Focus on Finland [antikvár]

FINLANDFinland belongs to the large majority of medium-sized countriesas far as both land area and population are concerned. Finlandis Europe's fifth-largest country in size, but it is fifth smallest inpopulation, except for the tiniest states.Finland is the world's northernmost country, with the excep-tion of Iceland. Lying as it does between eastern and westernEurope, on the border between two different cultural spheresand social systems, Finland is in an excellent position to serve asa bridge between them.Finland's position on the northern edge of Europe has led toclose ties with the other Nordic countries. The Nordic countriescomprise a uniform area in many respects, and they are oftenmore important in international affairs than their total popula-tion would warrant.Finland's landscape is characterized by a varied topography,innumerable bodies of water, fluctuations in climate, anddiverse vegetation. This variety is largely due to Finland's greatlength from north to south.Most of Finland consists of lowlands, sloping gently to thesouth and southwest. The mean elevation in Finland is 152 m,while the mean elevation for Europe as a whole is 330 m and forthe whole earth 840 m.Finland was freed completely from its glacial covering about9,000 years ago. As a result of the ice age, Finland is still risingfrom the sea, giving it about 7 sq.m more land annually.Finland is bounded on the south and west by the Baltic Seaand its gulfs. The broken shoreline of the southwest gives wayto Finland's largest archipelago. The number and diversity ofthe islands in this "Saaristomeri" make it unique in the world.Few countries can compete with Finland when it comes tolakes: there are nearly 188,000 of them. Most of these lakes arevery small, since only 22 have an area of over 200 sq. km.,including the artificial reservoirs of Lokka and Porttipahta.Finland's climate is considerably milder than one wouldexpect from its northern location. It is warmed by the Baltic, byits many inland waters, and above all by easterly winds whichbring in air currents from the Atlantic warmed by the Gulf