View of the old bridge that spanned the river Tanaelva. A new bridge has replaced it. The river banks on the right side of the photo, are part of the Varanger Peninsula.
The 4,051-square-kilometre (1,564 sq mi) municipality is the 5th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Deanu-Tana is the 238th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,804. The municipality's population density is 0.7 inhabitants per square kilometre (1.8/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 3.3% over the previous 10-year period.[6][7]
History
View of the local river boats
The municipality of Tana was established on 1 January 1864 when the eastern part of the large municipality of Lebesby was separated to become a new municipality with a population of 1,388. The original municipality included all the land on both sides surrounding the Tanafjorden and the Tana River.[8]
On 1 January 1914, the municipality of Tana was divided into three parts. The southern part (population: 1,426) remained as (a smaller) Tana Municipality. The northern part of the municipality was divided by the Tanafjorden with the western side becoming Gamvik Municipality (population: 1,374) and the eastern side becoming Berlevåg Municipality (population: 784). On 1 January 1964, the neighboring municipality of Polmak (population: 1,072), which had separated from Nesseby Municipality on 1 January 1903, was merged into Tana.[8]
Tana Municipality marks the furthest Soviet advance into Nazi-occupied Norway.
On 1 January 2020, the municipality became part of the newly formed Troms og Finnmark county. Previously, it had been part of the old Finnmark county.[9] On 1 January 2024, the Troms og Finnmark county was divided and the municipality once again became part of Finnmark county.[10]
Name
The municipality (originally the parish) was originally named Tanen, a Norwegianized form of the Northern Sami name for the area, Deanu. The Sami name is identical to the genitive case of Sami word deatnu which means "great river" or "large river", referring to the main river (Tana River) which runs through the municipality. Historically, the name of the municiaplity was spelled Tanen. On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Tana.[11]
On 1 September 1992, the name of the municipality was changed to "Deatnu-Tana" to symbolize the two official languages in the municipality.[8][12] Then in 2005, the name was again changed such that either Deatnu or Tana can be used.[13] The Sami language name spelling changes depending on how it is used. It is called Deatnu when it is spelled alone, but it is Deanu gielda when using the Sami language equivalent to "Deanu municipality".[4]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 11 May 1984. The official blazon is "Gules, three boats Or in pale" (Norwegian: I rødt tre gule båter). This means the arms have a red field (background) and the charge is three riverboats. The riverboat has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The red and yellow colors in the arms were chosen to mimic the Norwegian national arms. The three riverboats were chosen because boats like this have been used in the area for centuries. There are three boats to symbolize the three ethnic groups in the border municipality: the Sámi, Kvens, and Norwegians. The arms were designed by Arvid Sveen.[14][15][16]
The most important [economic] resources are farmland and [coastal areas, mountains and forests or][18]utmark; the use of these gives [significant results relating to] agriculture.[19]
The world's northernmost dairy is Tine Tana, and it employs around 30 people.[20]
The Tana Valley is the core area for "the River-Sami Culture" in Finnmark; salmon fishing is central in regard to that culture.[21] According to written sources since the 17th century, fishing has been a major livelihood for the Sami people in the river valley of Tana River.[21]
The municipal council(Kommunestyre) is made up of 19 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
Deatnu-Tana is situated along the lower river basin of the Tana River, which borders Finland along most of its course. People live in small settlements along the river, notably Sirma, Polmak, Rustefjelbma, Seida, Skiippagurra, Austertana, and Tana bru. Most inhabitants of Tana are Sami people, and the Sami language and culture are today promoted by the municipality and the schools.
The river Tana has represented a mainstay in the economy, as it is one of Europe's main salmon rivers, and it empties into the Tanafjorden. River transportation is traditionally done by long, narrow river boats, that are still in use, albeit motorized. Lakes in this area include Geassájávri, Nissojávri, and Sundvatnet. At Tana bru, the Tana Bridge (part of European route E6 and European route E75) crosses over the Tana River. The nearest airports are Vadsø Airport (about 70 kilometres or 43 miles away) and Kirkenes Airport (about 130 kilometres or 81 miles away). Kirkenes Airport (but not Vadsø) has direct flights to Oslo.
Wildlife
With the Tana River flowing through wild and spectacular habitat, the municipality of Tana has one of the most spectacular gatherings in Norway. As many as 25,000 goosanders can accumulate along the Tana waterway system. Add to this, thousands of common eider and long-tailed duck, then you have one of the largest concentrations of wildfowl in Norway.
In 2022 one bear was killed because of deaths of sheep from a local farm; An investigation deemed the killing of the bear, legal; The report said there likely had been at least one other bear in the municipality.[44]
Climate
Tana has a subarctic climate (Dfc) with long, cold winters and short cool summers.
−3.3%
