Facts about Finland [antikvár]

The Land and the PeopleTopographyThe soil, consisting mainly of moraine deposits left by ice age glaciers, is usually so thin that the topography follows the contours of the archaean bedrock. Most of the country is low lying, rising gradually from SSW to NNE up to the fell districts of Lapland. The landscape, however, is not of the flat lowland type. It is extremely broken, with rocky hillocks, ridges, valleys and hollows, which usually contain lakes.Seas and Inland WatersFinland is bounded by the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland. There are about 30,000 islands off the Finnish coast, mainly in the south and southwest. The 60,000 lakes comprise 9% of the total area. In the great lake districts of the interior, water covers 2060 % of the surface.ClimateOwing to the Gulf Stream and general air currents, average temperaturesin Finland are considerably higher at all seasons than in other countries at same latitude. Finland is in thQ snow and forest zone, characterized by warm summers and cold winters.At Midsummer, there are 19 hours of daylight in South Finland. In North Finland, starting slightly below the Arctic Circle, there is constant daylight, which, at the 70th parallel, lasts for 73 days. At the same latitude there are 51 days of uninterrupted unn-ter night during the Christmas season.Summer, with a mean temperature of 50°F (10"C) lasts for 110122 days in the south and 5085 days in the north. Summer weather is rare in May and September. The country is snowbound for about 5 months of the year In the south and up to 7 months In Lapland.Temperatures: July (mean): 5563°F (1317°C) (maximum): 86°F (30°C)February (mean): +26°Fto7°F(3°C to 14''C) (minimum): below 22°F (3n°C)A nnual precipitation (rain and snow): S.W. Finland: 27" (700 mm), N.W. Finland (Lapland): 16" (400 mm)