Location: Älvdalen Municipality, Dalarma County Map
Area: 385 sq km (149 sq mi)
Fulufjället National Park is a nature reserve within Älvdalen Municipality in Dalarma County of Sweden. Fulufjället National Park is named after Fulufjället peak that reaches an elevation of 1044 meters. Another notable attraction is a famous Njupeskar Waterfall, the highest waterfall in Sweden. Another interesting resident of Fulufjället National Park is the "Old Tjikko". This Norway Spruce tree is 9550 years old and it is considered to be the oldest living individual tree in the World. However it is not very big or tall so don't get you hopes up to see a true giant.
Fulufjället National Park covers a total area of 385 sq km or 149 sq mi and was inaugurated in 2002 by Swedish king Carl XVI Gustaf.
The origin of the name Fulufjället is not exactly known: the suffix -fjället means "mountain", but the beginning of the word fulu- has no definite meaning. It has been suggested that, perhaps, the root of the word is translated from Old Swedish as "dull" or "pale" as the names of the city of Falun and the river Fulan. Thus, the mountain and the entire forest area could have received its name from the nearby city, more precisely, from the old road connecting the city of Trysil with Falun. This path just passed through the mountains, from where the name "mountain on the road to Falun" could have come.
The park is located in the Dalarna county, 25 km southwest of the Sørna. It stretches along the Norwegian border for 385 km and covers an area of 38,483 hectares. Stockholm is 400 km away. The nearest railway station and airport are located in the town of Mura, 140 km to the north.
Fulufjellet, located far from the sea, has a
moderately continental, rather arid climate. The average temperature
here is 1 ° C; the amount of precipitation is quite high (600-850 mm
per year). Snow cover lasts from 170 to 200 days a year.
The
weather in the park is very changeable both in terms of temperature
and uneven precipitation. So on August 30-31, 1997, its territory
was covered by a powerful hurricane. In 24 hours, the amount of
precipitation was 276 mm, (in some more southerly places up to 400
mm), which became a record in the entire history of meteorological
observations in Sweden. The area suffered significant damage. Many
trees have been felled.
The park has
significant water resources. Many small rivers originate in
Fulufjellet, such as Tangyeong, Giryong, Bergyun, Fulubyogan, Stora
Nupyeong and Stora Golyan. The first three feed the Gorelven River,
which runs in the west of the massif, the other three are
tributaries of the Fulan in the east. Gorelven and Fulan together
form the Westerdalelwe, which in turn forms the great river
Dalelven.
The plateau is famous for its large number of
waterfalls. The largest of them, Niepäscher, is 93 meters high (70
of which is free fall of water) and is the tallest in Sweden. There
are several large lakes in the southern part of the park. For
example, Stora Rosiyon 1.01 km2 (0.39 sq mi), Stora and Lilla
Harsiyon 0.77 km2 (0.30 sq mi) and 0.65 km2 (0.25 sq mi)
respectively, Stora Getsiyon 0 , 66 km2 (0.25 sq mi) and so on. Such
lakes are quickly replenished due to frequent precipitation. The
park area includes several marshes with a total area of 20 km2
(7.7 sq mi).
The massif
of the national park consists mainly of sandstone, which was formed
about 900 million years ago, when this part of the Baltic tectonic
plate was located at the equator. Thus, in those days, the climate
was desert with dry winds and a lot of sand. Over time, a solid rock
- sandstone - was formed in the horizontal layers.
This
geological structure is very different from the rest of the Swedish
territories, which is dominated by granite. It also differs from
other parts of the Scandinavian mountains, which are the components
of the Caledonian chain. The sandy structure is called the
Dalecarlian (or Trysilian in Norwegian) and is the largest in Sweden
in terms of area and layer thickness (about 1200 meters). Sandstone
has a reddish tint, but can also be gray, yellow and brown.
The second component of the soil layers in this zone is diabase. It
is very important in this area, as together with sandstones it forms
a rich substrate for plants. It is also more resistant to erosion
than sandstone and therefore can be seen in rural areas as well.
Presumably, about 60 million years ago, the western
coast of Scandinavia and the eastern part of North and South America
underwent a strong tectonic uplift, which later created the
Fulufjellet relief. The reasons for this are not completely clear to
this day. Several hypotheses have been proposed, the main ones of
which are the rise of the earth's crust near Iceland and glaciation.
This uplift made it possible to form a fairly flat area of the
surface, several thousand meters high.
