Øvre Dividal National Park lies in Målselv in Troms county, Norway. The park was opened in 1971 and is 750 km² in area, and the intention was to preserve a very little disturbed inland valley and mountain area. The hiking trail Nordkalottruta passes through the national park. Dividalen, at 228 meter above sea, is the second driest valley in Norway, with average annual precipitation only 282 mm. The monthly 24-hr averages for the same location varies form -9°C in January to 13°C in July with a mean annual of 0.8°C - there is no permafrost in the lower elevations of the park. At altitudes above 700 m, permafrost is common. The Øvre Dividal National Park starts at an elevation of about 300 m and reaches up to 1600 m. Together with areas in bordering Sweden, as well as almost undisturbed areas nearby in Norway, this park is part of a larger wilderness area.
Pine forests at the lowest elevations give way to mountain birch higher up, and finally willow and dwarf birch on the open alpine tundra. Some grey alder (Alnus Incata) grows along the Divi river. A total of 315 plant species have been recorded. Rhododendron (Rhododendron Lapponica) grows naturally in the area.
Fauna
All large predators on the mainland are represented in the park (brown bear, wolf, wolverine, lynx), although wolf is rare and probably has no permanent presence. The wolverine is especially numerous in this area. Reindeer (Sami owned) are common, as are moose, and the arctic fox used to be living in the area.
Geology
The bedrock consists of conglomerate, sandstone and slate. Several rivers have carved ravines. A peculiarity is large rocks placed at unlikely locations. These were carried by the ice age glaciers, and deposited randomly at the end of the ice age.
Norway
