Saimaa is a shallow lake (depth up to 82 m) in southeastern Finland. In the eastern part of the Finnish Lake Basin. It lies at an altitude of 76 m. The total area of the connected lake system is 4,377 km², making it the 4th largest lake in Europe after the Russian lakes Ladoga, Onega and the Swedish Lake Vänern. The basins of the lakes are of glacial origin, widened and smoothed by glacial cover.
Structure and shoreline
The lake consists of its own lake Saimaa (1377 km²) and the naturally connected lakes Pihlajavesi (713 km²), Haukivesi (620 km², 58 m deep), Orivesi (601 km²), Puruvesi (421 km²), Pyhäselkä (361 km²), Enonvesi (196 km²) and other smaller lakes. This breakdown may vary from source to source. The coastline is heavily indented, often rocky and mostly covered with forests. Lake system is very irregular in shape, fragmented by numerous islands and islets. The shoreline measures a total of 15 000 km.
The islands of Lake Saimaa
There are about 12 938 islands and islets in the lake. Of these, there are 4131 on Lake Saimaa proper, 3819 on Pihlajavesi, 2158 on Haukivesi, 1495 on Orivesi, 720 on Puruvesi and 615 on Pyhäselkä. The largest island is Sääminginsalo, which separates parts of Pihlajavesi, Haukivesi and Puruvesi and is the second largest in Finland after Soisalo in the Iso-Kalla lake system with an area of 1 069 km².
The water regime of Saimaa
Lake is an important crossroads of waterways. Viinijoki River flows into the Orivesi part from Lake Viinijärvi and the Pielisjoki River flows into the Pyhäselkä part from Lake Pielinen. The catchment area is 69,500 km². It’s drained by the wide Vuoksi River, which flows into Lake Ladoga, and by a series of artificial channels (the most important of which is the Saimaa Canal (Saimaan Kanava), which connects the lake with Vyborg Bay (part of the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea) and a number of other lakes. The water level is highest in summer and lowest in early spring. The lake is covered with ice from December to May.
Fauna
The rugged shallow waters are a paradise for fish, waterfowl and (of course) fishermen. In the northern part of the lake system. The Linnansaari National Park has been designated to protect. Among other things, the local freshwater subspecies of ringed seal (Phoca hispida ssp. saimensis – Saimaa ringed seal).
