Norrbotten County in the context of "Provinces of Sweden"

Lapland is the largest and northernmost region of Finland. The 21 municipalities in the region cooperate in a Regional Council. Lapland borders the Finnish region of North Ostrobothnia in the south. It also borders the Gulf of Bothnia, Norrbotten County in Sweden, Finnmark County and Troms County in Norway, and Murmansk Oblast and the Republic of Karelia in Russia. The topography of Lapland varies from vast mires and forests in the south to fells in the north. The Arctic Circle crosses Lapland, so polar phenomena such as the midnight sun and polar night can be viewed in this region.

Lapland's cold and wintry climate, coupled with its relative abundance of conifer trees such as pines and spruces, means that it has become associated with Christmas in some countries, most notably the United Kingdom, and holidays to Lapland are common towards the end of the year. However, the Lapland region has developed its infrastructure for year-round tourism. For example, in 2019, tourism during the snow-free period grew more than in the winter season. In recent years, Lapland has also become a major tourist destination for celebrities as well as royalty.

Västerbotten County (Swedish: Västerbottens län), sometimes called Westrobothnia, is a county or län in the north of Sweden. It shares the borders with the counties of Västernorrland, Jämtland, and Norrbotten, as well as the Norwegian county of Nordland and the Gulf of Bothnia. Its capital is Umeå which is also the largest city in Northern Sweden, and the second-largest city is Skellefteå. These two municipalities, both of which are located in the eastern coastal region, make up more than two thirds of Västerbotten's population. The interior of Västerbotten County is sparsely populated, and has vast wilderness areas. The land area of Västerbotten is larger than Denmark, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

Haparanda (Swedish: [hapaˈrǎnːda]; Meänkieli and Finnish: Haaparanta, lit. 'aspen shore or bank') is a locality and the seat of Haparanda Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden. It is adjacent to Tornio, Finland. Haparanda has a population of 9,166 inhabitants (2024).

Haparanda is located near the Sweden-Finland border, at the northerly extreme of the Swedish coastline, as well as the easternmost point in Sweden, far removed from large cities. Its summers are very warm for a coastal location so far north, and winters are normally not extremely cold in spite of the relative proximity to the Arctic Circle.

Nordland (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈnûːrlɑn] ; Lule Sami: Nordlánnda, Southern Sami: Nordlaante, Northern Sami: Nordlánda, lit. 'Northland') is one of the three northernmost counties in Norway in the Northern Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Trøndelag in the south, Norrbotten County in Sweden to the east, Västerbotten County to the south-east, and the Atlantic Ocean (Norwegian Sea) to the west. The county was formerly known as Nordlandene amt. The county administration is in the town of Bodø. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen has been administered from Nordland since 1995. In the southern part of the county is Vega, listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.

Lapland, also known by its Swedish name Lappland, is the northernmost province of Sweden. It borders the Swedish provinces of Jämtland, Ångermanland, Västerbotten, and Norrbotten, as well as Norway and Finland. Nearly a quarter of Sweden's land area is in Lapland.

The historical province of Lapland originally extended further eastward. However, in 1809 the Russian Empire annexed the eastern part of Sweden and formed the Grand Duchy of Finland in that territory. This effectively split Lapland into a Swedish part and a Finnish part, both of which still exist today. Swedish Lapland primarily consists of the inland parts of Västerbotten County in the south and Norrbotten County in the north. It has the coldest climates of Sweden, with vast seasonal differences caused by the high latitudes and the inland location.

Muonio (previously called Muonionniska; Northern Sami: Muoná) is a municipality of Finland. The town is located in fell-region of far northern Finland above the Arctic Circle on the country's western border with Sweden, the Muonio River. It lies within the area of the former Lappi (Lapland) province in the Fell Lapland subregion. The next closest Finnish municipalities are Enontekiö to the north, Kittilä on the east, and Kolari to the south. Southwest of the town, a road bridge crosses the Muonio River, across the river, in Sweden, lies the nearby hamlet of Muoniovaara ("Muonio hill") in northern Pajala Municipality in Norrbotten County.

The area has been occupied by humans for at least 10,000 years; their arrival is thought to have coincided with deglaciation at the end of the Younger Dryas. They likely arrived from the south or east, since the Scandinavian Mountains rise 2,100 metres on the west, and over 1,300 metres to the north - both form a significant barrier to migration. Remains of eight dwellings from the Middle Stone Age have been excavated on the shore of Lake Akajarvi (fifteen miles from the center of the present-day village).

Län (Swedish, IPA: [ˈlɛːn] ), len (Danish, IPA: [leːn]), lääni (Finnish, IPA: [ˈlæːni]) and len (Norwegian, IPA: [leːn]) refer to the administrative divisions used in Sweden and previously in Denmark, Finland and Norway. The provinces of Finland were abolished on 1 January 2010. In Norway, the term was in use from 1308 and in Denmark from the beginning of the 13th century. As of 19 February 1662 the len of Denmark-Norway were converted into amt.

They are also sometimes used in other countries, especially as a translation of the Russian word volost. During the period when Finland was a part of the Russian Empire (1809–1917), when Russian was made an official language alongside Swedish, it was synonymous with the word guberniya.