Muotkavaara

Not to be confused with Three-Country Cairn.
Muotkavaara
The cairn on the boundary between Finland, Norway and Russia
Muotkavaara is located in Scandinavia
Muotkavaara
Location of Muotkavaara in Scandinavia

Muotkavaara (Finnish), Krokfjell (Norwegian),[1] Муоткавара[2] or Муоткаваара (Russian),[3] Muotkevárri (Northern Sami), or Myetkivääri (Inari Sami) is a hill in Lapland at the boundary between Finland, Norway, and Russia. It is the second northernmost international tripoint in the world; the tripoint of Finland, Norway and Sweden is 900 metres (3,000 ft) further to the north.

Muotkavaara is located in the Pasvikdalen valley, west of the Pasvikelva river and 15 km (9 mi) southwest of Nyrud just west of Krokfjellet in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway.[4][5][6] The Finnish side belongs to the Inari Municipality, the Norwegian side belongs to Sør-Varanger Municipality, and the Russian side belongs to Nikel Municipality. The 169-metre (554 ft) peak is located in Norway.[7][8]

The site is also notable as a time zone tripoint: Norway uses UTC+1, Finland UTC+2, and Russia UTC+3. However, this distinction applies only in winter, since in summer both Finland and Russia observe UTC+3 while Norway observes UTC+2.

The Sami name (muotke, myetki) refers to an isthmus between waters.[9]

History of the tripoint

Most of the present-day Finland–Norway border was established by the 1751 Treaty of Strömstad between Sweden and Norway. That treaty, however, defined the boundary only as far east as Kolmisoaivi. The area around Muotkavaara remained part of the fellesdistrikt (shared district) jointly administered by Norway and Russia.[10]

Following Finland's incorporation into the Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland in 1809, and Norway's personal union with Sweden in 1814, the political situation in northern Fennoscandia changed significantly. This created the need to define the remaining undefined stretches of border.[11] In 1826, Norway–Sweden and Russia negotiated a new border treaty. It confirmed the existing 1751 boundary as the line between Norway and the Russian Empire, and also established the easternmost section of the border from Kolmisoaivi to the Arctic Ocean.[12]

In 1833, the northern part of the Finland–Russia border was drawn, connecting to the Norwegian border at Mutkavaara (Muotkavaara). At this time, this was an internal border within the Russian Empire.[12] In 1846, a rock cairn was erected at the tripoint (69°03.115′N 28°55.758′E / 69.051917°N 28.929300°E / 69.051917; 28.929300 (Muotkavaara tripoint)), during a complete survey of the border between Norway and the Russian Empire. Five other cairns were also built between Muotkavaara and Kolmisoaivi.[13]

Finland declared independence in 1917. Between 1920 and 1944, when Petsamo was part of Finland, the tripoint ceased to exist, as Norway and Russia no longer shared a border. Muotkavaara regained its status as a tripoint in 1944, when Finland ceded Petsamo to the Soviet Union in the Moscow Armistice. A concrete tetrahedron was added on the top of the cairn in 1945.[14][15] The border was further modified in 1947 when Finland sold the Jäniskoski-Niskakoski region to the Soviet Union. Since then, the border between Finland and Soviet Union (now Russia) is oriented to the south-west from the Muotkavaara tripoint.[citation needed]

Outdooring

The Norwegian side of Muotkavaara is part of Øvre Pasvik National Park. The Finnish side is slightly outside the Vätsäri Wilderness Area.[16] There is a joint name for the contiguous natural reserve area: Pasvik–Inari Trilateral Park.

The tripoint can legally be approached only from the Norwegian side, as both Finland and Russia maintain extensive border security zones with restricted public access. The tripoint is most easily reached from Grensefoss, around a 5-kilometre (3.1 mi) hike each way.

See also

References

  1. ^ Svein Askheim. "Krokfjell". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  2. ^ Soviet military map R-35,36 (1:1,000,000)
  3. ^ Protocol between the Governments of the Kingdom of Norway, the Republic of Finland and of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics regarding the maintenance of the frontier mark erected at Muotkavaara (Krokfjellet) at the meeting-point of the State frontiers of Norway, Finland and the Soviet Union, 7 February 1953 (Official texts in Russian, Norwegian, and Finnish, and translations into English and French pp. 144–161)
  4. ^ Svein Askheim. "Treriksrøysa – Sør-Varanger". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  5. ^ Svein Askheim. "Pasvikelva". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  6. ^ Svein Askheim. "Pasvikdalen". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  7. ^ "Norgeskart". Statens kartverk. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  8. ^ "Muotkavaara - lines in the wilderness". by-the-borderline.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  9. ^ Ilmari Mattus (2006). "Paikannimistö" (PDF). Paistunturin erämaa-alueen ja Kevon luonnonpuiston luonto, käyttö ja paikannimistö. Metsähallitus. p. 148. Retrieved 14 August 2012.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ Suomen ja Norjan välinen valtakunnanraja: Rajapöytäkirja / Riksgrensen mellom Norge og Finland: Grenseprotokoll [Finland–Norway national border: Border protocol] (Report) (in Finnish and Norwegian). Oslo. 18 December 2001.
  11. ^ Lähteenmäki, Maria (2004). Kalotin kansaa (in Finnish). Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura. p. 347. ISBN 951-746-599-8.
  12. ^ a b Pekka Tätilä (2003). "Suomen ja Norjan valtakunnanraja - Vuoden 2000 rajankäynti" (PDF). Maanmittaus. 78 (1–2): 46–56. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  13. ^ "Suomen–Norjan valtakunnanrajankäynti 2000: Rajamerkkipöytäkirja" (PDF). Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  14. ^ "Suomen ja Norjan rajankäynti: Pöytäkirja rajamerkistä "Muotkavaara" (Krokfjellet), joka on asetettu Suomen, SNT-Liiton ja Norjan valtakunnanrajojen yhtymäkohtaan (1947)" (PDF). 2000. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  15. ^ Svein Askheim. "Treriksrøysa – Sør-Varanger". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  16. ^ "Pasvik–Inari: Yhteinen luonto ja historia" (PDF). Inari–Pasvik-alueen luonnonsuojelun ja kestävän luontomatkailun edistämisen yhteistyöhanke. 2007. Retrieved 14 August 2012.

69°03′26″N 28°55′25″E / 69.05722°N 28.92361°E / 69.05722; 28.92361

allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muotkavaara