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Finland GEOGRAPHY
Size: About 338,145 square kilometers, slightly
larger
than Missouri and Illinois combined. About 10 percent of
area
made up of inland water. A quarter of the country above
Arctic
Circle.
Topography: Four natural regions. Archipelago
Finland
begins in southwestern coastal waters and culminates in
Aland
Islands. Coastal Finland a band of clay plains, extending
from
Soviet to Swedish border. Seldom exceeding width of 100
kilometers, plains slope upward to central plateau that
forms
basis of interior lake district. This core region contains
more
than 55,000 lakes set within country's densest forests.
Rising
above central plateau, upland Finland extends into
Lapland, where
forests gradually yield to harsh climate. Above timber
line are
barren fells and numerous bogs. Upland Finland crossed by
country's largest and longest rivers.
Climate: Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift
Current
moderate temperatures somewhat, but winter still lasts up
to
seven months in north, and most years gulfs of Finland and
Bothnia freeze, making icebreakers necessary for shipping.
Long
days in summer permit farming far to north. Continental
weather
systems can bring quite warm summer temperatures and
severe cold
spells in winter.
Data as of December 1988
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