Oulujärvi () or Lake Oulu or Ule (), is a large
lake
A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
in the
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 ...
region of Finland. It is also historically known as Lake Cajania from a former name of Kainuu.
[.] With an area of it is the
fifth largest lake in the country. The lake is drained by the
Oulu River, which flows northwestward from the lake into the
Gulf of Bothnia
The Gulf of Bothnia (; ; ) is divided into the Bothnian Bay and the Bothnian Sea, and it is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea, between Finland's west coast ( East Bothnia) and the northern part of Sweden's east coast ( West Bothnia an ...
. Its nickname is the "Kainuu Sea", and it is bordered by the three
municipalities
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' ...
of
Vaala
Vaala () is a municipality in Finland. It is located in the North Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region. Established in 1954 (predecessor municipality ''Säräisniemi'', established in 1867), the municipality has a population of () and covers ...
,
Paltamo, 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 ...
.
About 40 percent of the lake is in Vaala.
See also
*
Mulkkusaaret
References
External links
*
Oulujarvi, Official tourism websiteJärviwiki Web Service
Oulujoki basin
Landforms of Kainuu
{{OuluProvince-geo-stub