Saltfjellet–Svartisen National Park () is a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

Nordland Nordland (; , , , ) is one of the three northernmost Counties of Norway, counties in Norway in the Northern Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Trøndelag in the south, Norrbotten County in Sweden to the east, Västerbotten County to t ...

county in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It is located within the municipalities of

Beiarn Beiarn is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Salten. Beiarn is also a part of the Bodø Region, a statistical metropolitan region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village ...

, Meløy,

Rana Rana may refer to: Astronomy * Rana (crater), a crater on Mars * Delta Eridani or Rana, a star Films * Rana (2012 film), an Indian Kannada-language action drama * Rana, a 1998 Telugu-language action film directed by A. Kodandarami Reddy * R ...

Rødøy Rødøy may refer to: Places *Rødøy Municipality, a municipality in Nordland county, Norway *Rødøya, an island within Rødøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway * Rødøy Church, a church in Rødøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway ...

Saltdal Saltdal may refer to: Places * Saltdal Municipality, a municipality in Nordland county, Norway * Saltdal Fjord, a fjord in Saltdal Municipality in Nordland county, Norway * Saltdal Church, a church in Saltdal Municipality in Nordland county, Norway ...

, and Bodø. The park forms the centrepiece of a larger protected area of about , which includes the adjacent Gåsvatnan and Saltfjellet landscape protection areas and four small

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

s. Saltfjellet–Svartisen features diverse landscapes ranging from coastal regions to alpine plateaux,

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

-covered valleys, and tundra, with Svartisen—Scandinavia's second-largest glacier at roughly occupying the southwestern corner. The park's

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime (mineral), lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of Science, scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcare ...

bedrock supports a remarkably rich

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

, while traditional Sámi reindeer husbandry continues within its boundaries. The

European route E6 European route E6 (, , or simply E6) is the main north–south thoroughfare through Norway as well as the west coast of Sweden. It is long and runs from the southern tip of Sweden at Trelleborg, into Norway and through almost all of the countr ...

highway and the

Nordland Line The Nordland Line (, ) is a railway line between Trondheim and Bodø, Norway. It is the longest in Norway and lacks electrification. The route runs through Trøndelag and Nordland counties, carrying a combination of commuter, long-haul passenge ...

railway both follow the southern and eastern borders around the park.

Geography and ecology

Saltfjellet–Svartisen was designated a national park by royal decree in 1989 and covers 2102 km²; together with the adjacent Gåsvatnan and Saltfjellet landscape protection areas and four small

s, it forms a contiguous protected area of about 2839 km².The park spans a pronounced west–east gradient, from the Nordfjorden coast through high alpine plateaux to

‑covered valleys and open

tundra In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...

. Svartisen, Scandinavia's second‑largest glacier at roughly , occupies the park's southwestern corner and feeds a network of

meltwater Meltwater (or melt water) is water released by the melting of snow or ice, including glaciers, glacial ice, tabular icebergs and ice shelf, ice shelves over oceans. Meltwater is often found during early spring (season), spring when snow packs a ...

rivers and lakes. Underlain by extensive

(

calcium carbonate Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is a common substance found in Rock (geology), rocks as the minerals calcite and aragonite, most notably in chalk and limestone, eggshells, gastropod shells, shellfish skel ...

-rich)

bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid rock that lies under loose material ( regolith) within the crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface material. An exposed portion of bed ...

, Saltfjellet supports a particularly diverse

, including several regionally rare species. Traditional Sami

reindeer husbandry Reindeer herding is when reindeer are herded by people in a limited area. Currently, reindeer are the only semi-domesticated animal which naturally belong to the North. Reindeer herding is conducted in nine countries: Norway, Finland, Sweden, Russ ...

remains integral: the Saltfjellet and Hestmannen/Strandtindene grazing districts maintain rights within the park (4783 animals in 2014), and three Swedish Sami "samebyer" graze seasonally in July and August.

Visitor use

A 2017 visitor survey by the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research recorded 1607 respondents (average age 44 years; 53 percent women), of whom 67 percent were Norwegian nationals (48 percent locally resident), 57 percent had visited before and 74 percent were on day trips when surveyed. These insights are guiding the park authority's ongoing visitor‑management strategy. A 2015 PPGIS (Public Participation Geographic Information System) study of 486 park users mapped over 10000 place‑based values and preferences within Saltfjellet–Svartisen National Park. Saltfjellet–Svartisen stood out for its strong emphasis on traditional resource‑use values—hunting, fishing, gathering and Sami cultural identity were all significantly over‑represented compared with other Norwegian parks. Participants also showed clear support for increased predator control and motorized access (snowmobiles, helicopters), while opposing industrial and energy development within park boundaries.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saltfjellet-Svartisen National Park National parks of Norway Protected areas of Nordland Protected areas of the Arctic Protected areas established in 1989 Tourist attractions in Nordland 1989 establishments in Norway