Muotkajärvi is a lake in Norrbotten in Finnish Lapland. It is part of a Natura 2000-area and the catchment-area of the river Torneälv, which partly forms the border between Sweden and Finland and debouches into the Gulf of Bothnia. This area consists mainly of forests (taiga) and swamps (tundra) and has an average height of 153m above sea level. On both sides of the border mainly Finnish is spoken and the place-names are Finnish as well. Most of the year the region lies under a thick layer of snow. In spite of this, reindeer know how to survive in this tundra and taiga, scraping lichen with their hooves from beneath the snow.