Jämsä () is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

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, ...

. It is located in the

Central Finland Central Finland (; ) is a Regions of Finland, region ( / ) in Finland. It borders the regions of Päijät-Häme, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, North Ostrobothnia, Northern Savonia, North Savo, and Southern Savonia, South S ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

, about southwest of

Jyväskylä Jyväskylä () is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Central Finland. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Jyväskylä is approximately , while the Jyväskylä sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately ...

. The municipality has a population of (), which makes it the second most populous town of the Central Finland after Jyväskylä. It covers an area of of which is water. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

is . The municipality is officially Finnish-speaking. The municipality of

Kuorevesi Kuorevesi is a former municipality in Finland. It was part of the Pirkanmaa region in western Finland. In the year 2001 it was consolidated into the town of Jämsä in the Central Finland region. The name of the municipality came from the Lake K ...

was consolidated with Jämsä in 2001. The municipality of

Längelmäki Längelmäki is a former municipality of Finland. Längelmäki was divided in 2007 between Jämsä and Orivesi. Längelmäki is situated by the lake Längelmävesi, from which it has got also its name. The administrative center of Längelmäki ...

was partly consolidated with Jämsä in 2007. The municipality of

Jämsänkoski Jämsänkoski is a former List of cities and towns in Finland, town and List of former municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland in the Central Finland region. It is located near Lake Päijänne and the Jämsänjoki river. The town had a ...

was consolidated with Jämsä in the beginning of 2009. It is the center of Finnish aeronautics industry – the aircraft factory and aeronautical engineering offices of Patria is located at

Halli Airport Halli Airport () is a military airport located in Kuorevesi, Jämsä, Finland, west of Jämsä town centre. The Aircraft and Weapon Systems Training Wing of the Finnish Air Force was based at the airport until the end of the year 2013, when it ...

in Jämsä. Since 1994, the ski slope at Himos has been used as a super special stage at the

Rally Finland Rally Finland (formerly known as the Neste Rally Finland, Neste Oil Rally Finland, 1000 Lakes Rally and Rally of the Thousand Lakes; , ) is a rallying, rally competition in the Finnish Lakeland in Central Finland. The rally is driven on wide an ...

Geography

There are all together around 465 lakes in Jämsä; the largest lakes are Päijänne, and

Lake Kuorevesi Lake Kuorevesi () is a medium-sized lake in Finland. It is situated in the municipalities of Mänttä-Vilppula and Jämsä (formerly Kuorevesi) in the Central Finland region. The lake is part of the Kokemäenjoki basin. The lake's main inflow ...

. Jämsä is located on the

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

of the main catchment areas of the

Kokemäki River Kokemäki (; ) is a town and municipality in the Satakunta Region of Finland. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Finland is constitutionally bi-lingual with a Swedish speakin ...

and the

Kymi River The Kymi (, ) is a river in Finland. It begins at Lake Päijänne, flows through the provinces of Päijänne Tavastia, Uusimaa and Kymenlaakso, and discharges into the Gulf of Finland. The river passes the towns of Heinola and Kouvola. The town ...

. The eastern and central areas of the municipality belong to the Kymi River watershed, the western ones to the Kokemäki River watershed. The catchment area of the Jämsä route of the first division phase of the Kymijoki main catchment area covers almost the entire area of Koskenpää and

as well as the center of Jämsä and the central part of Jämsänniemi. The Great Päijänne area of the first division of the Kymi River watershed covers the eastern, south-eastern and southern areas of Jämsä. The catchment area of the

Längelmävesi () is a lake in southwestern Finland. The lake is located mostly in the Pirkanmaa region at an elevation of . Längelmävesi is within the municipalities of Jämsä (formerly Längelmäki), Kangasala (formerly Sahalahti), Kuhmalahti, and Ori ...

and

Hauho Hauho is a former municipality of Finland. It was situated in the province of Southern Finland and is today a part of the region of Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme / Egentliga Tavastland). Hauho was amalgamated with the municipality of Hämeenlinna ...

