Expedition Route
Kittilä 
Gihttel
Location: 67.7° N 24.8° E
Country: Finland
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The coldest temperature officially measured in Finland is -60,7°F (-51,5°C) and it was measured in Kittilä in January 1999. Most years snow covers the ground from October through May here. The average temperature in January is about 5°F (-15°C). Summer is short, the average temperature in July being 57°F (14°C) with occasional very hot days! Temperatures of 77°F (25°C) are reached every year.
Kittilä sits along the Ounasjoki River in the highlands of the low mountains, large forests and vast areas of bog. It is large town of about 6000 residents located about 93 miles (150 km) north of the Arctic Circle. In the winter the days are short with a single day of polar night (the sun never rises above the horizon) around the time of winter solstice December 21st and 22nd. In the summer the sun does not set from end of May to middle of July. They area is a popular destination not least because of the two National Parks Pallas-Ounas and Lemmenjoki.
Just in June of 2006 it was announced that a Canadian mining corporation Agnico-Eagle Mines will start a new gold mine in Kittilä. Once completed, it will be the biggest gold mine in Europe. Experts say that the deposits holds at least three million ounces of pure gold, worth by current market price 1.8 billion dollars.
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