Covering an area of approximately 338,000 sq kms, a quarter of which lies within the Arctic Circle, Finland is a Nordic land of midnight sun and pristine snow-scapes whose vast expanses of true wilderness are broken up every now and then by far-flung towns and villages whose total population - including those who live in larger cities like the capital, Helsinki - amount to not much more than 5.2 million. Rubbing shoulders with Sweden to the west and Russia to the east, and ducking under the northern regions of Norway, Finland has a long coastal stretch washed by the chilly waters of the Baltic Sea branching west and south into the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland and fragmented by a whopping 179,584 islands.
Water plays a huge part in Finland's natural heritage as besides its extensive and convoluted coastline it hosts no fewer than 187,888 lakes, most of which are concentrated in the southern regions of the country, the upland - or northerly - provinces of Oulu and Lapland having more in the way of long, impressive rivers flowing westward into the Gulf of Bothnia, or northwards across Norway or Russia into the Atlantic Ocean. With a predominantly flat landscape, Finland's mountains are few and far between occurring more frequently in upland regions, particularly in Lapland where the Scandinavian Mountains mark the junction between Norway, Sweden and Finland and the 1,328m peak of Halti is the highest point in the country.
Despite its latitude, summer in Finland is warm and sunny with temperatures often creeping up into the 20's during July even in Lapland, but with sub-zero conditions prevailing throughout the rest of year, except, perhaps, on the Baltic-tempered south west coast, winter chiefly remains the domain of the skiing enthusiast, or those who choose to rent the traditional log cabins and holiday chalets in Lapland over the Christmas period simply to be close to where Santa Claus has made his home amongst the mountains, forests and lakes of a snow-bound northern Finland.
Place yourself in a far-northern Finnish location at the height of summer and you'll discover a part of the country where the sun doesn't set for 73 consecutive days, so hiking, canoeing or fishing at midnight in Lapland is a distinct possibility, although you could actually consider exploring the historical city of Helsinki right down on the south coast whilst everyone else is tucked up in bed! Unfortunately the same is definitely not to be said during the depths of winter in Lapland when skiing is more likely to be done in a state of twilight as the sun simply refuses to shine for 51 days at this latitude! But whatever daylight there is is magnified by a thick carpet of snow covering the countryside providing a crisp, clean brightness and a certain sense of magic and mystery to this spectacular winter wonderland that makes the surrounding scenery more reminiscent of a cosy Christmas card than the wild, Arctic environment that it really is.
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