Actively Zealous

In the Paleozoic Era, the entire territory of the Gulf of Finland was covered by a sea. Modern relief was formed as a result of the glacier activities. Its retreat formed Littorina Sea. Some four thousand years ago, the sea receded, and the shoals became its islands.

Saimaa is a lake in southeastern Finland. At approximately 4400 square kilometers, it is the largest lake in Finland, and the fourth largest natural freshwater lake in Europe. It was formed by glacial melting at the end of the Ice Age. Major towns on the lakeshore include Lappeenranta, Imatra, Savonlinna, Mikkeli, Varkaus, and Joensuu. The Vuoksi River flows from Saimaa to Lake Ladoga. Most of the lake is spotted with islands, and narrow canals divide the lake into many parts, each having their own names. Thus, Saimaa exhibits all major types of a lake in Finland at different levels of eutrophication.

The Russian writer Maxim Gorky went into exile near the shores of Lake Saimaa for a period of time after his apartment was raided by the Black Hundreds in the aftermath of the Moscow Uprising of 1905. He wrote to his divorced wife that the lake was like a fairy tale.

There are 187,888 lakes in Finland larger than 5 acres. Most are small, but there are 309 lakes or reservoirs larger than 10 km. 

Surma is a character in the Finnish folklore of Kalevala. Surma is a terrible beast, embodies sudden, violent death and guards the gates of the Tuonela to prevent escape. It is often described as being a large dog with a snake-tail and can turn people into stone. An often-used Finnish metaphor is surman suuhun "into Surma's mouth" as if the victim was mauled to death by Surma.