Lapland - Lapland (English spelling)

The northern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula is an area inhabited by the Sámi (Lapps), most of which are in the Arctic Circle. It spans the territories of four countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. The western part is an old folded mountain range with glacier-capped peaks such as Mount Kebnekaise (2,123 meters), while the eastern part is a plateau that drops to the Gulf of Bothnia and Lake Inari Basin. The Arctic Ocean coast is extremely warm for its latitude, and although some areas are farmed and livestock farmed, people began settling there early on in search of abundant marine resources. The inland plateau is a cold tundra (permafrost zone), and in the south, pine and birch trees are abundant and large. The Sámi have led a self-sufficient life, including reindeer breeding, fishing, and hunting, but today, the development of iron mines and hydropower, the industrial use of forest resources, and the spread of agriculture are forcing changes to their traditional lifestyle, such as reindeer herding. Although separated by the borders of modern nation states, the Sámi people have a strong sense of unity, and governments around the world are under pressure to balance the preservation of their ethnic culture with regional development.

[Hideo Tsukada]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

スカンジナビア半島北部、大半が北極圏に入るサーミ人（ラップ人）の居住地域。ノルウェー、スウェーデン、フィンランド、ロシアの4か国領にまたがる。西部は古い褶曲(しゅうきょく)山脈で、ケブネカイセ山（2123メートル）など、氷河を頂く高峰があるのに対し、その東方はボスニア湾やイナリ湖盆へと低くなる高原地帯である。北極海沿岸部は、その緯度のわりにはきわめて温暖で、一部には農牧業もみられるが、豊富な水産資源を目ざして早くから定住が進んだ。内陸高原地帯は寒冷なツンドラ（永久凍土帯）で、南ではマツ、カバなどが多くかつ大きくなる。サーミ人はトナカイ飼育、漁労、狩猟など、自給的な生活をしてきたが、現在では鉄鉱山や水力の開発、森林資源の工業利用や農業の浸透で、トナカイ遊牧などの伝統的生活様式は変化を強いられている。近代国家の国境に隔てられてはいるが、サーミ人の一体感は強く、各国政府は民族文化保護と地域開発の両立を迫られている。

［塚田秀雄］

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