Saimaa
Saimaa ( , ; ) is a lake located in the Finnish Lakeland area in southeastern Finland. With a surface area of approximately , it is the largest lake in Finland, and the fourth-largest natural freshwater lake in Europe. The name Saimaa likely comes from a non-Uralic, non-Indo European substrate language. Alternatively, it has been proposed that the name may be connected to the Sami word ''sápmi''. History The lake was formed by glacial melting at the end of the Ice Age. Major towns on the lakeshore include Lappeenranta, Imatra, Savonlinna, Mikkeli, Varkaus, and Joensuu. About 6,000 years ago, ancient Lake Saimaa, estimated to cover nearly at the time, was abruptly discharged through a new outlet. The event created thousands of square kilometres of new residual wetlands. Following this event, the region saw a population maximum in the decades following only to later return to an ecological development towards old boreal conifer forests which saw a decline in population. Top ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Saimaa Ringed Seal
The Saimaa ringed seal (''Pusa hispida saimensis'', Finnish: ''saimaannorppa'') is a subspecies and glacial relict of ringed seal (''Pusa hispida''). They are among the most endangered seals in the world, having a total population of only about 500 individuals. The only existing population of these seals is found in Lake Saimaa, Finland (hence the name). They have lived in complete isolation from other ringed seal species for around 9,500 years and have diverged into a morphologically and ecologically different subspecies of ringed seal. The population is descended from ringed seals that were separated from the rest when the land rose after the last ice age. This seal, along with the Ladoga seal and the Baikal seal, is one of the few living freshwater seals. Distribution Habitat The Saimaa ringed seal is endemic to their habitat in Lake Saimaa, Finland. The lake lies between the cities of Lappeenranta in the south and Joensuu in the north, spanning an oval of approximat ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Saimaa Canal
The Saimaa Canal (; ; ) is a transportation canal that connects lake Saimaa with the Gulf of Finland near Vyborg, Russia. The canal was built from 1845 to 1856 and opened on 7 September 1856 (Old Style: 26 August 1856). It was overhauled and widened in 1963–1968. A system of inland waterways and canals in the 120 interconnected lakes of the south-central and south-east part of Finland (Finnish Lakeland) are reached through the canal. The network of deep channels in Lake Saimaa with at least a draught of covers . The deep channels extend all the way to Kuopio in Central Finland. The canal is closed in the winter. Topography The canal begins near Lauritsala, Lappeenranta, Finland, at coordinates () and ends in Vyborg, Russia, at coordinates (), connecting Lake Saimaa and the Vyborg Bay. On the way, it connects Lake Nuijamaa, on the Finnish–Russian border at coordinates (), and three smaller lakes in Russia. Dimensions * Length: ** Finnish part: ** Russian part: * Wi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lappeenranta
Lappeenranta (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Karelia. It is located in the southeastern interior of the country and in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lappeenranta is approximately , while the Lappeenranta sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland, and the 11th most populous List of urban areas in Finland by population, urban area in the country. Lappeenranta is located on the shore of Lake Saimaa, from the Finnish–Russian border, Russian border and from the city of Vyborg. Lappeenranta is one of the most important urban centres in the entire Saimaa region, together with the cities of Imatra, Mikkeli and Savonlinna. Lappeenranta incorporated the late municipalities of Lappee and Lauritsala in 1967, Nuijamaa in 1989, Joutseno in 2009 and Ylämaa in 2010. Lappeenranta, the region's tourism centre, is the second most visited city in Finland by Russians ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Finnish Lakeland
Finnish Lakeland or the Finnish lake district ( , "Lake Finland", ) is a large landscape region in central eastern Finland. The hilly, forest-covered landscape of Lakeland Finland's lake plateau is dominated by drumlins and by long sinuous eskers. Both are glacial remnants deposited after the continental glaciers that scoured and gouged the country's surface receded about 10,000 years ago. The lake basins of the lakeland originate from the joint work of weathering and erosion of fractures in the bedrock. The erosion that made the depressions occurred before and during the Quaternary ice ages. Erosion along fractures has produced linear inlets among the lakes. Demarcation The district occupies most of the central and East Finland and is bounded to the south by the Salpausselkä Ridges. These ridges are terminal moraines, which trap networks of thousands of lakes separated by hilly forested countryside. The lake district turns into the Coastal Finland district to th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Freshwater Seal
Freshwater seals are pinnipeds which live in freshwater bodies. The group is paraphyletic in nature, the uniting factor being the environment in which these pinnipeds live. The vast majority of all modern seals live solely in saltwater habitats though this is likely due to the rarity of sufficiently large freshwater bodies rather than the limitation of seal biology. Baikal seals The only exclusively freshwater seal species is the Baikal seal, locally named (). The Baikal seal has inhabited Lake Baikal for roughly two million years, the closest relative to it being the Arctic ringed seal whence it has likely descended. The manner by which the baikal seal reached Lake Baikal is still not fully understood, theories include their entrance into the lake via travel up the Yenisei River or perhaps via large lakes which existed in Siberia during the Pleistocene. Ringed seals While the Baikal Seal may be the only unique species of pinniped to live in a purely freshwater environ ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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List Of Largest Lakes Of Europe
