. The earth and its inhabitants ... Geography. FINLAND: LAKES. 213 Fi<^. 104.âLake Hoytiainen. Accordin»? to Krapotkin. Scale 1 : 460,000. it retained the appearance of a region still in process of formation, and scarcely yet quite suited for the habitation of man. In the south the labyrinth of lakes is such that without a careful study it is impossible to distinguish the limits of the water-partings between the Gulfs of Bothnia and Finland and Lake Ladoo-a. These limits are in any case often purely conventional, and in many places are indicated by simple marshes, draining to one or o
. The earth and its inhabitants ... Geography. FINLAND: LAKES. 213 Fi<^. 104.âLake Hoytiainen. Accordin»? to Krapotkin. Scale 1 : 460,000. it retained the appearance of a region still in process of formation, and scarcely yet quite suited for the habitation of man. In the south the labyrinth of lakes is such that without a careful study it is impossible to distinguish the limits of the water-partings between the Gulfs of Bothnia and Finland and Lake Ladoo-a. These limits are in any case often purely conventional, and in many places are indicated by simple marshes, draining to one or other of the surrounding seas. The rivers are little more than con- tinuous chains of lakes, so that "the embiyology of streams" can nowhere else be better studied. Lake Enare, or Inara, pro- bably the largest in Finland, lies beyond the lacustrine region proper, in the extreme north of Lapland, and drains through the river Pasvik to the Yaranger- fiord. But it is so little known that the estimates of its area vary by over 400 square miles. Saïma, or Saimaa, the largest in Finland proper, would far exceed even Enare in size, were all the basins to be included which directly communicate with it through broad channels. This lacustrine system, which drains to Lake Ladoga, occupies nearly the whole of South-east Finland, and by a few simple cuttings across rocky isthmuses it might be easily connected with other water systems draining south to the Gulf of Finland. Since 1856 Saïma has in this way been con- nected with the gulf, thus giving access to the heart of the country.* Although, owing to the slight elevation of the interior, the falls and rapids are necessarily few, and relativelj^ unimportant, some of them may compare with those of Scandinavia, if not in height and volume, at all events in their ruirsred * Area of principal lakes (in square miles) :âEnare. 980 ; Saïma, 670, but including the Kallavesi, Enovesi, and Pihlavesi, 2,998; Paiyanne, 609; Pyhas
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade18, booksubjectgeography, bookyear1883
