Pyhä-Luosto National Park

National park in Lapland region, Finland

67°03′59″N 26°58′25″E / 67.06639°N 26.97361°E / 67.06639; 26.97361Area142 km² (55 sq mi)Established2005Visitors128000 (in 2009^[1])Governing bodyMetsähallitusWebsitewww.outdoors.fi/pyha-luostonp

Pyhä-Luosto National Park (Pyhä-Luoston kansallispuisto) is a national park in Lapland, Finland. It was established in 2005 when Finland's oldest national park, Pyhätunturi National Park (established in 1938), was joined to Luosto. This makes Pyhä-Luosto both one of Finland's oldest and newest national parks. The park covers 142 square kilometres (55 sq mi).^[2] Its most important features are its geological specialities, old forests and wetlands.

The park's base is formed by Finland's southernmost, 12-peak tunturi line. The tunturit are remnants of 2-billion-year-old Alp-like mountains. Pine tree forests that are 200 years old or older grow on the hills. The highest tunturit are Noitatunturi, 540 m (1,772 ft), and Ukko-Luosto, 514 m (1,686 ft).

In 2015, the visitor count was 115,100 people, which was a decrease from the 2009 count of 128,000.^[2]^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b "Käyntimäärät kansallispuistoittain 2009" (in Finnish). Metsähallitus. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
^ ^a ^b Riikka Puhakka; Kati Pitkanen; Pirkko Siikamaki (2020). "The health and well-being impacts of protected areas in Finland". In Hubert Job; Susanne Becken; Bernard Lane (eds.). Protected Areas, Sustainable Tourism and Neo-liberal Governance Policies: Issues, Management and Research. Routledge. p. 138. ISBN 9780429856310. Retrieved 4 November 2022.