| Øvre Dividal National Park | |||||||
| Alt Name: | Øvre Dividal nasjonalpark | ||||||
| Iucn Category: | II | ||||||
| Photo Width: | 180 | ||||||
| Location: | Målselv, Troms, Norway | ||||||
| Nearest City: | Narvik | ||||||
| Coords: | 68.6333°N 71°W | ||||||
| Area: | 7500NaN0 | ||||||
| Established: | 9 July 1971 | ||||||
| Governing Body: | Norwegian Environment Agency | ||||||
| Embedded: |
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Øvre Dividal National Park (Norwegian: Øvre Dividal nasjonalpark; Northern Sami: Dieváidvuovddi álbmotmeahcci) is a national park in Målselv Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The park was opened in 1971 and has an area of . The original intention was to preserve a largely disturbed inland valley and mountain area. The hiking trail Nordkalottruta passes through the national park.[1]
The first element in the name Dividal is from the river name Divielva (literally Divi River). Divi is form the Northern Sami language word dievvá which means 'round and dry hill'. The last element is from the Norwegian language word dal which means 'dale' or 'valley'. The word øvre means 'upper' in Norwegian, thus 'the upper part of Dividal'.
Pine forests at the lowest elevations give way to mountain birch higher up, and finally willow and dwarf birch on the open alpine tundra. Some grey alder (Alnus incana) grows along the Divi river. A total of 315 plant species have been recorded. Rhododendron (Rhododendron lapponicum) grows naturally in the area.
All large predators on the mainland are represented in the park (brown bear, wolf, wolverine, lynx), although wolf is rare and probably has no permanent presence. The wolverine is especially numerous in this area. Reindeer (Sami-owned) are common, as are moose, and the Arctic fox used to be living in the area.
At 228m (748feet) above sea level, Dividalen is the second-driest valley in Norway, with average annual precipitation only . The monthly 24-hour averages for the same location varies from in January to in July with a mean annual of . There is no permafrost in the lower elevations of the park. At altitudes above, permafrost is common. The Øvre Dividal National Park starts at an elevation of about 300m (1,000feet) and reaches up to 1600m (5,200feet). Together with areas in bordering Sweden, as well as almost undisturbed areas nearby in Norway, this park is part of a larger wilderness area.
The bedrock consists of conglomerate, sandstone and slate. Several rivers have carved ravines. A peculiarity is large rocks placed at unlikely locations. These were carried by the ice-age glaciers, and deposited randomly at the end of the ice age.