The Ounasjoki ( se, Ovnnesjohka) is the
Kemijoki
Kemijoki ( sv, Kemi älv, se, Giemajohka), with its length, is the longest river in Finland. It runs through Kemijärvi and Rovaniemi before reaching the Gulf of Bothnia at Kemi. Facta 2001, part 8, ''finnish''
At Rovaniemi the Ounasjoki river ...
's largest
tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...
and is
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
's longest single river tributary. It is also the largest river entirely within its borders. Ounasjoki is approximately in length, and the catchment area is , 27% of the Kemijoki catchment area.
Course
The Ounasjoki originates at Ounasjärvi lake in
Enontekiö
Enontekiö (; sme, Eanodat ; sv, Enontekis; smn, Iänudâh; sms, Jeänõk) is a municipality in the Finnish part of Lapland with approx. inhabitants. It is situated in the outermost northwest of the country and occupies a large and very spars ...
. It flows first eastwards through Periläjärvi lake and turns south after some seven kilometres. The river then follows southern-southeasterly course until its confluence with the
Kemijoki
Kemijoki ( sv, Kemi älv, se, Giemajohka), with its length, is the longest river in Finland. It runs through Kemijärvi and Rovaniemi before reaching the Gulf of Bothnia at Kemi. Facta 2001, part 8, ''finnish''
At Rovaniemi the Ounasjoki river ...
at
Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi ( , ; sme, Roavvenjárga ; smn, Ruávinjargâ; sms, Ruäʹvnjargg) is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland, and its southern part Perà ...
.
Tributaries
Left
*
Näkkäläjoki
*
Käkkälöjoki
Käkkälöjoki is a river in Finland. It rises near the Norwegian border and flows first southeast, then south and southwest/west until it enters the Ounasjoki River. The confluence is about from the village Hetta
Hetta (; se, Heahttá ) is ...
* Syvä Tepastojoki
*
Loukinen
* Meltausjoki
Right
* Marrasjoki
Fauna
Grayling,
trout
Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...
,
pike
Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to:
Fish
* Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus''
* Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes
* ''Esox'', genus of ...
and other fish typical to northern Finland are found in the Ounasjoki.
References
External links
Kemijoki basin
Rivers of Finland
Rivers of Enontekiö
Rivers of Kittilä
Rivers of Rovaniemi
{{Finland-river-stub