APPLICATION APPLICATION CONTACT PERSON: Ms. Venla Karkola Golden Geopark of Lapland Project Manager Inari Municipal Business & Development Nordica Sairaalantie 3b FI-99800 IVALO Finland Tel. +358 40 1379228 E-mail: [email protected] Picture in the front cover: Tor formations at Pyhä-Nattanen fell. Photo: Jouni Männistö APPLICATION TABLE OF CONTENTS ......... Everyman’s Right .....................................................28 A. IDENTIFICATION OF THE AREA 5 Other Acts Concerning the Geopark Area ................28 1. Name of the Proposed Geopark ....................................5 The Antiquities Act .............................................28 2. Surface Area, Physical and Human Geography The Land Use and Building Act ..........................28 Characteristics of the Proposed Geopark ......................5 The Mining Act ...................................................28 Special Characteristics of the Area ............................5 4. Listing and Description of Non-Geological Sites Inari ...........................................................................5 and How They Are Integrated into the Proposed Sodankylä .................................................................6 Geopark ......................................................................29 3. Organization in Charge and Management Structure Gold History Sites ....................................................29 of the Proposed Geopark ..............................................6 The Pedagogical Aspect and Educational Value 4. Application Contact Person ...........................................7 of Tankavaara Gold Prospector Museum .................30 Preservation of Gold History ....................................31 Collections .........................................................31 B. GEOLOGICAL HERITAGE .................... 9 Inside Exhibitions, the Outdoor Museum 1. Location of the Proposed Geopark ................................9 Area, and Exhibitions Online ...............................32 Renovation Work, Inventorying and 2. General Geological Description of the Proposed Research on Location ........................................32 Geopark ......................................................................10 Other Sites ..............................................................33 Geological History of the Golden Geopark of Information Centers .................................................33 Lapland and Descriptions of Geological Sites ..........10 The Ancient Bedrock and Gold Deposits ............10 D. ECONOMIC ACTIVITY & BUSINESS The Era of Weathering ........................................11 The Ice Age and the Time of the Glaciers ...........12 PLAN ................................................... 35 Glacial Meltwater Erosion ...................................13 1. Economic Activity in the Proposed Geopark ................35 Glaciofluvial Landforms .......................................14 2. Existing and Planned Facilities for the Proposed Mires ..................................................................14 Geopark ......................................................................36 Bibliography .......................................................15 3. Listing and Description of Geological Sites 3. Analysis of Geotourism Potential of within the Proposed Geopark ......................................16 the Proposed Geopark ................................................38 Cooperation with Partnership Companies...........38 4. Details on the Interest of these Sites in Terms of their Metsähallitus (Natural Heritage Services) ............39 International, National, Regional or Local value ............17 Geological Survey of Finland...............................39 Inari-Saariselkä Tourism Ltd ................................39 C. GEOCONSERVATION ......................... 19 Gold Prospector Museum ..................................39 1. Current or Potential Pressure on the Proposed Gold Panning Competitions ................................39 Geopark ......................................................................19 Gold Prospectors Association of Finnish Lapland ..................................................39 Limits of the Geosites and Protection Status ...........19 Sámi Museum and Northern Lapland 2. Current Status in Terms of Protection of Nature Center Siida ............................................40 Geological Sites within the Proposed Geopark ............21 The Indigenous Sámi People ...................................41 3. Data on the Management and Maintenance of these Sites ..............................................................23 4. Overview and Policies for the Sustainable Development ...............................................................45 Protected Areas in Finland .......................................23 Strict Nature Reserves ........................................23 5. Policies for, and Examples of, Community National Parks ....................................................24 Empowerment (involvement and consultation) Wilderness Areas ...............................................24 in the proposed Geopark .............................................45 Other Protected Areas: Mire Reserves ................24 6. Policies for, and Examples of, Public and Protected Areas in the Proposed Geopark Area ......25 Stakeholder Awareness in the Proposed Geopark .......45 Sompio Strict Nature Reserve ............................26 Urho Kekkonen National Park .............................26 Lemmenjoki National Park ..................................27 E. INTERESTS AND ARGUMENTS Hammastunturi Wilderness Area ........................27 ......... Kettujoki, Sota-aapa and Nälkäaapa Mire FOR JOINING THE EGN / GGN 47 Reserves ............................................................27 ANNEXES A. IDENTIFICATION OF THE AREA 1. Name of the Proposed Geopark 2. Surface Area, Physical and Human Geography Characteristics of the Proposed Geopark Special Characteristics of the Area Inari Sodankylä 3. Organization in Charge and Management Structure of the Proposed Geopark 4. Application Contact Person A. IDENTIFICATION OF THE AREA 1. Name of the Proposed Geopark The name of the proposed Geopark is “Golden Geopark of Lapland”. The main themes of the proposed Golden Geopark of Lapland are the following: geology, gold history, gold, northern nature and local cultures, including the indigenous Sámi culture. When realised, the Golden Geopark of Lapland will be the first Geopark in Finnish Lapland and also the first of its kind in an arctic or sub-arctic climate.Also, at the moment there are no Geoparks this far north. The northern location is a special characteristic of the Geopark; it lives according to the changing seasons – as do all living things this far north. 2. Surface Area, Physical and Human Geography Characteristics of the Proposed Geopark The surface area of the proposed Geopark is 5125 km2. Special characteristics of the area The location of the Geopark, north of the Arctic Circle, adds its own characteristics to the life and nature of the region. The four seasons are clearly distinct, and in particular the midnight sun in the summer and the polar night (in Finnish “kaamos”, ie. the time when the sun doesn’t rise) in the winter affect how people go about their business. At the same time, they also provide tourists with new and different experiences. The ‘midnight sun’ means that the sun does not go down at all, and at the latitudes of the Golden Geopark the midnight sun lasts from the end of May to mid-July. For one and a half months, all of the nature enjoys continuous daylight, and most people and animals need less sleep during this period. The summer is indeed a time of explosive change in Lapland. During the polar night, the sun does not rise at all. This period lasts for about one month, from the beginning of December to the beginning of January. During this period of darkness, nature rests and some people can feel a similar need for rest. However, for most tourists this is a fine and exotic experience. At dark times, it is also possible to see northern lights. Inari Inari is the largest municipality in Finland. It has numerous lakes and thousands of islands, hundreds of fells, and diverse flora and fauna. The municipality of Inari was founded in 1876. Being Finland’s largest municipality by area, the region is home to 6,777 inhabitants, about 2,200 of whom are Sámi. Inari has a total area of over 17,000 km2 and a water area of over 2,000 km2, around half of which is accounted for by Lake Inari. There are altogether 10 948 km2 of protected area in the municipality of Inari. Tourism, when looking at the total impact, is the biggest employer in the municipality, and hundreds of thousands people visit the region annually. The municipality of Inari has three significant tourist service clusters – Inari, Ivalo and Saariselkä. At the moment, the largest of these centres is the resort of Saariselkä, which has a central location in the region; 32 km from Ivalo Airport, 85 km from the Russian border, 350 km from Murmansk, 250 km from the Norwegian border at Nuorgam, and 185 km from the Norwegian border at Näätämö. Flights from Helsinki to Ivalo take less than 1½ hours. Inari is the only quadrilingual municipality in Finland. The languages spoken in addition to Finnish are Inari Sámi, Northern Sámi and Skolt Sámi. The Sámi people are the only indigenous people in Finland and the whole of the European Union. Its central location in the north has