Finland’s Coastal Region: agriculture and dairy farms dot this flat terrain. Lake Saimaa, Finland’s largest lake—the fifth largest lake in Europe. Finnish . the unfrantic brand By John Bechtel land. What historical, cultural, and in the land that filled with water, which it arose, like a heavy brick on a Freelance Writer physical factors have contributed to leaving over 180,000 lakes in their wet sponge. After the glaciers move on Finnish sociological homogeneity? wake. Actually no one really knows or melt, the compressed land begins to t has been said that you can’t how many lakes there are, but most of rise in what is called isostatic rebound. communicate Finnishness in the them are quite shallow, from 300 feet to Because Finland’s glacial period is so Finland is isolated by location English language. But we’re going as little as 25 feet deep. If you combined recent, the land is still emerging from Ito try. Who or what is a Finn, and and climate. Although other Nordic all the water from all of those lakes, the sea, and Finland is growing in total countries have parts of them that why? The Finns are different, even it would be about equal to Finland’s area by about seven square kilometers reach far north, virtually all of Finland among Scandinavians. Let’s begin by annual rainfall. Ten percent of all of per year. This terra firma rebound is is north of 60 degrees north latitude, seeing what we can learn from the land Finland’s surface area is comprised of proceeding about 25 centimeters in which makes it the northernmost itself, and perhaps then learn what lakes. The largest of these, Lake Saimaa, the south and southwest, and about country in the European Union. One we can about the landscape, meaning is the fifth largest in Europe. 80-90 centimeters up north, per year. third of the country is above the in an enlarged sense, the relationship So hurry north and buy real estate, and Arctic Circle. between the land and its people. You Finland is a growing country if you live long enough you can quite will find it helpful to refer to our maps literally see your investment grow! Massive glaciers are so heavy they as you continue to read. There are places in Finland where, Finland is a young country, depress the land beneath them, actually Out of a list of 195 countries by although the glaciers are long gone, you compressing it back into the sea from Wikipedia, Finland ranks 64th in recovering from recession can still see the deep gouges they made Yes, this is the total area, right after Japan (61st) and in the bedrock they left behind. Germany (62nd). When it comes to centennial celebration population density however, Japan has of Finland’s birth as 868 people per square mile; Germany a nation, but we are Finland’s Four Regions There are four primary geographical has 601 per square mile... not talking about that Finland’s archipelago region: The mouth of the Gulf of Bothnia is dotted with regions in Finland. _______________________________ kind of “young” or an thousands of islands of various sizes, with no road connections to the mainland. economic “recession.” We • Archipelago Finland, the world’s ...Finland, with a total population are talking about 10,000 largest archipelago, is about rocks Helsinki archipelago, the Archipelago kilometers it is extremely flat. These are of about 5.5 million people, has 47 years young in geologic and water. There are almost as many Sea, and the Kvarken archipelago the greatest plains in all of Norden. The per square mile! There’s not a lot of time and development. islands as there are lakes in Finland; in the Gulf of Bothnia, which is a area in the south and southwest of the people up there. The continental glaciers the official count is 179,584. There are UNESCO World Heritage site. Helsinki country gets warming benefit from the _______________________________ that shaped what is now 455 permanently inhabited islands with is nicknamed the Pearl of the Baltic. Gulf Stream. The World Atlas indicates there are Finland began to recede no road connection to the mainland. Sometimes Archipelago Finland and • The Finland Lake district in the 69 cities in the world with a greater about 10,000 years This region includes the Åland islands, the Coastal area are lumped together, interior of the country is the largest population than the entire country of ago. As these massive strategically located between Finland and Helsinki is considered the fourth region; it is also the largest lake district Finland. But compared to most other mountains of ice moved, and Sweden, at the mouth of the region, in a category by itself. in Europe with 188,000 at last count, places in the world, there is an amazing