Sápmi (Northern Sami: [ˈsapmi])[1] is the cultural region traditionally inhabited by the Sámi people.

In practice, most of the Sámi population is concentrated in a few traditional areas in the northernmost part of Sápmi, such as Kautokeino and Karasjok.

[5] Some English language sources have transferred Lapland (or Lappland) to areas in Norway[10] notably in the context of tourism marketing.

[11] Originally these names referred to all of Sápmi, but subsequently became applied to areas exclusively inhabited by the Sami.

In the 17th century, Johannes Schefferus assumed the etymology of the term "Lapland" to be related to the Swedish word for "running", löpa (cognate with English, to leap).

[12] The terms "Lapp" and "Lappland" are now regarded as outdated or offensive by many Sami people, who prefer the area's name in their language "Sápmi", because over time the term "Lapp" has acquired the pejorative connotation of "silly", "uneducated", "backwards", etc.

[4][13] In older Norwegian, Sápmi was known as "Finnmork" or "Finnmark"; which is now the name of Norway's northernmost county.

The western portion is an area of fjords, deep valleys, glaciers and mountains, the highest point being Mount Kebnekaise (2,111 m [6,926 ft]).

The Swedish part of Sápmi is characterized by great rivers running from the northwest to the southeast.

The average winter sees 131 days of snowfall, with the first flakes falling to the ground in September.

Even without permafrost or a true tundra climate, much of Sápmi is arctic moorland with stunted, scattered trees.

Reindeers, wolves, bears, and birds are the main forms of animal life, in addition to a myriad of insects in the short summer.

The ocean floor to the north and west of Sápmi has deposits of petroleum and natural gas.

Sápmi contains valuable mineral deposits, particularly iron ore in Sweden, copper in Norway, and nickel and apatite in Russia.

East Sápmi consists of the Kola peninsula and the Lake Inari region and is home to the eastern Sami languages.

In this area, Sami culture is mostly visible inland and on the coast of the Baltic Sea, and the languages are spoken by few.

[16] Lappi- appears as a common component of place names throughout central and southern Finland as well; in many cases, it probably refers to earlier Sami presence, though in some cases the underlying meaning may be mere "periphery" or "outlying district".

Finally, Sápmi may also be subdivided into cultural regions according to the state's borders, which affects daily life for people no matter their ethnicity.

[citation needed] Many live in areas outside Sápmi such as Oulu, Oslo, Stockholm and Helsinki.

Some Sámi people have migrated to places outside the Sápmi vernacular region, such as Canada and the United States.

This is the Sámi Parliament with the most influence over any part of Sápmi, as it is involved in the autonomy established by the Finnmark Act.

The parliament is in the village of Kárášjohka and its current president is Silje Karine Muotka from the Norwegian Sámi Association.

A suggestion to have the Russian Federation pick representatives for the Parliament was voted down with a clear majority.

First established between 1930-1951 and reestablished in 1957, the reserve protects an area of 2,784 km2 (1,075 sq mi) to the northwest of Lake Imandra, including 86 km2 of inland water.

The board of the Estate consists of many representatives from the Sami Parliament of Norway and Finnmark's county council.

A similar solution to the Finnmark Estate, Hålogalandsallmenningen, has been proposed for Romsa County and its southern neighbour Nordlánda.

Sápmi covers the interior majority of Västerbotten County, which are Ubmeje and South Sami regions.

The administrative centre is Umeå, and the current landshövding is Chris Heister from the conservative Moderate Party.

Lapland (Lappi) is the northernmost of the regions, which stretches farther south than Sápmi.

The Sápmi football team won the 2006 VIVA World Cup and hosted the 2008 event.