Then this area
underwent significant erosion, although significantly less than
other areas of Scandinavia. Even during cold snaps, when the entire
area was covered with a thick ice cover, the movement of ice was
weak, which did not greatly affect the landscape of the park zone.
The park is located in the WWF ecoregion of the Scandinavian and Russian taiga, although a significant part is located in the Arctic zone.
Due to rather severe weather conditions and infertility of the soil, the vegetation is not very diverse. Among the most common species are juniper and birch (downy). Herbaceous willow, alpine hawk (Hieracium alpine), alpine bearberry (Arctostaphylos Alpinus), crowberry (Empetrum), lingonberry (Vaccinium Vitis-Idaea), blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) and alpine azalea (Loumbiseuria) are also common. But what makes Fulufjellet different from other national parks is the variety of lichens: lichen (Cladonia rangiferina) and Cladonia Stellaris. Also in such a remote area was found one of the oldest trees in the world "Old Tikko", which is more than 9500 years old.
The animal world of the plateau is also poor. It is mainly home to the willow warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus), meadow pipit (Anthus pratensis), northern wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe), and the Eurasian golden plover (Pluvialis apricaria), chrustan (Charadrius morinellus), snow bunting (Plectropax nival Calcarius lapponicus), partridge (Lagopus lagopus). The rock partridge (Lagopus muta) is rare on the highest slopes. For many of these species, the park is the southern part of their range in Sweden.
In the valley and on the slope
of the mountain, diabase is contained in the soil in greater
quantities, therefore the flora is richer here. This area of the
park is covered with forests, where some trees of different heights
grow: marsh birch (Betula pubescens), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris)
and Norway spruce (Picea abies) cover an area of 4100 hectares,
3500 hectares and 5000 hectares, respectively. Smaller plants also
add variety to the flora. So, on the southern slope of the mountain
you can see Scottish pines, and their location strongly resembles a
wasteland, with heather and crowberry growing here. Other
representatives of these places are most often blueberry, northern
oak, fern (Gymnocarpium dryopteris), common goldenrod (Solidago
virgaurea) and the so-called “cow's wheat” meadow beetle (Melampyrum
pratense). The soil containing a sufficient percentage of diabase
allows more demanding plants to grow in this place: alpine blue
thistle (Cicerbita alpina), forest geranium (Geranium sylvaticum)
and northern aconite (Aconitum lycoctonum). The park is a very large
area for almost 2/3 of all types of mosses in the country.
In
contrast to the plateau, the animal world is more saturated. This is
the habitat of the brown bear (Ursus arctos), which spends the
winter in dens along the slopes. In the spring, the bears descend to
the plain and return only by the time the berries are ripening.
Nature is also a place of life for the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx).
Both of these species are protected by the state. In addition, the
red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and other predators such as the wolverine
(Gulo gulo), the gray wolf (Canis lupus) and the arctic fox (Vulpes
lagopus) are much less common and do not have a clear habitat in
this area. The national park is home to the elk (Alces alces), which
graze in the mountains in summer, but prefers to spend the winter in
the lowlands, where there is less snow. There is a small population
of wild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus). Fulufjellet is one of the few
highlands in Sweden where there is no domestic reindeer pasture. The
musk ox (Ovibos moschatus), which left this area about 4,000 years
ago, has reappeared in Norway and can sometimes be seen in the park.
Smaller animals include the Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus
vulgaris), the European marten (Martes martes) and the white hare
(Lepus timidus). As in other mountains in Sweden and Norway, lemming
is present here, but spotted individuals are the most numerous in
recent years, while other species are almost nonexistent. There is
still no explanation for this phenomenon.
The bird world is
most diverse in the forest part of the park. Thrush (Turdus
torquatus), crow (Corvus corax) and golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)
can be found. There are also huge woodpeckers (Picoides
tridactylus), crossbill parrots (Loxia pytyopsittacus), red
crossbills (Loxia curvirostra), redstarts (Phoenicurus phoenicurus),
whiskers (Fringilla montifringilla) and Siberian gibbets (Perisoreus
infaustus), the last birds of which are the national park symbols.
The park has several areas with swamps, but they are
usually poor in vegetation, with the exception of a few patches of
land where there is a lot of diabase. However, some plants still
manage to grow in rather difficult conditions: golden saxifrage
(Chrysosplenium alternifolium), gerbil (Epilobium alsinifolium),
aconite and stellaria tree (Stellaria nemorum). The Newpescher Falls
have the best growing conditions for sorrel (Oxyria digyna), which
usually does not grow in these areas. As elsewhere in the park,
mosses and lichens have chosen a place here, which makes Fulufjellet
one of the richest in the diversity of these species in all of
Sweden. 394 species of mosses and about 500 species of lichens grow
here. Their abundance is also explained by the fact that deer do not
graze in large numbers in this place.
