A thirty-kilometre canyon cut by the Reisa river, holding one of the highest waterfalls in Norway.
Area
803 km²
Designated in
1986
Region
Nordic countries
The Reisa river canyon and the Mollisfossen waterfall
Reisa National Park was established in 1986 in Troms county, in northern Norway, and protects some 800 km² around the valley of the river Reisa, in the municipality of Nordreisa.
Its defining feature is the canyon: the Reisa has cut a gorge some thirty kilometres long with walls exceeding four hundred metres in places, one of the longest and deepest in northern Scandinavia. Several waterfalls drop down its sides, among them Mollisfossen, which with a fall of some 269 metres is among the highest in the country and is the park's most visited landmark.
The river is a renowned salmon river and has for centuries been a route for travel and fishing. Traditional access to the canyon is by flat-bottomed river boat, a craft characteristic of the region that local fishermen still use to work up the rapids. The valley preserves the cultural heritage of three peoples — Sami, Kven and Norwegian — with settlement sites, hunting traps and tar kilns, and reindeer herding continues on the high plateaux. The vegetation combines birch and pine woodland on the valley floor with alpine heaths on the summits.
Ecosystems found in Norway, where Reisa lies.
Which other parks are like this one?
Same country: Norway
Same country: Norway
Same country: Norway
Same country: Norway
Based on what we already know about this park.
Climate
Temperate, Polar / cold, Mountain
Best season
June to August
Threatened:,,,