The Republic of Finland, a Nordic country located in Fennoscandia in the Northern Europe, is known as the “Land of a Thousand lakes”. This title refers to the huge number of lakes found in Finland. In reality, there are a total of 187, 888 lakes situated in this country. The total area of the country is 338.424 sq. kilometers. With respect to area and size, the Republic of Finland ranks 8 among all the European countries. It is also the most sparsely populated country in Europe.

Approximately 309 lakes in Finland are large enough to cover an area of 10 sq. kilometers. The names of the ten largest lakes in Finland are Saimaa, Suur-Saimaa, Paijanne, Inari, Pielinen, Oulujarvi, Pihlajavesi, Orivesi, Haukivesi, Keitele and Kallavesi. The largest of these 10 lakes is Suur Saimaa, having an area of 1, 377.05 kilometers squared.

The country, which is now known as the Republic of Finland, was inhabited by human settlements in around 8500 BC. In the 12th century, this region came under the rule of the Swedish Kingdom. Centuries later, Finland was occupied by Russia. It finally gained independence in 1919 with Kaarlo Juho Stahalberg as the first president of the Republic of Finland.

Finland Lakes View

April 9, 2011 | Afifa Gillani | No Comments | 171 views