In these places, the
beaver builds its dams, which practically disappeared several years
ago due to intense hunting, but has now restored its population. It
is distinguished by the wetlands of the park and the abundance of
the bird world. The ducks (Aythya marila), the long-tailed ducks
(Clangula hyemalis), the blue-eyed (Melanitta nigra), and the
red-necked phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus) nest here. large snails
(Tringa nebularia) and fifi (Tringa glareola). There is a great
curlew (Numenius arquata), which is considered an endangered
species.
The lakes are mainly inhabited by arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus), trout (Salmo trutta) and burbot (Lota lota). The waters of the park are renowned for their splendor of living things and were protected by law in 1962.
Unlike the Norwegian part of the
massif, the Swedish side is poorly studied from an archaeological
point of view. The first traces of human activity date from the
Stone Age, while the area was cleared of glaciers 8000 years ago.
The presence of people is proved by an ancient ax found near the
Fulan River. The inhabitants were hunter-gatherers, and not a single
known settlement remained until the Iron Age.
The four Iron
Age burial stone pyramids are one of the most famous pieces of
evidence from that era. This is all that was found in Dalarn. They
can be seen in the northeastern part of the plateau, 2 km southeast
of Newpesher (2-4 meters long and 1 meter high).
During
Viking times, some permanent settlements were built around Mora.
Thus, it can be understood that people began to live permanently in
the valleys of Fulufjellet even before 1000 AD.
The villages of Serna, Heden and Idre were
probably created due to the presence and hunting of deer in these
areas. Trade in reindeer and reindeer products then existed
throughout Europe. Nevertheless, it began to decline in the XIV
century.
During the Middle Ages, the territory was often
redrawn due to its location on the Norwegian-Swedish border. Then
the massif was completely Norwegian, but in 1644 Sweden managed to
capture Sørna during the Danish-Swedish war. However, the Bremsburg
Peace Treaty did not completely resolve territorial disputes until
1751.
The number of villages increased in the 19th century:
Gördalen, Storböken, Storbron, Högnassen, Mörkret, Tjarnwallen and
Lilledalen. Many of the park trails date back to the era of
distillation.
Until the 18th century, the area was used
primarily as a hunting and pasture site. Although the Røros mines
require an enormous amount of timber, transport problems kept
Fulufjellet from logging. This continued until the middle of the
19th century, when an active timber industry developed in the region
for mining, transportation and timber floating, first along the
Görelven River, when the conflicts with Norway stopped. The most
inaccessible places were not affected by timber mining. Such places
remain untouched to this day.
The first territory
protected by the state in 1937 was the area of 62 hectares around
the Nyupescher Falls, which became the prototype of a nature reserve
in Sweden. In 1946, 365 hectares of forest along Golyan were
classified as protected. Then 350 hectares around Leuvasen came
under protection and finally, in 1960, Fulufjellet was expanded by
another 342 near Niepecher. During the 1960-1970s, the territory
received the status of a natural park and has been enlarged several
times. In 1990, reindeer grazing was banned.
In 1989, the
question arose to make Fulufjellet a national park. Negotiations
with local authorities began the following year, but the local
population was against it. One of the arguments in favor of the
creation of the reserve was the development of winter tourism and
attracting more visitors here, mainly foreigners. Opponents of this
idea spoke out against the presence of foreign tourists in these
places. In addition, in this case, local restrictions were imposed
on hunting, fishing and the use of a snowmobile. The administration
of the municipality of Alvdalen heard critical comments on this
matter. The founders of the idea thus changed the development
strategy of the park and agreed with the residents how the latter
want to see the future of the project. Discussions continued and in
1999 the residents voted in favor. The idea of creating a national
park was no longer seen as a set of restrictions. This led to the
realization of the idea in 2002. The official motive was "to
preserve the territory of the central mountains with characteristic
vegetation and richness of nature in a relatively intact form."
Fulufjellet was the first Swedish national park to open since 1962.
The official opening ceremony took place on September 17, 2002 in
the presence of King Carl XVI Gustav. It has also protected bird
species since 1996. The park was one of the first in the PAN
project, created by WWF to combine conservation and tourism in these
regions.