Finland Geography

Finland is bordered by the Gulf of Finland, the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Bothnia, Sweden, Norway and Russia. It is one of the northernmost countries on the European continent.

Many think of Finland covered with thick forests and thousands of lakes. While this is true for much of Finland, it is not true everywhere in this country. The thick forests and lakes are located mainly in the inland part of Finland. This flat terrain with low, smooth hills continues into Russia on the east.

Upland Finland is an area that extends beyond the Arctic Circle. The terrain here consists of rugged hills and marshy bogs. The far north of this area is known as Lapland.

Clay plains run along the western coast of Finland and extend about 60 miles inland. Off the western coast of Finland are thousands of islands. The Åland Islands located off the southwest point at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia is the most significant group of islands off the Finnish coast.

Except for the extreme north where the highest points may reach about 3,300 feet (1,000 meters), the elevation of Finland is less than 600 feet (180 meters) above sea level.

The following books are geography books for Finland found in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are written in Finnish and can be checked out at the Access Services Window on the International Floor of the Library.

Auer, Väino and L. Arvi P. Poijärvi. Suomen maantieto. Helsingissä: Otava, 1947

FamilySearch Catalog 174294

Leiviskä, Iivari. Suomen maantieto. Porvoo: WSOY, 1949.

FamilySearch Catalog 174282

FamilySearch Catalog 174174

For online information about the geography of Finland, including climate information, see:

Geography of Finland

Finland Geography