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The geography of Finland is characterized by its northern position, its ubiquitous landscapes of intermingled boreal forests and lakes, and its low population density. Finland can be divided into three areas: archipelagoes and coastal lowlands, a slightly higher central lake plateau and uplands to north and northeast. Bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, as well as Sweden to the west, Norway (one of Finland's non-EU neighbours) to the north, and Russia (another non-EU neighbour) to the east, Finland is the northernmost country in the European Union. Most of the population and agricultural resources are concentrated in the south. Northern and eastern Finland are sparsely populated containing vast wilderness areas. Taiga forest is the dominant vegetation type.

Size and external boundaries

thumb|right|240px|Map of Finland – click to enlarge.

Finland's total area is . Of this area 10% is water, 69% forest, 8% cultivated land and 13% other. Finland is the eighth largest country in Europe after Russia, Ukraine, France, Spain, Sweden, Norway and Germany.

As a whole, the shape of Finland's boundaries resembles a figure of a one-armed human. In Finnish, parallels are drawn between the figure and the national personification of Finland – Finnish Maiden (Suomi-neito) – and the country as a whole can be referred in the Finnish language by her name. Even in official context the area around Enontekiö in northwestern part of the country between Sweden and Norway can be referred to as the "Arm" (käsivarsi). After the Continuation War Finland lost major land areas to the Soviet Union in the Moscow Armistice of 1944, and the figure was said to have lost the other of her arms, as well as a hem of her "skirt".

Relief and geology

Geology

left|thumb|250x250px|The view of [[Saana|Saana mountain in Kilpisjärvi, Finland.]]

The bedrock of Finland belong to the Baltic Shield The youngest rocks in Finland are those found in the northwestern arm which belong to Scandinavian Caledonides that assembled in Paleozoic times.

Relief and hydrography

thumb|An aerial view of the [[Kvarken Archipelago]]

About one third of Finland lies below 100 m, and about two thirds lies under 200 m. The coastal landscapes are made up mostly of plains below 20 m. These plains tilt gently towards the sea so that where its irregularities surpasses sea-level groups of islands like the Kvarken Archipelago or the Åland Islands are found. Next to the Gulf of Bothnia the landscape of Finland is extremely flat with height differences no larger than 50 m. This region called the Ostrobothnian Plain extends inland about 100&nbsp;km and constitute the largest plain in the Nordic countries. In the northern region more known as Lapland, highest points reach mostly from 200 m to 600 m and the landscape is a förfjäll (fore-fell).

The subdued landscape of Finland is the result of protracted erosion that has leveled down ancient mountain massifs into near-flat landforms called peneplains. While Finland has remained very close to sea-level since the formation of this last peneplain some further relief was formed by a slight uplift resulting in the carving of valleys by rivers. The slight uplift also means that at parts the uplifted peneplain can be traced as summit accordances. The Quaternary ice ages resulted in the erosion of weak rock and loose materials by glaciers. When the ice masses retreated eroded depressions turned into lakes. Fractures in Finland's bedrock were particularly affected by weathering and erosion, leaving as result trace straight sea and lake inlets. During the last deglaciation the first parts of Finland to become ice-free, the southeastern coast, did so slightly prior to the Younger Dryas cold-spell 12,700 years before present (BP). The retreat of the ice cover occurred simultaneously from the north-east, the east and southeast. The retreat was fastest from the southeast resulting in the lower course of Tornio being the last part of Finland to be deglaciated. Finally by 10,100 years BP the ice cover had all but left Finland to concentrate in Sweden and Norway before fading away.

As the ice sheet became thinner and retreated the land begun to rise by effect of isostacy. Much of Finland was under water when the ice retreated and was gradually uplifted in a process that continues today. Depending on location in Finland the ancient shoreline reached different maximum heights. In southern Finland 150 to 160 m, in central Finland about 200 m and in eastern Finland up to 220 m.

Climate

thumb|240px|Finland map of Köppen climate classification

Latitude is the principal influence on Finland's climate. Because of Finland's northern location, winter is the longest season.

The Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Eurasian continent to the east interact to modify the climate of the country. The lowest, (Kittilä, 28 January 1999). The annual middle temperature is relatively high in the southwestern part of the country (), with quite mild winters and warm summers, and low in the northeastern part of Lapland ().

Temperature extremes for every month:

Extreme highs:

  • January: (January 6, 1973, Mariehamn Airport, Jomala, Åland)
  • February: (February 28, 1943, Ilmala, Helsinki, Uusimaa)
  • March: (March 27, 2007, Helsinki Airport, Vantaa, Uusimaa)
  • April: (April 27, 1921, Jyväskylä, Central Finland)
  • May: (May 30/31, 1995, Ingermaninkylä, Lapinjärvi, Uusimaa)
  • June: (June 24, 1934, Ähtäri, South Ostrobothnia)
  • July: (July 29, 2010, Joensuu Airport, Liperi, North Karelia) and August 8, 2010, Laune, Lahti, Päijät-Häme)
  • September: (September 6, 1968, Rauma, Satakunta)
  • October: (October 14, 2018, Oulu Airport, Oulu, North Ostrobothnia)
  • November: (November 6, 2020, Mariehamn Airport, Jomala, Åland)
  • December: (December 20, 2015, Kokemäki, Satakunta and Pori, Satakunta)

Extreme lows:

  • January: (January 28, 1999, Pokka, Kittilä, Lapland)
  • February: (February 5, 1912, Sodankylä, Lapland)
  • March: (March 1, 1971, Tuntsa, Salla, Lapland)
  • April: (April 2, 1912, Kuusamo, North Ostrobothnia and April 9, 1912, Sodankylä, Lapland)
  • May: (May 1, 1971, Kalmankaltio, Enontekiö, Lapland)
  • June: (June 3, 1962, Laanila, Inari, Lapland)
  • July: (July 12, 1958, Kilpisjärvi, Enontekiö, Lapland)
  • August: (August 26, 1980, Naruska, Salla, Lapland)
  • September: (September 26, 1968, Vuotso, Sodankylä, Lapland)
  • October: (October 25, 1968, Sodankylä, Lapland)
  • November: (November 30, 1915, Sodankylä, Lapland)
  • December: (December 21, 1919, Pielisjärvi, North Karelia)

Area and boundaries

thumb|There are some 187,888 [[List of lakes of Finland|lakes in Finland larger than 500 square metres and 75,818 islands of over 0,5 km2 area.]]

Area:

<br />total:

<br />land:

<br />water:

Area – comparative:

slightly smaller than Germany, Montana, and Newfoundland and Labrador

Land boundaries:

<br />total:

<br />border countries:

Norway , Sweden , Russia

thumb|An aerial photograph of Naantali Archipelago, [[Archipelago Sea]]

Coastline:

Maritime claims:

<br />Territorial sea:

, in the Gulf of Finland; there is a stretch of international waters between Finnish and Estonian claims; Bogskär has separate internal waters and 3 nmi of territorial waters

<br />Contiguous zone:

<br />Exclusive economic zone:

; extends to continental shelf boundary with Sweden, Estonia, and Russia

<br />Continental shelf:

depth or to the depth of exploitation

Elevation extremes:

<br />lowest point:

Baltic Sea 0&nbsp;m

Other miscellaneous information

  • In Finland there are approximately 168,000 lakes of over in size, and 57,000 of over . A research project by National Land Survey of Finland is currently (2019) seeking to clarify the definition of 'lake' and the number of lakes in Finland.
  • The Finnish capital, Helsinki, is the northernmost capital city on the mainland of any continent, and ranks as second globally (the Icelandic capital Reykjavik takes the first place globally).
  • At , Finland has the second-longest border with Russia of any European country, surpassed only by Ukraine ().
  • The third largest lake, Lake Inari in the Lapland province of extreme northern Finland, has a surface area of , a total shore length of , a maximum depth of , some 3,318 islands, and a total water volume of . Despite its size and numerous recreational opportunities, the lake is scarcely visited sheerly because of its distance from Helsinki, and its daunting distance to other similarly populated areas in the south of the country.

Notes

References