The Hammastunturi Wilderness Area is located in Lapland, Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

. It was established in 1991 like all the other 11 wilderness areas of Finland. It covers 1825 square kilometre situated in a fell

Fell

“Fell” is a word used to refer to mountains, or certain types of mountainous landscape, in Scandinavia, the Isle of Man, and parts of northern England.- Etymology :...

 and forest area between the Urho Kekkonen National Park

Urho Kekkonen National Park

Urho Kekkonen National Park is a national park in Lapland, Finland. Established in 1983 and covering , it is one of Finland's largest protected areas. It is named after Urho Kekkonen, former President and Prime Minister of Finland....

 and Lemmenjoki National Park

Lemmenjoki National Park

Lemmenjoki National Park is situated in area of municipalities of Inari and Kittilä, Lapland, in Northern Finland. It was founded in 1956 and has since been expanded twice...

. It is governed by the Metsähallitus

Metsähallitus

Metsähallitus , Forststyrelsen , "Administration of Forests," is a state-owned enterprise in Finland. The tasks of Metsähallitus are to manage most of the protected areas of Finland and to supply wood to the country's forest industry. Metsähallitus employs approximately 3,000 people...

.

The history of the area comprises reindeer

Reindeer

The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...

 husbandry, the great gold rush of Lapland, and later road building and settlements. During the gold rush, around 1870, Kultala along the Ivalo River

Ivalo River

The Ivalo River is a long river that flows through upper Lapland into Lake Inari.The Ivalo River starts from the Korsa fjelds hugging the border between Inari and Enontekiö. The first streams branching off of it can be found on the bogs of Peltotunturi on the border between Finland and Norway...

 was a large village center inhabiting hundreds of people. There were as many gold diggers as the other people of Inari

Inari, Finland

Inari is Finland's largest, sparsely populated municipality with four official languages, more than any other in the country. Its major sources of income are lumber industry and nature maintenance. With the museum Siida in the village of Inari, it is a center of Sami culture...

put together.