Seiland National Park, known as Seiland nasjonalpark in Norwegian or Sievjju álbmotmeahcci in Northern Sami, is located in Alta Municipality and Hammerfest Municipality within Finnmark county, Norway. The park covers most of the island of Seiland, which is the second largest island in Finnmark after Sørøya. It includes two glaciers: Seilandsjøkelen and Nordmannsjøkelen, which are the northernmost glaciers in Scandinavia. The highest point in the park is Seilandstuva, a mountain that is 1,078 meters (3,537 feet) tall. The park covers an area of 316 square kilometers (122 square miles) and was created on December 8, 2006. The park's area includes 9.6 square kilometers (3.7 square miles) of water, such as the surrounding sea and several fjords, including Nordefjorden, Sørefjorden, and Flaskefjorden.

Flora and habitats

Saltfjellet–Svartisen includes a variety of coastal and mountain habitats. Along the fjords, narrow areas of coastal meadow and grassland still exist because people historically cut grass and grazed animals there, which helped preserve areas with many plant species. Scientists have found rare plants, such as the Finnmark snow-primrose (Primula farinosa) and other plants at risk of disappearing, in these places. Above the shoreline, large areas of traditional hay meadows (slåttemark)—which are very rare—remain on slopes near Store Bekkarfjord. Signs of mowing from the 20th century can be seen in both field observations and pictures from the air. Farther inland, wetlands and meadows show signs of past peat cutting and harvesting for animal feed. These areas support healthy groups of plants like bottle sedge (Carex rostrata), cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus), and sundew (Drosera spp.), which grow near old drainage ditches. Above the tree line, upland areas are covered with boreal heath, which includes crowberry, reindeer lichen, and small shrubs. Exposed ridges have tundra, where cold-tolerant plants, mosses, and lichens form a continuous pattern of unique high-latitude alpine plant communities.

Fauna

In June and July 2019, surveys using helicopters recorded 122 bird sightings across 27 species. These surveys helped find exact locations for nests and territories of raptors and waders. Five golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) territories were confirmed—two of which had young that left the nest in 2019—and nine white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) territories were recorded, with at least one group of young successfully raised. Observations also included red-listed species such as Eurasian curlew (Numenius arquata) and black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa), as well as vulnerable falcons (gyrfalcon and peregrine falcon) and locally important ptarmigan (Lagopus spp.). The locations of these records, shown in relation to park boundaries, show how important coastal cliffs and inland ridges are for breeding and feeding. Mammal records from the same surveys included Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra), a vulnerable species in Norway, and signs of Arctic hare.