Stora Sjöfallet National Park

Stora Sjöfallet National Park
Stora Sjöfallets nationalpark
IUCN category II (national park)
Suorvajaure from Vakkotavare
Location	Norrbotten County, Sweden
Coordinates	67°29′N 18°21′E / 67.483°N 18.350°E / 67.483; 18.350Coordinates: 67°29′N 18°21′E / 67.483°N 18.350°E / 67.483; 18.350
Area	1,278 km2 (493 sq mi)
Established	1909
Governing body	Naturvårdsverket

Stora Sjöfallet (Swedish: Stora Sjöfallets nationalpark) is a national park in Norrbotten County in northern Sweden, in Gällivare Municipality and Jokkmokk Municipality. The national park is 1,278 km² (493 sq mi) and thereby the third largest in Sweden. It is located about 20 km (12 mi) above the Arctic Circle and lies north and south of the lake system of the Lule River. It is situated by the Norwegian border.

The area was declared a national park in 1909. The national park is part of the Laponian area which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Stora sjöfallet is also a part of Natura 2000 which is a network for protected areas in the European Union.

When the national park was created in 1909 the main reason for that was the great waterfall called Stour Muorkkegårttje in the Sami languages. The greats waterfalls at the heart of the park were, in historic times, among the most powerful and visually striking in Europe, but relatively soon after the area was given its protected status, the government permitted hydroelectric development of the falls, which deprived the sheer drop of most of its visible water flow except for a few times a year and damaged the shorelines of Akkajaure.

Later developments in this part of the park have included a power line, roads and gravel banks. Already in the 1960s the status as national park was questioned due to these severe changes, and today the area of the falls is no longer a part of the national park. Today the lake Akkajaure, that divides the park into two, is artificial.