Skibotn

, , or is a village in Storfjord Municipality in Troms county, Norway. It is located on the southeastern shore of the Lyngen fjord in Northern Norway. The village area is located at the crossroads of the European route E6 and European route E8 highways. The distance by road to Kilpisjärvi, the northernmost community in the western "arm" of Finland, is approximately . Skibotn Chapel is located in the village.

The village has a population (2023) of 539 and a population density of . The modern day residents of Skibotn are mostly either descendants of the Kven people and Sami people, or immigrants—and their descendants—from Southern and Central Norway.

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Name The village is named after the old Skibotn farm. The first element probably comes from the word which means "ship", likely referring to the old harbor in the village. The last element is which means "bottom", in the sense of the "bottom" or "innermost" part of the fjord. The other official names and both refer to the bottom of the fjord off of the main Lyngen fjord. An alternate Kven name is Markkina, but that one is not an official name. Markkina refer to the market located at Skibotn.

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Geography

Skibotn is located in a valley, surrounded by large mountains including Nallagais, Imagais, Steindalsbreen, Balggesvarr, and Storfjellet. The river Skibotnelva empties into the fjord at Skibotn. Skibotnelva river flows from the lakes Rihpojávri and Gálggojávri. Skibotn is known for its dry climate with frequent clear skies in the Skibotn valley, and the calcareous pine forests, with rare orchids. Due to the climate with few clouds, there is an astrophysical observatory located in Skibotn.

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Climate

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