Jokkmokk (; smj, Jåhkåmåhkke or ; se, Dálvvadis; fi, Jokimukka) is a locality and the seat of Jokkmokk Municipality in

Norrbotten County Norrbotten County ( sv, Norrbottens län; se, Norrbottena leatna, fi, Norrbottenin lääni) is the northernmost county or '' län'' of Sweden. It is also the largest county by land area, almost a quarter of Sweden's total area. It shares border ...

, province of

Lapland Lapland may refer to: Places *Lapland or Sápmi, an ethno-cultural region stretching over northern Fennoscandia (parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia) **Lapland (Finland) (''Lappi''/''Lappland''), a Finnish region *** Lapland (former pr ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, with 2,786 inhabitants in 2010. The Lule Sami name of the place (composed of the individual words and ) means "River's Curve," due to the meandering river that runs through it. As in other towns in Lapland, the

Swedish language Swedish ( ) is a North Germanic language spoken predominantly in Sweden and in parts of Finland. It has at least 10 million native speakers, the fourth most spoken Germanic language and the first among any other of its type in the Nordic countr ...

is dominant at an official level in Jokkmokk in modern times. The settlement is just north of the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...

Talvatissjön Talvatissjön is a lake in the Jokkmokk Municipality in Lapland and is part of the Lule River's main catchment area. The lake has an area of 0.166 square kilometers and is 240 meters above sea level. The lake is dewatered by the watercourse Talv ...

is located at the southern part of Jokkmokk. Jokkmokk is an important locality for Sámi people and the location of several institutions related to them, including an education centre, the

Ájtte Ájtte, the Swedish Mountain and Sami Museum ( sv, Svenskt fjäll- och samemuseum), is a cultural and natural history museum in Jokkmokk in Lapland, Sweden. Ájtte is a museum, which specializes in the culture and nature of the mountainous are ...

museum, and an office of the

Sámi Parliament of Sweden The Sámi Parliament of Sweden ( sv, Sametinget, se, Sámediggi, smj, Sámedigge, sma, Saemiedigkie) is the representative body for people of Sámi heritage in Sweden based in Kiruna. It acts as an institution of cultural autonomy for the indi ...

. Jokkmokk was a transit center for Sami refugees from Norway during World War II, in addition to the centre in

Kjesäter Kjesäter is a manor in the municipality of Vingåker in the county of Södermanland in Sweden that now (2008) serves as a folk high school and hostel. During World War II, it served as a refugee camp and transit center for refugees fleeing Nazi pe ...

. Jokkmokk Market has been taking place since 1605. On the first Thursday in February every year, thousands of people gather in the town for concerts, exhibitions and trade in one of the most important social events for the Sámi people in Sápmi. Temperatures during the festival can drop as low as .

Climate

Influenced by its inland and northerly position, Jokkmokk's variety of a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

( Dfc) is very cold by Swedish standards.

Summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...

s are normally relatively mild, with midnight sun, and the dark winters are long and cold, although polar night is not quite observed with a sun angle of 0.4° at the winter solstice. Combining an elevation of with being at the foot of the

Scandinavian Mountains The Scandinavian Mountains or the Scandes is a mountain range that runs through the Scandinavian Peninsula. The western sides of the mountains drop precipitously into the North Sea and Norwegian Sea, forming the fjords of Norway, whereas to the ...

, Jokkmokk is both cooled down during the day and experiences temperature inversion during night. This combination makes it the coldest municipal seat in Sweden in terms of winter temperatures, although some rural localities in Lapland are even colder.

References

External links

Tourist information in Jokkmokk

Ájtte Museum of Sami people
{{Authority control Populated places in Jokkmokk Municipality Lapland (Sweden) Municipal seats of Norrbotten County Swedish municipal seats Populated places in Arctic Sweden

Climate

See also

References

External links