Salpausselkä

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Salpausselkä ridge system

Salpausselkä (Finnish:

Baltic ice lake during the Younger Dryas period about 12,250–10,400 years ago.[1] All together the formation is close to 500 km (310 mi) from end to end, and the ridges can be as tall as 80 m (260 ft) in some places.[1]

It runs from

Päijänne into the Gulf of Finland. An artificial breach from the Lakeland is the Saimaa Canal, from Saimaa at Lappeenranta into the Gulf of Finland at Vyborg
.

Salpausselkä has been used for transportation because of the easy terrain for centuries; later on both railways and highways have been built to follow it. It is also an important source of clean groundwater filtering from the lakes on the upper side (north) of the ridge, for the communities built alongside the ridge. The south side of the Salpausselkä has been inhabited for more than 10,000 years.

There are also formations called Second and Third Salpausselkä, which are similar in form but smaller. They are situated north of the main Salpausselkä, and were formed later respectively.

See also

References