Torneträsk or Torne träsk (;

Saami The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI, pronounced "Sammy") is an association of American manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and components. SAAMI is an accredited standards developer that publishes several Americ ...

: ; Finnish and fit, Tornio or ) is a lake in Kiruna Municipality,

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 ...

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 ...

in Sweden, in 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 ...

. ''Träsk'' is the local word for ''lake'' (in Standard Swedish it means "

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

"). It is the sixth-largest lake in Sweden, with a total area of and a length of . The lake drains to the south-east through Torne river. South-west of the lake lies the

Abisko National Park Abisko National Park ( sv, Abisko nationalpark) is a National Park in Sweden, established in 1909. Geography Abisko is situated in the Swedish province of Lapland near the Norwegian border (distance approx. by railway), and belongs to Kir ...

and the UNESCO World Heritage Site

Laponian area The Laponian area is a large mountainous wildlife area in the Lapland province in northern Sweden, more precisely in Gällivare Municipality, Arjeplog Municipality and Jokkmokk Municipality. It was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996; the ...

. Torneträsk originated from the remnant of a glacier, which has given the lake its depth of , making it the second-deepest lake in Sweden. It is usually ice-covered from December through June, with variations dependent on temperature variations.

Permafrost Permafrost is ground that continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two or more years, located on land or under the ocean. Most common in the Northern Hemisphere, around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere or 11% of the global surface ...

is common in the land around the lake. This low elevation permafrost is disappearing because of global warming and increased snowfall. During the 1944 Operation Obviate of WWII, British bombers seeking to destroy the German battleship Tirpiz had their rendezvous over Torneträsk, in violation of Swedish neutrality.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tornetrask Kiruna Torne river basin Biosphere reserves of Sweden Lakes of Norrbotten County