routes of the first division of the Kokemäki River main catchment area covers the southwestern part of Jämsä, i.e. the southern part of Längelmäki and Kuorevesi. The catchment area of the

Keuruu Keuruu (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Finland regions of Finland, regio ...

route in the first division phase of the Kokemäki River watershed covers the western and north-western part of Jämsä, i.e. the northern part of Kuorevesi and the westernmost parts of Koskenpää. The bedrock of Jämsä belongs to the abyssal rock area of the Central Finland. The predominant species are coarse-grained

granodiorite Granodiorite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock similar to granite, but containing more plagioclase feldspar than orthoclase feldspar. The term banatite is sometimes used informally for various rocks ranging from gra ...

s and

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

s, which are often

porphyry Porphyry (; , ''Porphyrios'' "purple-clad") may refer to: Geology * Porphyry (geology), an igneous rock with large crystals in a fine-grained matrix, often purple, and prestigious Roman sculpture material * Shoksha porphyry, quartzite of purple c ...

and weathered in places.

Rapakivi granite Rapakivi granite is an igneous intrusive rock and variant of alkali feldspar granite. It is characterized by large, rounded crystals of orthoclase each with a rim of oligoclase (a variety of plagioclase). Common mineral components include hornble ...

rock has also been found in the vicinity of Jämsä. The

geological formation A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics (lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock expo ...

of the Inner Finland, which is similar to the

Salpausselkä Salpausselkä (; "Bar Ridge") is an extensive ridge system left by the ice age in Southern Finland. It is a large terminal moraine formation that formed in front of the Baltic ice lake during the Younger Dryas period about 12,250–10,400 year ...

formations but younger than them, runs from Hämeenkangas in the north-west of

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

through

Orivesi Orivesi () is a town in Finland, located in the Pirkanmaa region. It lies to the northeast of the regional capital, Tampere. The population of Orivesi is approximately , while the Tampere metropolitan area, metropolitan area has a population of ...

and Jämsä to

Laukaa Laukaa (; ) is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located next to Jyväskylä and is part of the Central Finland regions of Finland, region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water ...

. The

meltwater Meltwater (or melt water) is water released by the melting of snow or ice, including glaciers, glacial ice, tabular icebergs and ice shelf, ice shelves over oceans. Meltwater is often found during early spring (season), spring when snow packs a ...

of the Weichselian glaciation associated with its formation and melting has shaped several Jämsä valleys. The meltwater of the glacier flowed through the numerous transition valleys of the present-day Jämsä area.

Culture

Food

In the 1980s, Jämsä's traditional parish dishes were called ''liponen'' (

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

cooked with

turnip The turnip or white turnip ('' Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''rapa'') is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, fleshy taproot. Small, tender varieties are grown for human consumption, while larger varieties a ...

chips and

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

groats Groats (or in some cases, "berries") are the hulled kernels of various cereal grains, such as oats, wheat, rye, and barley. Groats are whole grains that include the cereal germ and fiber-rich bran portion of the grain, as well as the endos ...

), ''

piimä Fermented milk products or fermented dairy products, also known as cultured dairy foods, cultured dairy products, or cultured milk products, are dairy foods that have been made by fermenting milk with lactic acid bacteria such as ''Lactobacillu ...

talkkuna (Estonian), ( Finnish), or (in Turkic languages) is a traditional Estonian, Finnish, and Turkic finely milled flour mixture. The powder is a mixture of roasted barley, rye, oat and pea flour. The oat flour may be completely replaced by whea ...

'' and grandma's

buns A bun is a type of bread that is round and small enough that it can generally be eaten hand-held. Whether a bun is considered sweetened or unsweetened differs between countries: it is considered sweetened in the United Kingdom, a savory bread in ...

Sports

Jämsänkosken Ilves Jämsänkosken Ilves (abbreviated JIlves) is a sports club from Jämsä, Finland. The club is active in cross-country skiing, swimming, athletics, and football, where it has a long tradition. The club's home ground is at the Jämsänkosken Pall ...

is a sports club in Jämsä. Himos Skiresort is located in Jämsä.

References

External links