Geography and Environment of Finland

Finland, the sixth largest country in Europe, occupies an area of 338,312 sq km (130,622 square miles) — about twice the size of the United Kingdom. Its coastline, excluding indentations, is 1,100 kilometers long. Finland is bordered on the east and southeast by the Russian Federation, on the west by Sweden and the Gulf of Bothnia, on the north by Norway and on the south by the Gulf of Finland. Most of the country is low but not necessarily flat. Because the soil (mainly moraine deposits from ice age glaciers) is very thin the topography reflects the contours of the Archean bedrock. Elevations greater than 640 meters (2,100 ft) are found along the northwestern frontier with Norway, and in the extreme northern region of Lapland. Most of Finland’s 60,000 lakes, comprising 10% of the total area, lie in the southern half of the country and provide important waterways and log floating routes. An extensive and imposing archipelago, reaching from the Russian border on the south, westward to the Aland Islands and there northward, provides an important fishing and vacation area known for its magnitude and grandeur. Another impressive physical feature and natural resource of Finland is its forests which cover 65% of the land area (the highest percentage in Europe). The forests of Finland are mainly coniferous; a limited area in the south and southwest contains hardwood deciduous trees. In Lapland, the spruce and pines disappear and dwarf birch usually forms the timberline.

Detailed geography