Expedition Route
Inari 
Anár
Location: 68.9° N 27.0° E
Country: Finland
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Summer of 2005 about 450 people lived in the small community of Inari, which is located on the southern end of Lake Inari and is part of the Inari municipality in Finland. Inari is home to the Finnish Sámi Parliament it is often talked about as the centre of Sámi culture.
Lake Inari is the third largest lake in Finland. Located 385 - 390 feet (117-119 meters) above sea level the lake covers an area pf 1040 square kilometers. At the widest point it is 30 miles (50 km) and the length is 50 miles (80 km) and its shoreline runs about 2055 miles (3,308 km). At its deepest the lake is more than 310 feet (92 m), but the average is about 50 feet (15 m).
Lake Inari is characterized by a vast archipelago made up of over 3000 islands and islets on the one hand, and on the other by large open tracts of water. It empties northwards through the Paatsjoki at the mouth of the Varangerfjord, which is a bay of Barents Sea in the Arctic Ocean. Geographically the bedrock of the bottom of the lake is composed of 2 to 3 billion year old schists. The freezing period normally extends from November to early June. The centre of Lake Inari is intersected by the 69th parallel. This makes Inari the northernmost large lake in Europe.
The pine forest around Lake Inari is home to a distinct group of Sámi - the Inari Sámi. Unlike other Sámi, the Inari Sámi did not travel to as nomads to other regions. The oldest remains of human activity in the area date back as far as 8000 - 7000 B.C.
The region is renowned for the water birds that nest on high shores, on lakes near Inari and by ponds on the large islands of Lake Inari. Mergansers, red-throated divers (loons), divers and rarer common scoters are typical water birds of Lake Inari. This big lake also attracts straying and vagrant species from the Ocean. Sea eagles and cormorants are annual visitors and especially after storms certain bird cliff species like guillemots, puffins and kittiwakes are seen.
