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The home pages for the Usenet newsgroup soc.culture.nordic

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Lakes and birches are common in Finland

Subject: 4.1 
Fact Sheet

Subject: 4.2 
General information

4.2.1 Geography, climate, vegetation

Finland has three main physical regions: the coastal lowlands, the inland lake system, and the northern uplands. The coastal lowlands extend along coasts of the Gulfs of Finland and Bothnia, off which lie thousands of rocky islands; the principal archipelagos are the Åland (in Finnish: Ahvenanmaa) Islands and the archipelago of Turku. The lake district is an interior plateau of southern central, heavily forested and studded with lakes, swamps and bogs. The northern upland, much of which lies north of the Arctic Circle, has rather poor soils and is the most sparsely populated region of Finland. In the far north, arctic forests and swamps eventually change to tundra.

Finland's climate shows both maritime and continental influences. Surrounding seas cool the climate on the coast in spring but on the other hand warm it up in the autumn.The climate becomes more continental, i.e more extreme, the further east and north one goes. The furtherst north, however, has a rather marine climate because of the influence of the Arctic Ocean. The summer lasts two to four months, the growing season four to six.

The tourist cliche of Finland as "the country of thousands of lakes" has some basis; in one count, a number of 187,880 islands was reached (but it all depends on what counts as a lake). They are often connected by rivers and canals to form large lake-systems. Finland's largest lake, Saimaa, is in fact a system of more than a hundred interconnected smaller lakes. Finland's rivers are short and shallow, the longest being located in the north. Finland has about 30,000 coastal islands, of which the especially the southwestern archipelago is known for its beauty.

The country is situated entirely within the northern zone of coniferous forests. Forests cover about 65% of the total area (45% pines, 37% spruces, 15%). Oaks, lindens, elms, and ashes appear mostly in the southwest corner. Among the large wild animals are e.g ear, elk, deer, lynx, wolverine and wolf.

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4.2.2 Economy

Wood processing has traditionally been the most important economy. The metal and engineering industries have developed rapidly and today are the largest source of industrial employment. Since the 1950s large-scale swamp drainage, fertilizing, and reforestation have improved woord production. The state owns 20% of the forests; the rest are privately controlled. The chemical, graphics, and food industries are also significant to the economy, followed by textile and electrochemical enterprises. Mining activity has decreased in importance, although Finland still produces one-half of the copper and nickel needed for the domestic market. In 1960, 30% of Finland's work force was engaged in farming; by 1990 the figure was less than 10%, and only 7% of the total land area was cultivated. Nevertheless, the agricultural sector produces a surplus of dairy products, meat, and eggs. Wheat and rye are the most important bread grains; other major crops include hay, potatoes, oats, and barley. Finland's climate and small farms favor dairy and livestock production, which account for most of the farm income. The problems created by overproduction have led to soil banking (a policy of purposely leaving farmland uncultivated) and reforestation.

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