Puruvesi is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

in Eastern

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 ...

. The lake is located in

Kerimäki Kerimäki is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with the town of Savonlinna on January 1, 2013. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region. The municipality was unilingually Finni ...

, Kesälahti and

Punkaharju Punkaharju is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with the town of Savonlinna on January 1, 2013. It was located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region. The municipality had a population of ...

municipalities. Part of the

Saimaa Saimaa ( , ; sv, Saimen) is a lake located in the Finnish Lakeland area in southeastern Finland. At approximately , it is the largest lake in Finland, and the fourth largest natural freshwater lake in Europe. The name Saimaa likely comes from a ...

lake system, it borders on the sub-lake system of Pihlajavesi to the south. As is the case of other lakes of Saimaa, it has numerous islands and consists of numerous open lake areas, of which largest are Hummonselkä, Pajuselkä, Sammalselkä, Mustanselkä, and Ruosteselkä.Etelä-Savon ympäristökeskus: Puruvesi
Retrieved 2014-03-08. The lake is known for its pure

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

and has uniquely good underwater visibility for a Finnish lake, easily extending to from the surface on calm and sunny days. Recently, the

Saimaa Ringed Seal The Saimaa ringed seal (''Pusa hispida saimensis'', Finnish: ''Saimaannorppa'') is a subspecies of ringed seal (''Pusa hispida''). They are among the most endangered seals in the world, having a total population of only about 400 individuals. The ...

, a rare

freshwater seal The freshwater seals are seals which live in freshwater bodies. The only exclusively freshwater seal species is the Baikal seal, locally named (). The others are the subspecies or colonies of regular saltwater seals. These include two subspecies ...

species, has returned to Puruvesi. Sightings of this animal have occurred frequently in 2006, 2007 and 2008. At least one seal was also sighted in the winter of 2009 as having wintered and given birth in the eastern part of Puruvesi.HS: Saimaannorppa

References

External links

* Saimaa Lakes of Kitee Nature of Savonlinna {{EasternFinland-geo-stub