Sarek National Park (Swedish: Sareks nationalpark) is a national park in Jokkmokk Municipality, Lapland in northern Sweden. Established in 1909, the park is among the oldest national parks in Europe. It is adjacent to two other national parks, namely Stora Sjöfallet and Padjelanta. The shape of Sarek National Park is roughly circular with an average diameter of about 50 km (31.07 mi). The most noted features of the national park are six of Sweden's thirteen peaks over 2,000 m (6,600 ft) located within the park's boundaries. Among these is the second highest mountain in Sweden, Sarektjåkkå, and Áhkká which is located just outside the park. The park has about 200 mountains over 1,800 m (5,900 ft), 82 of which have names. Sarek is also the name of a geographical area which the national park is part of. The Sarek mountain district includes a total of eight peaks over 2,000 m (6,600 ft). Due to the long trek, the mountains in the district are seldom climbed. There are approximately 100 glaciers in Sarek National Park. Sarek is a popular area for hikers and mountaineers. Beginners in these disciplines are advised to accompany a guide since there are no marked trails or accommodations and only two bridges aside from those in the vicinity of its borders. The area is among those that receives the heaviest rainfall in Sweden, making hiking dependent on weather conditions. It is also intersected by turbulent streams that are hazardous to cross without proper training. The delta of the Rapa River is considered one of Europe's most noted views and the summit of mount Skierfe offers an overlook of that ice-covered, glacial, through valley. The Pårte Scientific Station in Sarek (also known as the Pårte observatory) was built in the early 1900s by Swedish mineralogist and geographer Axel Hamberg. All the building material for the huts had to be carried to the site by porters.
Names of locations In Sarek National Park, as in the most of Sápmi, a large number of the locations have names originating from the Sami languages. These languages have several variations and their written forms have changed over time, which explains why some placenames do not always correspond with each other in different sources. The most common Sami names for locations or features in the park are tjåkkå or tjåkko (mountain), vagge (valley), jåkkå or jåkko (stream), lako (plateau) and ätno (river). An example of this is Rapaätno, meaning Rapa River. These names are also the official Swedish names of the locations.
Geography
Location and borders Sarek National Park is situated in the Jokkmokk Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden, north of the Arctic Circle, 50 km (31.07 mi) from the Norwegian border. The area of the park is 1,977 km2 (763 mi2) and it is adjacent to the national parks Padjelanta (in the west) and Stora Sjöfallet (in the north). The parks have a combined area of approximately 5,500 km2 (2,100 mi2). There are also a number of nature reserves nearby.
Topography
Sarek National Park is the most mountainous region in Sweden and it is the part of the country that mostly resembles an alpine countryside. Within the park are 19 summits higher than 1,900 m (6,200 ft), the most noted being the second highest summit in Sweden after the Kebnekaise – the Sarektjåkkå with a height of 2,089 m (6,854 ft). The lowest altitude in the park is found in the southwest, near Lake Rittakjaure, at 477 m (1,565 ft). The park is made up of three types of landscape, sometimes difficult to differentiate between: large valleys, massive mountains, and high plateaux. The largest valley of the park, which is also the most noted, is the Rapa Valley. This valley occupies 40 km2 (15 sq mi) of the park, including several branches, the most important of which are the Sarvesvagge, which climbs as far as Padjelanta, the Kuopervagge — with an area of nearly 20 km2 (7.7 sq mi) — and the Ruotesvagge, surrounded by numerous glaciers, including those of Mount Sarektjåkkå. Among the other notable valleys, outside the Rapadalen network, are the Kukkesvagge that makes up the north-eastern border of the park, and the Njåtsosvagge near the southern border. The largest plateau is the Ivarlako, east of the Pårte massif, with an altitude starting at 660–850 m (2,170–2,790 ft). West of Pårte, the Luottolako plateau covers an area of 45 km2 (17 sq mi) and has an even higher altitude at 1,200–1,400 m (3,900–4,600 ft).
Interspersed between the valleys and the plateaux, are massive mountains, often with several summits. The main ones are:
Sarektjåkkå, highest point: Stortoppen, 2,089 m (6,854 ft) Pårte, Pårtetjåkkå, 2,005 m (6,578 ft) Piellorieppe, Kåtokkaskatjåkkå, 1,978 m (6,490 ft) Ålkatj, (Akkatjåkko, 1,974 m (6,476 ft) Äpar, 1,914 m (6,280 ft) Skårki, 1,842 m (6,043 ft) Ruotes, 1,804 m (5,919 ft)
Climate
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