), and Usioki (1603).

The meaning and origin of the prefix Ohce- (as in the Northern Sami Ohcejohka) are unknown. The suffix -johka, -juuhâ translates to 'river'. The Finnish name Utsjoki is likely a loan from Inari Sami Uccjuuhâ.

The Inari Sami prefix Ucc- resembles the word 'small' (uccâ), leading to a common folk etymology. However, linguists consider this incorrect because it contradicts the Northern Sami form and the large size of the actual river. In contrast, the Utsjoki river in Savukoski is likely based on the word for 'small'.

Geography

Villages

• Nuorgam
• Utsjoki centre
• Nuvvus
• Dalvadas
• Outakoski
• Rovisuvanto
• Karigasniemi
• Kaamasmukka

Topography

The Utsjoki region is flatter and lower in altitudes than many other parts of Lapland. Large areas of Utsjoki are less than 300 m above sea level. Many of the fell summits are under 500 m in height. In general, the topography is smooth and the fells slope gently. The summits are very flat and large, as is typical of old peneplain surfaces.

Vegetation

In general, the tree line is located at altitudes between 300 and 400 meters. In northernmost Finland, the tree line on north-facing slopes is just above an altitude of 100 meters. Heaths extend above the tree line. The lower heathlands are dominated by shrubs such as dwarf birch, blueberry and crowberry, whereas the fells, at higher elevations, have dwarf willows and alpine grasses with lichens and mosses. On the fell tops, blockfields and windblown heaths with lichens and mosses as well as bare rock slabs are found. Patterned ground occurs regularly, often as polygons and stone stripes on the slopes.

Climate

The midnight sun remains above the horizon from 17 May to 28 July (73 days), and the polar night from 26 November to 15 January (51 days). Utsjoki, like most of Finland, has a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc, Trewartha Eclc. Being the northernmost municipality in Finland, Utsjoki's annual average temperature is below freezing. Utsjoki is also the driest place in Finland, as the average annual precipitation varies between 371 and 433 mm, depending on the topography. The driest year on record was 1986, when only 234 mm of precipitation fell at the Outakoski weather station.

Extremely low temperatures and low precipitation result in thin snow cover throughout the winters. The wind velocity strongly increases with higher elevations, and this has a major effect on the distribution of the snow. The exposed hilltops usually have no snow cover during winter. This leads to the cooling of the ground and the development of permafrost.

Permafrost

Palsas are a typical permafrost feature in northern Finland. Permafrost formation in palsas is dictated by the properties of peat. Dry peat is a good insulator during the summer heat, but frozen peat in winter conducts heat outwards, and the winter frost can penetrate deep into the peat layers. Due to these physical properties, palsas may be formed and preserved even in a climate where the mean annual air temperature is just at the freezing point.

Permafrost has been found in many palsa mires in the Kevo and Utsjoki regions. After detailed studies on palsas, researchers were convinced until 1982 that "so far, permafrost has been found, and probably exists only, in mires in the cores of palsas". The permafrost core in palsas is easy to detect by digging or sounding with a steel rod, and the frozen ground necessitates modern geophysical techniques for geoelectrical soundings. They allow measurement of the thickness of frozen bedrock due to its higher specific electrical resistance.

Matti Seppälä (1941-2020) was undoubtedly the foremost expert on palsas. Based on existing innovative research in Scandinavia he suggested to look for the general permafrost distribution in the mountains also in northernmost Finland. The field campaign in summer 1985 in Utsjoki was supported by the Academy of Finland, the University of Helsinki and the German Research Foundation. The results were quite surprising for most scientists in Finland. Above the timber line, a minimum permafrost thickness of ten to fifty meters was recorded with geoelectrical soundings.

The Puollamoaivi mountain (432 m high) is located some 13 km NE of the Kevo Subarctic Research Station. Close to the Skallovarri palsa mire about 290 m a. s. I., an estimated permafrost thickness of over 100 meters may be expected at an altitude of 360 m, just 30–70 m higher than the surface of the palsa mire. It is concluded therefore that all sites on the crest of Skallovarri (Puollamoaivi) show the existence of permafrost, but its thickness seems to be different. These findings were confirmed with similar results in the adjacent Peldojoki, Hietatievat, Peera sites, where permafrost exists in debris as well as in bedrock. This is also of importance in the construction business, e.g. for deep foundations for telecommunication masts.

