Finnmark

County of Norway, in the extreme north; area 48,650 sq km/18,784 sq mi; population (1995) 76,500. It is part of Lapland. The coast is rocky and the interior barren and mountainous. Fishing is the main industry. The chief towns are the fishing ports of Hammerfest, Vardø, and Vadsø, and the iron-mining town of Kirkenes, not far from the border with the Russian Federation.

Finnmark is quickly developing, owing to the search for offshore oil and gas, tourism, and aquaculture. This is a threat to the indigenous culture of the Saami people. Coastal areas have a relatively mild climate, under the influence of the Gulf Stream, but the interior has extremes of temperature, going from +32°C in summer to −50°C in winter.