This is a list of lakes of Europe with an average area greater than . Some smaller lakes may be missing from the list. List Reservoirs and smaller sub-basins that are already counted are not ranked. See also *List of lakes by area References {{Incomplete list, date=August 2008 Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ... Lakes Lakes cs:Největší jezera v Evropě podle rozlohy ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Yövesi
Yövesi (; literally "night water") is a sub-lake of the lake Saimaa in eastern Finland. It is located in Mikkeli municipality in the Southern Savonia region. Part of the Saimaa lake system, it borders on the system of Pihlajavesi to the east. The deepest point of the whole Saimaa is in Yövesi, in Käenniemenselkä open area. The Astuvansalmi rock paintings are situated in the northern shore of Yövesi. The critically endangered fish Arctic char The Arctic char or Arctic charr (''Salvelinus alpinus'') is a cold-water fish in the family Salmonidae, native to alpine lakes, as well as Arctic and subarctic coastal waters in the Holarctic realm, Holarctic. Distribution and habitat It Spaw ... lives in Yövesi. Fishing of Arctic char is totally prohibited. References Saimaa Lakes of Mikkeli {{EasternFinland-geo-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Puruvesi
Puruvesi is a lake in Eastern Finland. The lake is located in Kerimäki, Kesälahti and Punkaharju municipalities. Part of the Saimaa 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 and has uniquely good ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Haukivesi
Haukivesi is a lake in southeastern Finland and a part of the Saimaa lake system. Haukivesi is the central basin of the system, collecting 80% of the water that eventually flows into Lake Ladoga through River Vuoksi. Its area is (List of lakes in Finland, 8th). Like other lakes in the system, it has a convoluted shoreline with numerous islands and is divided into a number of smaller regions (''selkä'') such as Siitinselkä, Saviluoto, Tahkoselkä, Vuoriselkä, Kuokanselkä, Kuivaselkä, Heposelkä, Peonselkä, Tuunaanselkä, Hiekonselkä, Varparannanselkä, and Iso-Haukivesi. Haukivesi stretches from Varkaus to Savonlinna in a northeast–southwest direction. The northern part is shallow, at less than , but deepens toward the southeast, up to at Kuivaselkä.Haukivesi Retrieved 2014-03-09. Most water flows from the east, through Tappuvirta, Oravikoski an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vuoksi River
The Vuoksi (, historically: "Uzerva"; ; ; ) is a river running through the northernmost part of the Karelian Isthmus from Lake Saimaa in southeastern Finland to Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia. The river enters Lake Ladoga in three branches, an older main northern branch at Priozersk (Käkisalmi), a smaller branch a few kilometers to the north of it, and a new southern branch entering further southeast as Burnaya River (Finnish: Taipaleenjoki), which has become the main stream in terms of water discharge. Since 1857, the old northern distributaries drain only the lower reaches of the Vuoksi basin and are not fed by Lake Saimaa. The northern and southern branches actually belong to two separate river systems, which at times get isolated from each other in dry seasons. The descent between Lake Saimaa and Lake Ladoga is . The entire run of the river is via the Priozersk branch, or via the Taipale (Burnaya) branch. It has a drainage basin of . For most of its length, the ri ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, opposite Estonia. Finland has a population of 5.6 million. Its capital and largest city is Helsinki. The majority of the population are Finns, ethnic Finns. The official languages are Finnish language, Finnish and Swedish language, Swedish; 84.1 percent of the population speak the first as their mother tongue and 5.1 percent the latter. Finland's climate varies from humid continental climate, humid continental in the south to boreal climate, boreal in the north. The land cover is predominantly boreal forest biome, with List of lakes of Finland, more than 180,000 recorded lakes. Finland was first settled around 9000 BC after the Last Glacial Period, last Ice Age. During the Stone Age, various cultures emerged, distinguished by differen ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mikkeli
Mikkeli (; ; ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, city in, and the regional capital of, South Savo, Finland, located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population is approximately , while the Mikkeli sub-region of Southern Savonia has a population of approximately . Mikkeli is the most-populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland and the 19th most-populous List of urban areas in Finland by population, urban area in the country. Mikkeli is located on the shores of Saimaa, Lake Saimaa, the largest List of lakes of Finland, lake in the country, and List of largest lakes of Europe, Europe's fourth largest. Prior to being located within South Savonia, the city was in Mikkeli Province (until 1997), before becoming part of Eastern Finland Province (1997-2009). The city covers an area of , of which is water. Mikkeli is one of the largest towns in the South Savo region, and one of the main hubs in the region's Healthcare in Finland, hospital districts, along with Savonli ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |