Vätsäri Wilderness Area

Vätsäri Wilderness Area (Vätsärin erämaa)
Protected area
Country	Finland
Region	Lapland
Coordinates	69°08′N 28°21′E / 69.133°N 28.350°E / 69.133; 28.350Coordinates: 69°08′N 28°21′E / 69.133°N 28.350°E / 69.133; 28.350
Area	1,550 km2 (598 sq mi)
IUCN category	VI - Managed Resource Protected Area
Location in Finland

The Vätsäri Wilderness Area (Finnish: Vätsärin erämaa, Swedish: Vätsäri ödemarksområde) is located along the northeastern shore of Lake Inari in Inari, northern Finland, stretching all the way to the Finland–Norway border. The landscape is dominated by taiga forests of Scots pine, bog and bodies of water. The northeastern part rises as a treeless fell ridge. Vätsäri is one of twelve wilderness areas in Lapland and covers an area of 1,550 square kilometers (600 sq mi). The wilderness has one marked trail and a few cabins. The reserve is under the management of Metsähallitus (Administration of Forests) and was established with the other wilderness reserves in 1991. It is part of Pasvik–Inari Trilateral Park along with Øvre Pasvik National Park and Øvre Pasvik Landscape Protection Area in Norway, and the joint Norwegian–Russian Pasvik Nature Reserve.

The area has a short growing season, cold winters, little precipitation and poor soil quality created by the gneiss bedrock. Lake Inari has been affected by acid rain and loss of fish from the Paatsjoki River Hydroelectric Plants. The reserve is an important habitat of the brown bear and also has a large moose population; reindeer husbandry is practiced by the Samis. Whitefish and vendace are the most common species of fish, the latter being an introduced species.