Saimaa
| Saimaa | |
|---|---|
| Saimen | |
Aerial view of frozen Lake Saimaa. | |
| Location | southeastern Finland |
| Coordinates | 61°15′N 028°15′E / 61.250°N 28.250°E |
| Primary outflows | Vuoksi River, Saimaa Canal |
| Basin countries | Finland |
| Surface area | 4,279 km2 (1,652 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 17 m (56 ft) |
| Max. depth | 86 m (282 ft) |
| Water volume | 36 km3 (8.6 cu mi) |
| Shore length1 | 14,850 km (9,230 mi) |
| Surface elevation | 76 m (249 ft) |
| Islands | 13,710 |
| Settlements | |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
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.