|Jan record high C = 6.2 |Feb record high C = 6.5 |Mar record high C = 9.2 |Apr record high C = 15.7 |May record high C = 30.5 |Jun record high C = 32.5 |Jul record high C = 33.6 |Aug record high C = 31.5 |Sep record high C = 24.3 |Oct record high C = 13.7 |Nov record high C = 11.5 |Dec record high C = 7.1 |Jan avg record high C = 2.1 |Feb avg record high C = 2.2 |Mar avg record high C = 4.3 |Apr avg record high C = 9.5 |May avg record high C = 18.4 |Jun avg record high C = 24.6 |Jul avg record high C = 27.4 |Aug avg record high C = 24.5 |Sep avg record high C = 17.9 |Oct avg record high C = 9.7 |Nov avg record high C = 3.4 |Dec avg record high C = 2.9 |year avg record high C = 28.3 |Jan avg record low C = -35.1 |Feb avg record low C = -34.3 |Mar avg record low C = -28.0 |Apr avg record low C = -21.8 |May avg record low C = -7.6 |Jun avg record low C = 0.2 |Jul avg record low C = 3.4 |Aug avg record low C = 0.2 |Sep avg record low C = -3.9 |Oct avg record low C = -15.5 |Nov avg record low C = -24.8 |Dec avg record low C = -30.7 |year avg record low C = -37.4 |Jan record low C = -48.2 |Feb record low C = -47.9 |Mar record low C = -39.1 |Apr record low C = -31.9 |May record low C = -20.9 |Jun record low C = -3.4 |Jul record low C = -0.1 |Aug record low C = -3.9 |Sep record low C = -11.9 |Oct record low C = -28.9 |Nov record low C = -36.1 |Dec record low C = -41.4 | access-date = 6 July 2025}}}}

| access-date = 21 March 2020}}

Demographics

In 2025, the population of Utsjoki was 1,127. This makes Utsjoki the 19th least populated municipality in Finland.

Age

In 2021, 56.4% of the population was aged between 15 and 64, while 30.9% were over 65 and 12.6% were under 15.

Ethnic groups

As of 2019, 54.6% of the population of Utsjoki was Sámi, making it the only municipality in the entire country with a Sámi majority.

Languages

As of 2024, 54.3% of the population of Utsjoki spoke Finnish as their native language, while 41.6% spoke Sámi languages (the highest proportion in the country) and 4.1% spoke other languages.

Notable people

• Inger-Mari Aikio-Arianaick, writer, born in Utsjoki in 1961
• Pigga Keskitalo, Sámi academic, born in Utsjoki in 1972
• Helvi Poutasuo (1943–2017), teacher, translator, editor, politician
• Irja Seurujärvi-Kari (born 1947), politician and academic

Gallery

Image:Utsjoki, Lapland, Finland (51237637345).jpg|Old cabins on the hill Image:Utsjoki Norjan puolelta.jpg|Utsjoki seen from Norway Image:Bridge at Utsjoki between Finland and Norway.jpg|The Sami Bridge connects Utsjoki to Norway Image:Nuorgam Sami mootor 7578.jpg|Samimootor, a car repair shop and filling station in Nuorgam, Utsjoki Image:Nuorgamin Lomakeskus 6867.jpg|Nuorgamin lomakeskus, the camping center of Nuorgam

References

References

1. Puuronen, Vesa. (2022-04-08). "Municipal Politics in the Sámi Homeland in Finland". Routledge.
2. Paikkala, Sirkka. (2007). "Suomalainen paikannimikirja". Karttakeskus.
3. "Suomen maakuntien ilmasto (The climate of the Finnish provinces)". Finnish Meteorological Institute.
4. (1960). "Über die regionale Einteilung der nordfinnischen Moore". Annales Botanici Societatis Zoologicae Botanicae Fennicae 'Vanamo'.
5. (1979). "Recent palsa studies in Finland". Acta Universitatis Ouluensis.
6. (1983). "High Mountain Permafrost in Scandinavia". Permafrost: Fourth International Conference, Proceedings.
7. (1982). "Qualitative und quantitative Erfassung von Permafrost in Tarfala (Schwedisch-Lappland) und Jotunheimen (Norwegen) mit Hilfe geoelektrischer Sondierungen". Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie.
8. (1987). "Permafrost thickness and distribution in Finnish Lapland - Results of geoelectrical soundings". Polarforschung.
9. "FMI normals 1991-2020". fmi.fi.