they scraped and gouged Gulf of Bothnia. There are actually • The Finland Coastal area is and it is the most emblematic of similarity in the characteristics of the the earth in their path, Under patches of snow, glacial striation left by four different archipelagos: the Kotka agricultural and dairy farming, and Finland with its hills and dense people that inhabit this small, northern leaving dips and troughs ice-age glaciers, in Otaniemi, Espoo, Finland. archipelago in the Gulf of Finland, the next to the Gulf of Bothnia for 100 (Continued on page 00) O FALL 2017 | SCANDINAVIAN PRESS SCANDINAVIAN PRESS | FALL 2017 O (Continued on page 00) The Finnish Sami are the northernmost forests. This big central part of the indigenous people in the European country extends east into Russia, with FINLAND REGIONS: Union. There are less than 8,000 of no natural border between the two 1. Archipelago these in Finland, often referred to nations. About 78% of all the surface 2. Coastal as Laplanders or simply Lapps and area of Finland is forested, and 60% of 3. Lake land there are less than 2,000 who speak their language as their mother tongue. those forests are privately owned, not 4. Upland by the State. About 14% of the Finns Many of them have assimilated into own forest land, and most of these the Nordic populations rather than holdings are small, about 30 hectares suffer ostracism for being or looking different. And some were simply in on average. search of expanded possibilities for • Upland Finland extends above the themselves. [Include language map of Arctic Circle. It begins in the southern 4 Finland here: ] part as undulating hills and increases in steepness as you go north, with the highest peak at about 3300 feet. Finland’s Geopolitical Position Even so, this area can hardly be called Much of Finland’s political history mountainous, with, at the most, gentle was spent sandwiched between the hills punctuated with lots of bogs, two hegemonic powers of Sweden and thanks to the glaciers that were bigger, Russia who settled their differences on heavier, thicker, and longer-lasting than the battlefield of Finland. No matter in the rest of Europe. which way the battle went, Finland paid Taiga, or boreal forest, covers most with the loss of their men, land, and of Finland, from the northern parts resources. With their independence of the south to the very far north of came a masterful balancing act to the country in Lapland. There is more 3 remain neutral to their neighbors’ forest as percentage of total area in arguments. Finland than anywhere else in Europe. The silhouette of Finland on a map Wikipedia defines the Arctic Circle looks like a woman with only one as the southernmost latitude in the arm. The Finnish Maiden became the Northern Hemisphere at which the 2 personification of Finland, and after sun can remain continuously above the Continuation War in which Finland or below the horizon for twenty- 1 lost major land areas to Russia in the four hours. That means at least once Moscow Armistice of 1944, the figure each year at any location within the was said to have lost the other of her Arctic Circle the sun is visible at local Finland map shows the four primary geographical regions described. arms, as well as a hem of her “skirt”. midnight, and at least once it is not visible at local noon. Long summer Summary days of sunshine and long winter nights Finland is an isolated country in of darkness prevail for months at a time the Far North, with 1/3 of its territory above the Arctic Circle. Lapland is the beyond the Arctic Circle. Except for region of the midnight sun and long some coastal areas in the south, it gets visible 200 nights of the year. The consumed with respect. winter nights. quite cold in the winter when the days country is blessed with seemingly Those resources include their About four million people live north and nights meld together in long endless lakes and forests, but it is attitudes toward each other; with a of the Arctic Circle, distributed among periods of darkness. The northern sparsely populated which means (Continued on page 00) the eight nations with land lights, or aurora borealis, are resources need to be conserved and located above the Circle. Upland Finland, (including Lapland) where the sun shines above or below the horizon for twenty-four hours at a time. O FALL 2017 | SCANDINAVIAN PRESS SCANDINAVIAN PRESS | FALL 2017 O Above left: Finnish youth in traditional historic dress, (Continued from page 00) sustainability is a natural part celebrating the country’s centennial year. limited population, everyone of their thinking processes, contributes because everyone is nothing is to be wasted.