Other areas of the world that are situated as far north as North-Norway are covered with everlasting snow and ice. Thanks to the "North Atlantic current" and dominating onshore wind, the environment is not so harsh and blessed with a rich animal and plant life.
The whole of Scandinavia was covered with ice during the last ice age, and the majority of the species occurring here now has immigrated after the ice disappeared approximately 10000 years ago. Only a few species could possibly have survived on the snow free mountain tops.
In defiance of the young age of the plant and animal societies and the harsh climate, North Norway has a remarkable biodiversity, even in international context.
It is not the number of species that distinguish the biodiversity in North-Norway. The number of species is relatively low, but each species occur in very large numbers. What also distinguishes the nature so far north is the variety of habitat types and that most of them are undisturbed by humans. Here we ant to show just a few examples of the nature riches from our part of the country.
