Kittilä facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kittilä
Gihttel
Kittâl Kihttel |
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Municipality
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| Kittilän kunta Kommunen Kittilä |
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View from the top of Kätkätunturi
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Location of Kittilä in Finland
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| Country |  Finland |
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| Region | Lapland | |
| Sub-region | Fell Lapland | |
| Charter | 1854 | |
| Area
(2018-01-01)
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| • Total | 8,262.97 km2 (3,190.35 sq mi) | |
| • Land | 8,095.28 km2 (3,125.61 sq mi) | |
| • Water | 168.71 km2 (65.14 sq mi) | |
| Area rank | 3rd largest in Finland | |
| Population
(2023-12-31)
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| • Total | 6,822 | |
| • Rank | 135th largest in Finland | |
| • Density | 0.84/km2 (2.2/sq mi) | |
| • Village | 2,229 | |
| Population by native language | ||
| • Finnish | 94.5% (official) | |
| • Swedish | 0.4% | |
| • Sami | 0.4% | |
| • Others | 4.7% | |
| Population by age | ||
| • 0 to 14 | 15% | |
| • 15 to 64 | 63.6% | |
| • 65 or older | 21.5% | |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) | |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) | |
Kittilä is a municipality in Finland, located in the northern part of the country. It is a very popular place for holidays. Kittilä is found in the Lapland region, north of the Arctic Circle.
About 6,822 people live in Kittilä. The area is about 8,262.97 square kilometres (3,190.35 sq mi), with some of it being water.
Kittilä is famous for a very cold temperature. In January 1999, the lowest temperature ever recorded in Finland was in Pokka, Kittilä. It was a freezing -51.5 °C (-60.7 °F)!
Because it's so far north, Kittilä experiences special natural events. The "midnight sun" means the sun stays above the horizon for many weeks in summer. In winter, there's a period called polar night when the sun does not rise at all.
Contents
Kittilä's Weather and Seasons
Kittilä has a subarctic climate. This means it has very cold winters and cool summers. Its location far from the coast causes big changes in weather between seasons.
Daylight in Kittilä
During summer, the sun does not set between May 30 and July 15. This is called the midnight sun. Even outside these dates, it stays light for a long time. In winter, from December 14 to December 29, the sun does not rise at all. This is the polar night.
Temperature Records
Even though winters are very cold, they are not as extreme as in some other places. This is because of the Gulf Stream, which brings some warmer ocean currents. The lowest official temperature in Finland was recorded here: -51.5 °C (-60.7 °F) on January 28, 1999.
| Climate data for Kittilä Pokka (1991-2020 normals, extremes 1971 - present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 5.1 (41.2) |
6.5 (43.7) |
9.5 (49.1) |
15.0 (59.0) |
28.5 (83.3) |
30.2 (86.4) |
31.8 (89.2) |
30.9 (87.6) |
22.0 (71.6) |
12.6 (54.7) |
8.5 (47.3) |
6.0 (42.8) |
31.8 (89.2) |
| Mean maximum °C (°F) | 0.3 (32.5) |
0.9 (33.6) |
4.5 (40.1) |
10.0 (50.0) |
19.6 (67.3) |
24.6 (76.3) |
26.0 (78.8) |
23.7 (74.7) |
17.3 (63.1) |
8.9 (48.0) |
2.4 (36.3) |
1.5 (34.7) |
27.2 (81.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −8.8 (16.2) |
−8.3 (17.1) |
−2.9 (26.8) |
2.8 (37.0) |
9.0 (48.2) |
15.6 (60.1) |
19.0 (66.2) |
16.1 (61.0) |
10.1 (50.2) |
1.8 (35.2) |
−3.8 (25.2) |
−6.7 (19.9) |
3.7 (38.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −12.9 (8.8) |
−12.4 (9.7) |
−7.8 (18.0) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
4.3 (39.7) |
10.4 (50.7) |
13.5 (56.3) |
11.1 (52.0) |
5.8 (42.4) |
−1.2 (29.8) |
−7.0 (19.4) |
−10.4 (13.3) |
−0.7 (30.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −18.0 (−0.4) |
−17.7 (0.1) |
−13.7 (7.3) |
−7.2 (19.0) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
5.5 (41.9) |
8.4 (47.1) |
6.1 (43.0) |
1.9 (35.4) |
−4.3 (24.3) |
−10.8 (12.6) |
−15.3 (4.5) |
−5.5 (22.2) |
| Mean minimum °C (°F) | −35.6 (−32.1) |
−34.3 (−29.7) |
−30.2 (−22.4) |
−22.1 (−7.8) |
−8.7 (16.3) |
−1.2 (29.8) |
1.5 (34.7) |
−2.4 (27.7) |
−6.4 (20.5) |
−17.7 (0.1) |
−25.5 (−13.9) |
−31.3 (−24.3) |
−38.1 (−36.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −51.5 (−60.7) |
−43.0 (−45.4) |
−42.8 (−45.0) |
−33.2 (−27.8) |
−21.4 (−6.5) |
−4.5 (23.9) |
−2.3 (27.9) |
−10.1 (13.8) |
−13.9 (7.0) |
−28.6 (−19.5) |
−38.0 (−36.4) |
−42.0 (−43.6) |
−51.5 (−60.7) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 30 (1.2) |
25 (1.0) |
25 (1.0) |
25 (1.0) |
31 (1.2) |
48 (1.9) |
62 (2.4) |
63 (2.5) |
52 (2.0) |
46 (1.8) |
39 (1.5) |
31 (1.2) |
477 (18.7) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 19 (7.5) |
19 (7.5) |
19 (7.5) |
12 (4.7) |
7 (2.8) |
— | — | — | 1 (0.4) |
8 (3.1) |
20 (7.9) |
26 (10) |
131 (52) |
| Average precipitation days | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 98 |
| Average relative humidity (%) (daily average) | 86 | 85 | 81 | 76 | 68 | 66 | 71 | 76 | 83 | 90 | 90 | 86 | 80 |
| Source 1: www.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi
kilotavu.com |
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| Source 2: weather-atlas.com | |||||||||||||
Economy and Tourism in Kittilä
Kittilä's economy relies heavily on tourism and mining. In the 1980s and 1990s, tourism grew a lot here.
Levi Ski Resort
The famous Levi ski resort is in Sirkka, a village in Kittilä. It's located on Levi Fell, a hill that is 531 meters (1742 feet) high.
Levi is a popular place for skiing. It hosts a big international ski competition called the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup. Visitors can enjoy both downhill and cross-country skiing. You can also go snowshoeing there.
Gold Mining
Kittilä is also home to a very large gold mine. In 2006, a Canadian company started building it. This mine is one of the biggest gold mines in Europe.
Experts believe the mine holds a lot of gold, worth billions of dollars. It is expected to produce a large amount of gold every year for many years.
Getting to Kittilä
Kittilä Airport helps people travel to and from Kittilä. Several airlines fly to this airport. These include Finnair and Norwegian Air.
Airlines like TUI Airways also offer special flights from the UK for ski trips and Christmas holidays. The Lufthansa group also has flights from Germany to Kittilä.
Notable People from Kittilä
- Kalervo Palsa, an artist
- Arto Paasilinna, a famous writer, who was born in Kittilä
- Reidar Särestöniemi, another artist
See also
In Spanish: Kittilä para niños
