Lauhanvuori National Park ( fi, Lauhanvuoren kansallispuisto) is a

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

in the

Southern Ostrobothnia South Ostrobothnia ( fi, Etelä-Pohjanmaa; sv, Södra Österbotten) is one of the 19 regions of Finland. It borders the regions of Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, Central Finland, Pirkanmaa, and Satakunta. Among the Finnish regions, South ...

region of

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, on the border of Kauhajoki and

Isojoki Isojoki ( sv, Storå; lit. "Big River") is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the South Ostrobothnia region. The city of Pori is located south of Isojoki. The population of Isojoki is () and the municipality covers an area of of which is ...

. It was established in 1982 and covers . The park is characterized by its

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

forestland,

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

brooks, and swamps.

Nature

Mountain

The Lauhanvuori mountain is a high

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...

mountain and one of the highest points in Western Finland. The summit area was uncovered 9500

BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...

when the glacier retreated, and it has never been under the water. Indeed, it was an island in the middle of the Ancylus Lake.

Flora and fauna

The summit of Lauhanvuori is lusher than its surroundings due to not having been under the sea and thus having retained its loose soil and nutrients. The hillsides are barren and infertile. Cranes and capercaillies can be heard in the bogs during summertime. The

willow grouse The willow ptarmigan () (''Lagopus lagopus'') is a bird in the grouse subfamily Tetraoninae of the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is also known as the willow grouse and in Ireland and Britain, where the subspecies '' L. l. scotica'' was previ ...

also inhabits the bogs. The park also has a hectare of

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich Groundwater, ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as ...

, where ''

Succisa pratensis ''Succisa pratensis'', also known as devil's-bit or devil's-bit scabious, is a flowering plant in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. It differs from other similar species in that it has four-lobed flowers, whereas small scabious and field s ...

'',

brown beak-sedge ''Rhynchospora fusca'' (vernacular name: brown beak-sedge) is a species of sedge The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species ...

carnation sedge ''Carex panicea'', commonly known as carnation sedge, is a plant species in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. It is known as grass-like sedge and can be found in Northern and Western Europe, and also in north-eastern North America. The plant produ ...

moor rush ''Juncus stygius'', called the bog rush and moor rush, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Juncus ''Juncus'' is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants, commonly known as rushes. It is the largest genus in the family Juncaceae ...

Scottish asphodel ''Tofieldia pusilla'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Tofieldiaceae. It is also sometimes classified in the lily family, Liliaceae. Its common name is Scottish asphodel in Europe, and Scotch false asphodel in North America. The plan ...

, and many rare

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

es grow. Lauhanvuori is the southernmost habitat of the Scottish asphodel.

References

External links

Outdoors.fi – Lauhanvuori National Park
* Protected areas established in 1982 Geography of South Ostrobothnia Tourist attractions in South Ostrobothnia 1982 establishments in Finland National parks of Finland {{WesternFinland-geo-stub

Nature

Mountain

Flora and fauna

See also

References

External links