Saimaa (/ˈsaɪmɑː/ SY-mah, Finnish: [ˈsɑi̯mɑː]; Swedish: Saimen) is a lake located in the Finnish Lakeland area in southeastern Finland. With a surface area of approximately 4,279 square kilometres (1,652 sq mi), it is the largest lake in Finland, and the fourth-largest natural freshwater lake in Europe.
The name Saimaa likely comes from a non-Uralic, non-Indo European substrate language. Alternatively, it has been proposed that the name may be connected to the Sami word sápmi.
The Port of Lappeenranta (Finnish: Lappeenrannan satama, Swedish: Villmanstrands hamn) is an inland harbour in the city of Lappeenranta, Finland, on the southern shore of Lake Saimaa. It is located in the city centre on the Kaupunginlahti bay, and is therefore also known as the Kaupunginlahti harbour.
Scheduled international passenger services run from Lappeenranta to the Russian city of Vyborg (Finnish: Viipuri) on the Gulf of Finland, and wider afield, via the Saimaa Canal, which starts some 6.5 kilometres (4.0 mi; 3.5 nmi) east of the harbour. The total number of international passengers (departures and arrivals) was c. 16,400 in 2018.
Lappeenranta (Finnish: [ˈlɑpːeːnˌrɑntɑ]; Swedish: Villmanstrand) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Karelia. It is located in the southeastern interior of the country and in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lappeenranta is approximately 73,000, while the sub-region has a population of approximately 88,000. It is the 13th most populous municipality in Finland, and the 11th most populous urban area in the country.
Lappeenranta is located on the shore of Lake Saimaa, 30 kilometres (19 miles) from the Russian border and 64 kilometres (40 mi) from the city of Vyborg. Lappeenranta is one of the most important urban centres in the entire Saimaa region, together with the cities of Imatra, Mikkeli and Savonlinna. Lappeenranta incorporated the late municipalities of Lappee and Lauritsala in 1967, Nuijamaa in 1989, Joutseno in 2009 and Ylämaa in 2010.
South Savo (or Southern Savonia; Finnish: Etelä-Savo; Swedish: Södra Savolax) is a region in the south-east of Finland. It borders the regions of North Savo, North Karelia, South Karelia, Kymenlaakso, Päijät-Häme, and Central Finland. The total area of South Savo is 18,768.33 km (7,246.5 sq mi), with a population of 153,738 (2011). South Savo is located in the heart of the Finnish lake district, and contains Lake Saimaa, the largest lake in Finland. The three major towns in the region are Mikkeli, Savonlinna and Pieksämäki.
An inland port is a port on an inland waterway, such as a river, lake, or canal, which may or may not be connected to the sea. The term "inland port" is also used to refer to a dry port.
The Vuoksi (Russian: Вуокса, historically: "Uzerva"; Karelian: Vuokša; Finnish: Vuoksi; Swedish: Vuoksen) is a river running through the northernmost part of the Karelian Isthmus from Lake Saimaa in southeastern Finland to Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia. The river enters Lake Ladoga in three branches, an older main northern branch at Priozersk (Käkisalmi), a smaller branch a few kilometers to the north of it, and a new southern branch entering 50 kilometers (31 mi) further southeast as Burnaya River (Finnish: Taipaleenjoki), which has become the main stream in terms of water discharge. Since 1857, the old northern distributaries drain only the lower reaches of the Vuoksi basin and are not fed by Lake Saimaa. The northern and southern branches actually belong to two separate river systems, which at times get isolated from each other in dry seasons.
The descent between Lake Saimaa and Lake Ladoga is 69 meters (226 ft). The entire run of the river is 162 kilometers (101 mi) via the Priozersk branch, or 150 kilometers (93 mi) via the Taipale (Burnaya) branch. It has a drainage basin of 68,700 square kilometres (26,500 sq mi). For most of its length, the river broadens out to a series of lakes bound together by shorter riverlike connections. One of these lakes, Uusijärvi close to Priozersk, was renamed 'Vuoksa Lake in the Soviet Union.
Lake Peipus (/ˈpeɪpʊs/; Estonian: Peipsi-Pihkva järv, IPA: [ˈpei̯psʲi ˈpʲihkʋɑ ˈjærʋ]; Russian: Чудско-Псковское озеро or Псковско-Чудское озеро) is the largest trans-boundary lake in Europe, lying on the international border between Estonia and Russia.
The lake is the fifth-largest in Europe after Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega (in Russia), Lake Vänern (in Sweden), and Lake Saimaa (in Finland).
The Ladoga ringed seal (Russian: Ладожская нерпа; Pusa hispida ladogensis) is a freshwater subspecies of the ringed seal (Pusa hispida) found entirely in Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia. This pinniped was isolated in freshwater lakes and separated from the Arctic ringed seal as a result of the isostatic rebound of the region following the end of the Weichselian Glaciation.
It is related to the even smaller population of Saimaa ringed seals in Lake Saimaa, a lake that flows into Ladoga through the Vuoksi River.