Øvre Anárjohka National Park ( no, Øvre Anárjohka nasjonalpark, se, Anárjoga álbmotmeahcci) is a
national park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
that lies in Karasjok and Kautokeino municipalities in Finnmark county, Norway. The park was opened in 1976 and is in area. It borders on
Lemmenjoki National Park
Lemmenjoki National Park ( fi, Lemmenjoen kansallispuisto, smn, Lemmee aalmuglâšmecci, se, Leammi álbmotmeahcci) is situated in area of municipalities of Inari and Kittilä, Lapland, in Northern Finland. It was founded in 1956 and has since ...
in Finland. A process to expand the national park by an additional was started in 2009, however it was cancelled in 2015 after local opposition. Øvre Anárjohka is located on the interior of the Finnmarksvidda plateau and it includes extensive birch woods, pine barrens,
bog
A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...
There is a rich animal life inside the park. The largest mammals are the moose, but they often migrate to more wooded areas outside the park for the winter. The park has 12 winter grazing units for reindeer. Consequently, from November to April inclusive, the reindeer completely dominate the park. Brown bear have their winter lairs within the national park and wolverines only visit sporadically. The
red fox
The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...
and stoat are the most common of the smaller predators.
Many small rodents are found in the park. Lemmings, field voles, root voles and
northern water vole
The European water vole or northern water vole (''Arvicola amphibius''), is a semi-aquatic rodent. It is often informally called the water rat, though it only superficially resembles a true rat. Water voles have rounder noses than rats, deep brow ...
s are most widespread, but their numbers vary a great deal from year to year. The northern red-backed vole, a typical Siberian species, is a characteristic inhabitant of the national park. The area has a stable
hare
Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The ge ...
grayling
Grayling or Greyling may refer to:
Animals Fish
* Grayling, generically, any fish of the genus ''Thymallus'' in the family Salmonidae
** European grayling (''Thymallus thymallus''), the European species of the genus ''Thymallus''
** Arctic grayli ...
Anárjohka
Anarjohka ( se, Anárjohka, no, Anarjokka or ''Anarjohka'', fi, Inarijoki, sv, Enare älv) is a tributary of Tana River. It is about long, with a drainage area of about .Northern Sami language where ''johka'' means "river". The meaning of the first element is unknown (but it is also found in the name of the Finnish Lake Inari which translates to the Sami ''Anárjávri''). The first word ''øvre'' is from the Norwegian language and means "upper", thus the name means "the upper part of the Anárjohka river".