Nikkaluokta

Nikkaluokta (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈnɪ̌kːalʉɔkta]; North Sámi: Nihkkáluokta; Meänkieli: Nikkulahti)^[1][2] is a Swedish Sami village in Norrbotten County. The village belongs to Gällivare Municipality, bordering Kiruna Municipality, the closest urban area some 60 kilometers away. In its vicinity lie the areas of two Sami communities, Laevas and Girjas, who still herd semi-domesticated reindeer in the region.

Nikkaluokta
Nikkaluokta mountain lodge
Nikkaluokta Show map of Norrbotten Nikkaluokta Show map of Sweden
Coordinates: 67°51′4″N 19°01′30″E
Country	Sweden
Municipality	Gällivare Municipality
County	Norrbotten County
Province	Lappland
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)

Nikkaluokta has a mountain lodge, complete with a small grocery store and restaurant, a chapel, and, during the summer months, a commercial helicopter base. It is a popular starting point for several hiking and skiing trails in the Kebnekaise area, including the notable Kungsleden. On foot, it takes around five hours to travel the 19 kilometer distance between the two mountain lodges in Nikkaluokta and Kebnekaise.

Nikkaluokta is sited in the centre of three valleys, where the tarmac road from Kiruna Municipality ends. To travel farther, trails and mountain paths of varying size and condition must be used. Nikkaluokta Bay in Lake Ladtjojaure is also the starting point for the water route into scenic Vistas Valley.

Image gallery

• 
  Aerial view of Nikkaluokta from nearby height
• 
  The chapel
• 
  The tarmac road leading into Nikkaluokta
• 
  The same road in winter

Climate

Nikkaluokta has an arctic climate (Dfc) since only one month exceeding means above 10 degrees with long and very cold winters followed by short summers with moderate temperatures and perpetual daylight to the midnight sun/polar night-circle. Considering its far northerly latitudes, winters are less extreme than on similar latitudes elsewhere in the world, but temperatures below −40 °C (−40 °F) are not infrequent, as are yearly frosts during the midnight sun period, with May lows averaging below freezing.

Climate data for Nikkaluokta (averages 2002-2015; precipitation 1961-1990, extremes since 1951)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	8.6 (47.5)	9.4 (48.9)	10.0 (50.0)	14.6 (58.3)	24.8 (76.6)	28.5 (83.3)	28.5 (83.3)	28.5 (83.3)	24.0 (75.2)	16.3 (61.3)	12.0 (53.6)	11.0 (51.8)	28.5 (83.3)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	−9.3 (15.3)	−9.1 (15.6)	−2.3 (27.9)	3.1 (37.6)	8.9 (48.0)	14.5 (58.1)	18.3 (64.9)	16.3 (61.3)	10.6 (51.1)	2.8 (37.0)	−3.9 (25.0)	−6.4 (20.5)	3.6 (38.5)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−15.5 (4.1)	−14.7 (5.5)	−8.8 (16.2)	−2.2 (28.0)	4.3 (39.7)	9.6 (49.3)	13.0 (55.4)	11.5 (52.7)	6.1 (43.0)	−1.3 (29.7)	−9.0 (15.8)	−11.4 (11.5)	−1.5 (29.2)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−21.7 (−7.1)	−20.2 (−4.4)	−15.3 (4.5)	−7.5 (18.5)	−0.3 (31.5)	4.6 (40.3)	7.8 (46.0)	5.7 (42.3)	1.6 (34.9)	−5.4 (22.3)	−14.4 (6.1)	−18.4 (−1.1)	−7.0 (19.5)
Record low °C (°F)	−46.2 (−51.2)	−49.4 (−56.9)	−42.0 (−43.6)	−34.0 (−29.2)	−22.2 (−8.0)	−5.2 (22.6)	−2.5 (27.5)	−8.5 (16.7)	−13.1 (8.4)	−30.0 (−22.0)	−39.0 (−38.2)	−45.0 (−49.0)	−49.4 (−56.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	30.6 (1.20)	23.5 (0.93)	25.5 (1.00)	27.4 (1.08)	29.2 (1.15)	41.2 (1.62)	76.7 (3.02)	65.2 (2.57)	45.7 (1.80)	43.3 (1.70)	39.7 (1.56)	32.1 (1.26)	480.1 (18.89)
Source 1: [3]
Source 2: [4]

References

1. Jöran Sahlgren; Gösta Bergman (1979). Svenska ortnamn med uttalsuppgifter (in Swedish). p. 18.
2. Holmlund, Per; Schytt, Anna (2020). Kebnekaises glaciärer : från lilla istiden till dagens uppvärmning [Kebnekaise's glaciers : from the little ice age to global warming] (in Swedish). p. 11.
3. "SMHI Yearly & Monthly Statistics". SMHI. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
4. "Precipitation Normals 1961-1990 (Nikkaluokta code 17 996)". SMHI. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2016.