Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands – 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 m²) and 179,584 islands. One of these lakes, Saimaa, is the fourth largest in Europe. The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with few hills, and its highest point, the Halti at 1,324 metres, is found in the extreme north of Lapland at the border between Finland and Norway. The landscape is covered mostly (seventy-five percent of land area) by coniferous taiga forests and fens, with little arable land. The most common type of rock is granite. It is a ubiquitous part of the scenery, visible wherever there is no soil cover. Moraine or till is the most common type of soil, covered by a thin layer of humus of biological origin. Podzol profile development is seen in most forest soils except where drainage is poor. Gleysols and peat bogs occupy poorly drained areas. The greater part of the islands are found in the southwest in the Archipelago Sea, part of the archipelago of the Åland Islands, and along the southern coast in the Gulf of Finland. Finland is one of the few countries in the world whose surface area is still expanding. Owing to the post-glacial rebound that has been taking place since the last ice age, the surface area of the country is expanding by about 7 square kilometres (2.7 square miles) a year. The distance from the southernmost – Hanko – to the northernmost point in the country – Nuorgam – is 1,445 kilometres (898 miles) in driving distance, which would take approximately 18.5 hours to drive. The distance is comparable to that in Great Britain (Land’s End to John o’ Groats – 1,404 kilometres (872 miles) and 16.5 h).

Finland geographically marked a transition area between Scandinavia and the East European Plain. The country comprises some 60 000 lakes, mainly in the southern part of the country (Finnish lakes) and by a large number of rivers are linked. The richness of the Lakes developed country after the melting of the past Inlandeismassen of the Pleistocene ice age. The largest lakes are the Saimaasee, the Inarisee and Päijänne. In the southwest into the Baltic upstream are numerous islands and Archipelago, the largest archipelago, the Åland Islands (Finnish Ahvenanmaa) with more than 6 000 islands. Among the most important rivers include Torneälv, Muonioälv, Kemijoki and Oulujoki. For large vessels is only the Oulujoki passably. The country consists largely of a hilly plains with an average altitude from 120 to 180 meters above sea level. The terrain is generally flat; prevails in the north hill country, in the extreme northwest, there are also mountainous regions. The Haltiatunturi (1 328 meters) in the northwest to the Norwegian border is the highest point in the country. The northern third of northern Finland above the Arctic Circle (Lapland) is interspersed by peat bogs.

Because of the moderating influence of the surrounding waters is the climate of Finland for the Northern situation is relatively mild. Along the south coast, the average temperature in July at 15.6 ° C in February at -8.9 ° C. The annual precipitation (snow and rain) is on average about 460 millimeters in the north and 710 millimeters in the south. While the southern parts of the country for about four to five months in the year covered with snow, it can snow in the north to hold seven months. Because of the northern location have polar night in winter and summer Polartag in a period of several months. The lakes are around for half of the year frozen.

5.5 percent (2000) of the total land area of Finland are protected. Approximately 72 percent of Finland’s land area is covered by forest (2000), Finland is thus the wooded country in Europe. Inventory-building in the extreme south of trees are aspens, alders, maples and elms. These hardwood forests go to the north in boreal coniferous forest (see forests and moderate northerly latitudes) with spruce and pine trees as dominant over. In the area of tundra joined Moore at large, a significant part of the nation. In Finland, there are nearly 1 200 flowering plants and fern and about 1 000 lichen species.

The geography of Finland differs from that of other Nordic countries. Bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia, Finland is the northernmost country on the European continent. Although other countries have points extending farther north, virtually all of Finland is north of 60 degrees north latitude; nearly a quarter of the land area and fully one-third of the latitudinal extent of the country lie north of the Arctic Circle.

One of the most likeable towns in Finland, Kuopio is a very satisfying place that seems to combine several Suomi essentials – forest, lakes, saunas, ski-jumps – in one neat package. It’s a vibrant place with lots to see and do and enjoys a beautiful location, which can be surveyed from atop the famous Puijo tower, complete with revolving restaurant.

Whatever time of year you visit Finland, there’s something happening. Most museums and galleries are open year-round, and there is as much to do in the depths of winter as there is at the height of summer. Nevertheless, you’ll probably have a better time if you come in the warmer months, either in summer or anytime from May to September. As well as the advantages of warm weather, summer is the time of the midnight sun. Winter north of the Arctic Circle is a chilly confluence of strange bluish light and encroaching melancholy. Despite snow falls from November, it stays pretty sludgy until late winter: skiing isn’t great until February, the coldest month, and you can ski in Lapland right through to June.

Helsinki (in Finnish; listen (help·info)), or Helsingfors (in Swedish; listen (help·info)) is the capital and largest city of Finland. It is in the southern part of Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, by the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is 569,892 (31 March 2008)^[1], making it the most populous municipality in Finland by a wide margin.

Helsinki is Finland’s administrative center and the center of Finnish cultural life and business activity. There is a large and varied collection of shopping, nightlife, restaurants, sports, museums, galleries, and performance spaces in the city. Helsinki hosts many education and research institutes such as Helsinki University. Helsinki-Vantaa airport is 40 minutes from the city center. Many major company headquarters are in Helsinki.

Helsinki, along with the neighbouring cities of Vantaa, Espoo, and Kauniainen, constitutes what is known as the capital region, with over 1,000,000 inhabitants. The Greater Helsinki area contains several additional municipalities and has a population of over 1,300,000.^[1]