History of Kilpisjärvi
Kilpisjärvi Village is very young, but the area has a millennia-long history of human habitation ever since Stone Age times. The oldest known human activities in the Kilpisjärvi area extend back about 6500 years. These were found at a Stone Age habitation site just south of Salmivaara. The history of Iron Age land use connected to the history of the area’s reindeer-herding Sámi people is known from numerous sites stretching from at least 1000 AD to the 20th century. Reindeer herding and mobile pastoralism seem to have arrived in Finland through the Kilpisjärvi area. Nomadic reindeer pastoralism also lasted the longest here, and members of the Gova-Labba siida have still migrated to the area in the beginning of the 21th century. Siidas are reindeer herding communities based on family, livelihood, and territory.
Living geology
Congratulations on reaching the top of Salmivaara. You are now rewarded with a wonderful view of Mount Saana, and of Pikku and Iso Malla on the other side of Lake Kilpisjärvi. Notice the difference in landscape: the mountains in the background and the rolling hills in the foreground. What you see here is the mountain front of the old Caledonian Mountains, which was formed 420 million years ago. During this time, hundreds of one-metre-thick piles of rocks were thrust by plate-tectonic movements — from the northwest towards the southeast — over much older rocks, for tens of kilometres. The old mountain front can be traced across Scandinavia from Kilpisjärvi all the way down to southern Norway.
The fish community of Lake Kilpisjärvi
Lake Kilpisjärvi is a deep and clear-water lake. The fish community is composed of eight native species that have spread to the lake after the last Ice Age, when the continental ice retreated to the Swedish mountains. Most of these fish species are expected to have arrived from the east, following the edge of the melting continental ice. Whitefish is the most abundant fish species in Lake Kilpisjärvi, and it is a generalist, meaning it utilizes all the main habitats in the lake; the near-shore, deep water, and open water. Whitefish diet consists of zooplankton (water fleas, copepods) and benthic animals, meaning animals that occur at the lake bottom, for example insect larvae and snails. Whitefish density in the open-water zone is relatively low compared with other lakes in Lapland, ca. 80 individuals per hectare, and its biomass is ca. 8 kg/ha. The whitefish of Lake Kilpisjärvi may reach a weight of up to two kilograms.
Climate vs. weather
“Last winter was very long and cold with lots of snow. This summer we have not had any good warm days. So why do they still talk about climate change?"
