Finland

I

Introduction

Finland, country in northwestern Europe on the Baltic Sea. Finland is one of Europe’s most northerly countries, with about one-third of its area lying north of the Arctic Circle. Finland is a land of vast green forests and sparkling lakes, of ultramodern buildings and old, walled castles. Its woodlands, which are its most important natural resource, are often referred to as Finland’s “green gold.” Helsinki is the capital and largest city of Finland.

Finland is generally a low-lying country. Great sheets of ice covered Finland until a few thousand years ago. The movement of the ice sheets ground down the terrain, leaving a landscape dotted with thousands of lakes. The country’s official name is the Republic of Finland, but the Finns call their country Suomi—a word that means “land of lakes and marshes.”

Finland is landlocked to the north, where it borders Norway, and to the east, where it borders Russia. To the south lies the Gulf of Finland and to the west lies the Gulf of Bothnia. Thousands of small, rocky islands fringe Finland’s southwestern coast. Few of the islands are inhabited. The most important island group is an extensive archipelago called Ahvenanmaa, (Åland Islands), located at the mouth of the Gulf of Bothnia.

In Finland’s Arctic region, there is almost continuous daylight from May through July. During these months of “midnight sun,” Finland’s scenic coastal areas draw thousands of boaters. In the interior, Finland’s large tracts of unspoiled wilderness attract hikers from around the world.

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Finland is sometimes grouped with the countries of Scandinavia, with which it maintains close ties. However, for centuries, Finland was a border zone between the rival powers of Sweden and Russia. After 700 years of Swedish domination, Finland fell to Russia in 1809. It first became an independent state in 1917, after the Russian Revolution. From the end of World War II to 1991, Finland was bound to the Soviet Union by strong economic ties and by a treaty of friendship and cooperation signed in 1948. After 1991, Finland moved toward closer relations with Europe and became a full member of the European Union (EU) in 1995.

Although Finland is one of the youngest nations in Europe, it is renowned for its distinct cultural traditions. Finland is especially noted for its contributions to modern architecture and industrial design. The sauna, or Finnish steam bath, is world-famous and part of the Finnish way of life.

II

Land and Resources

The area of Finland, which includes 33,551 sq km (12,954 sq mi) of inland water, totals 338,145 sq km (130,559 sq mi)—an area slightly smaller than the state of Montana. Most of Finland is flat. Low hills that rise across the central and southern interior rarely exceed 300 m (1,000 ft). Finland’s highest elevations are in the northwest. Haltiatunturi, a peak in the far northwest near the border with Norway, rises to a height of 1,328 m (4,357 ft). The northernmost regions of Finland, which lie within the Arctic Circle, make up a part of Saamiland.

Finland’s coastline is low, rocky, and deeply indented by small bays and inlets. Most of Finland’s major cities and cultivated land lie along the nation’s coastal plain. Projecting southwest into the Baltic Sea is the Ahvenanmaa archipelago (Landskapet Åland in Swedish), which consists of some 6,500 islands. Only about 80 of the islands are inhabited.

Finland’s interior is heavily forested, and its surface is a tangle of lakes, rivers, swamps, and bogs. Glacial deposits called eskers, composed of sand, gravel, and boulders, form low ridges that crisscross the land. The stony ridges have long served as transportation routes through the thousands of lakes that cover the country. The deposits also dammed many of Finland’s ancient valleys and disrupted river drainages. These disruptions created many of the waterfalls and rapids that give Finland rich waterpower resources.

Geographers estimate that Finland has more than 60,000 lakes. Most of the lakes lie in central and southern Finland in an area called the Lake District. Within the Lake District, about half the total area is covered by water. Rivers and natural channels link the lakes together in intricate chains. Among the most important lakes is Lake Saimaa, part of an extensive lake system in the southeast. This system forms a drainage that is very important for floating timber to mills and transporting goods to areas not served by rail or roads. Other major lakes include Inarijärvi and Päijänne. Among the principal rivers are the Torneälven (Tornio), Muonio, Kemijoki, and Oulu. Only the Oulu is navigable by large craft.

A

Plants and Animals

Thick forests cover about 67 percent of Finland. The forests are chiefly coniferous, dominated by spruce and pine trees, except in the far south where aspen, alder, maple, and elm trees are found. Finland has nearly 1,200 species of plants and ferns and some 1,000 varieties of lichens.

Wildlife includes bear, wolf, lynx, and arctic fox. All live mainly in the less populated northern regions. Reindeer, domesticated by the Saami people for use as a food source and means of transportation, are nearly extinct in the wild. Wild goose, swan, ptarmigan, snow bunting, and golden plover nest throughout northern Finland. Freshwater fish include perch, salmon, trout, and pike. The leading saltwater fish are cod, herring, and haddock. Seals are found along the coast.

B

Soils

Finland’s soils are of generally poor quality. Gray mountain soils predominate in inland regions. Peat bogs cover the northern third of Finland. The most fertile soils are on the southern coastal plains, which are composed of marine clay.

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