Laakajärvi is medium-sized lake in the
Vuoksi
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, ...
main catchment area. It is located in
Sonkajärvi
Sonkajärvi (; formerly known as ''Rutakko'') is a municipality of Finland. It is located in Northern Savonia region, north of Kuopio. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . ...
,
Sotkamo
Sotkamo is a municipality of Finland, located in the Kainuu region about east of Kajaani, the capital of Kainuu. Vuokatti, in west of Sotkamo, is the most populous village in the municipality and also a popular skiing resort. Both Hiidenportti ...
and
Kajaani
Kajaani (; ), is a town in Finland and the regional capital of Kainuu. Kajaani is located southeast of Oulujärvi, Lake Oulu, which drains into the Gulf of Bothnia through the Oulujoki, Oulu River. The population of Kajaani is approximately , w ...
municipalities, in the regions of
Northern Savonia
North Savo (or Northern Savonia; ; ) is a Regions of Finland, region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of South Savo, Central Finland, North Ostrobothnia, Kainuu, and North Karelia. Kuopio is the largest city in the region and Kallavesi, ...
and
Kainuu
Kainuu (), also historically known as Cajania (), is one of the 19 regions of Finland (''maakunta'' / ''landskap''). Kainuu borders the regions of North Ostrobothnia, North Savo and North Karelia. In the east, it also borders Russia (Republic o ...
in
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, ...
.
[Laajajärvi in the Jarviwiki Web Service]
Retrieved 2014-03-05. The lake is just over 20 km long and relatively narrow. It is the biggest lake in Sonkajärvi municipality.
The lake is situated only a few kilometers from
nickel mines of the
Talvivaara Mining Company
Ahtium (known until 2017 as the Talvivaara Mining Company; ) was a Finnish mining company that operated the Talvivaara nickel mine from the company's establishment in 2004 until the mining business was sold to the state-owned in 2015.
Former ...
. The nature protection movements are worried that the mining can damage the lake.
Stop Talvivaara News
. Retrieved 2014-03-08.
See also
*List of lakes in Finland
Most lakes in Finland are small, but there are 309 lakes or reservoirs with a surface area larger than 10 km². There are about 5,600 lakes in Finland that are larger than 0.1 km² (10 hectares or 100'000 square metres), and 187,888 lakes ...
References
{{EasternFinland-geo-stub
Lakes of Sotkamo
Lakes of Sonkajärvi