Region of the 1000 lakes, Finland

Region of the 1000 lakes, Finland

Region of the 1000 lakes Finland

The lakes in Finland are often connected to each other by numerous streams and form a very complex lake and river system. The great majority of these lakes is of glacial origin. Indeed, during the different glaciations the ice sheets covered the north of Europe, including Finland. These ice, by phenomena of glacial erosion, stripped and brushed the granitic craton of Scandinavia. The last layer of ice, installed during the Würm glaciation ended about 10,000 years ago, depositing after its withdrawal glacial reliefs such as moraines (such as those of Salpausselkä and Suomenselkä, two terminal moraines located in the south and oriented from east to west) . These moraines blocked most of the time the numerous Finnish water courses, leaving only a few gaps to reach the sea. This aspect, combined with the low altitude and a slight relief, gave rise to the formation of lakes upstream of these natural dams. Other lakes, however, were born from the impact of a meteorite (such as Lake Lappajärvi) or are the result of an artificial dam (such as the Porttipahta or Lokka lakes). These lakes, with very sharp contours, also have many islands, sometimes up to several thousand in the largest lakes, formed by granite rock eroded by glacial reliefs (eskers in particular) and the remains of ancient mountain chains called tunturis.
Recommended airport
Mikkeli (MIK)
Nearby destinations
  • Mikkeli a 3.17 km
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