Perapohjola
Peräpohjola (literally "far north") is a name for the southern part of the Finnish landscape of Lapland . It has the municipalities of Kolari , Rovaniemi , Kemijärvi and Salla as its northern border.
Peräpohjola is the northernmost part of the historical Österbotten landscape . Originally the term "Lapland" only referred to the Sami settlement area north of Peräpohjola . It was not until 1938 that the province of Lapland from the northern part of the province of Oulu was founded that Peräpohjola began to be understood as part of Lapland.
The largest settlement centers in the province of Lapland - the cities of Rovaniemi , Kemi , Tornio and Kemijärvi - are located in Peräpohjola. The municipalities of Keminmaa , Kolari , Pelkosenniemi , Pello , Posio , Ranua , Salla , Simo , Tervola and Ylitornio also belong to Peräpohjola .
In terms of landscape, Peräpohjola is not part of Lapland, but part of the Finnish hill country ( Vaara-Suomi ), which extends from North Karelia via Kainuu to the south of the Lapland landscape. With heights of 50 to 200 meters, the mountains in Peräpohjola are flatter than in Northern Lapland and are mostly forested. The most famous mountains are the 242 m high Aavasaksa near Ylitornio and the 204 m high Ounasvaara near Rovaniemi.