Torne Valley

Torne Valley (Finnish: Tornionlaakso, Torniojokilaakso; Swedish: Tornedalen), Torne River Valley or sometimes Meänmaa (Meänkieli for 'Our Land'), lies at the border of Sweden and Finland. It is named after the Torne River flowing through the valley and into the Gulf of Bothnia. Geographically the townships and municipalities that make up the area are Haparanda, Övertorneå, Pajala and Kiruna in Sweden, and Tornio, Ylitornio, Pello, Kolari, Muonio and Enontekiö in Finland. Culturally the highland Swedish municipality Gällivare is also considered part of Torne Valley (Meänmaa) due to the large share of Meänkieli-speaking population in it. Meänkieli surnames and village names are common on the Swedish side of the border to this day, in spite of the dominance of the Swedish language in the area. The Finnish side of the border has standard Finnish as the sole official language.