Seppala Monument in Skibotn

Seppala plaque

Skibotn (Northern Sami: Ivgubahta, Finnish: Markkina or Yykeänperä) is a village with approximately 700 inhabitants in Storfjord municipality, located on the southeastern shore of the Lyngen Fjord in the Northern Norwegian county of Troms. Northern or North Sami ( Davvisápmi, formerly Davvisámi or Davvisaami; improperly Lappish or Lapp) is the most widely Finnish ( or suomen kieli) is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland (92% As of 2006) and by ethnic Finns outside Storfjord is a municipality in the county of Troms Norway. Storfjord was separated from Lyngen July 1 1930 North Norway ( Norwegian: Nord-Norge ( Bokmål) or Nord-Noreg ( Nynorsk) is the geographical region of northern or Romsa ( Sami language) is a county in North Norway, bordering Finnmark to the northeast and Nordland in the southwest The distance by road to the northernmost community in the western "arm" of Finland, Kilpisjärvi, is approximately 50 kilometers. Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. Kilpisjärvi (Gilbbesjávri is a Village in the municipality of Enontekiö, Lapland, Finland.

Skibotn is located in a valley, surrounded by large mountains - such as Nallagais, Imagais, Steindalsbreen, Balggesvarr and Storfjellet. Skibotn is known for its dry climate with frequent clear skies in the Skibotn valley, and the calcareous pine forests, with rare orchids. Due to the climate with few clouds, there is an astrophysical observatory located in Skibotn ([1]).

The modern day residents of Skibotn are mostly either descendant of the Kven and Sami peoples, or immigrants - and their descendants - of Southern and Central Norway. Kvens ( kveeni in Kven language / Finnish; kvener in Norwegian, and láddelažžat in Northern Sami The Sami people are the Indigenous people of northern Europe inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of northern Sweden, Norway Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional

The well known Sami writer Nils-Aslak Valkeapää lived in Skibotn for a significant part of his life. Nils-Aslak Valkeapää, known as Áillohaš in the Sami language ( March 23 1943 - November 26 2001) was a Sami Leonhard Seppala, the dog sled racing legend, was born in Skibotn. Leonhard Seppala ( September 14, 1877 &ndash January 1967 was a Norwegian of Kven descent

External links

• Nordiclichensociety: About Skibotn valley
• University of Tromsø: The rich lichen flora of Skibotn pdf