Finland

Edge of the midnight sun, "the country of thousands of lakes and Islands" Finland is in the north of Europe. The north-western part of the country is located on the Scandinavian Peninsula.

The capital of Finland is located on southern edge of the country on coasts of the bay of Finland. Naturally it is warmer than northern part of Finland, but the city is warmer than other localities of same latitude. Thermal influence of the Baltic Sea and the North Atlantic Current softens winter in Helsinki.

Tampere is second biggest locality of Finland. It is located in southern portion of the country in lands of numerous relict lakes which were formed at ice age due to movement of prehistoric glaciers. Tampere lies on border of humid continental and subarctic climate. The city is divided by the river that flows between two nearby lakes Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi.

Northern location of Finland along with closeness of the Arctic Ocean are forming cold climate of the country. Hence northern regions of the country have coder and more humid continental climate while southern portion lies within the zone of transition from maritime to continental climate (due to influence of the Baltic Sea).

Most of territory of Finland is plain taiga. There are many rivers and streams along with several large and numerous smaller lakes. Plain relief prevails however there are some mountains in Finland. Halti Mountain is the highest among them with elevation of 1324 m (4344 ft.) a.s.l.

Finland is northern country. Cold weather conditions of it were formed from its global location and closeness to the Barents, the Norwegian and the Baltic Seas. Northern lands of the country lie within the zone of continental climate and they are colder than the rest of Finland.