Its neighbouring municipalities are Inari, Kemijärvi, Kittilä, Pelkosenniemi, Rovaniemi, and Savukoski.

[citation needed] Sculptor Ensio Seppänen designed this statue in 1970, located in the center of Sodankylä.

The outdoor museum is housed within several historic buildings and the courtyard is decorated with a large bronze statue of a gold prospector, by the artist professor Ensio Seppänen.

The museum's permanent exhibition displays artist Andreas Alariesto's life and works.

It was maintained by Riikka and Andreas Alariesto's Lapinkuvat ("pictures of Lapland") Foundation and the Municipality of Sodankylä.

The foundation's main goal was to take care of Alariesto's collected works and to preserve the Sami cultural traditions of the historical Sompio area.

Sodankylä has a subarctic climate (Koppen: Dfc), with short, mild summers and long, freezing, extremely snowy winters.