FINLAND: LAKES. 211 



It looks as if an enormous harrow had been trailed along the ground all the 

 way from the Scandinavian uplands to Lake Ladoga. In many places the lines 

 have almost a geometrical regularity, hills, lakes, fens, lines of erratic boulders, 

 following in perfect parallelism from north-west to south-east, so that all the 

 subsequent works of man, embankments, dykes, ditches, highways, have nece;?- 

 sarily been constructed on the same lines. Along the upheaved seaboard the 

 capes, peninsulas, and islets are often disposed with the same uniformity, and 

 equally betray evidences of glacial action. This is notably the case between the 

 mouth of the Kumo and Nystad, on the Gulf of Bothnia, and between Borgâ 

 and the island of Bjorko, on that of Finland. In this respect the form of Wiborg- 

 fiord, with its peninsulas and islands fitting into each other, is highly instructive. 

 Striœ have been observed on the highest sumuiits corresponding with those of marine 

 shoals, rocks near Helsingfors 115 feet below sea-level being similarly marked. 



Numerous harjii^ or moraines, corresponding with the Swedish âsar, are also found 

 in Finland. As in Sweden, some cross the lakes like broken ramparts, and are 

 followed throughout their length by the highways, connected where necessary by 

 bridges and ferries. A remarkable instance is the Punga-harju, 100 feet high, and 

 connecting both sides of one of the northern basins of Lake Sai'ma, south of Ny-Slott. 



Lakes. — Islands. 



The southern harju, here aptly called Salpau-Salkii — that is, trenches or barriers — 

 run parallel with the gulf, and are broken here and there by the pressure of the 

 water. In the same way Lake Saïma is limited in the south by one of these dams, 

 interrupted only by the course of the Wuoxen. When a lake on a higher level 

 discharges through one of these openings, the old level is clearly marked on the 

 strand, and the mud of the lower basins is covered by layers of sandy deposits. 

 The work of nature is occasionally assisted by the hand of man in reclaiming 

 fertile tracts. By skilfully directing the course of the streams, the Finns thus 

 yearly add to their domain, continually altering the aspect of the land. The 

 engineers, however, are at times deceived in calculating the strength of these 

 dykes, as in the case of Lake Hoytiainen, north of Joensu, in East Finland. For 

 the purpose of gradually lowering the waters of this basin, whose level was 70 feet 

 above that of Lake Pyhaselka, a ditch 10 feet broad was begun in 1854, and soon 

 changed to a meandering stream by the rains and melting snows. But on 

 August 3rd, 1859, the dykes intended to regulate the overflow suddenly gave way, 

 followed by a rush and a roar heard at Joensu, 6 miles off. The destructive 

 inundations lasted three days, during which time Lake Saima, recipient of the 

 overflow, was so agitated that the craft navigating its waters could scarcely 

 resist the violence of the waves. The discharge was estimated at 3,662,000,000 

 cubic yards, or somewhat over 14,400 cubic yards per second, which is about the 

 quantity discharged by the Danube and Rhône combined. The amount of solid 

 matter carried down represented at least 46,000,000 cubic yards, forming a large 

 delta in Lake Pyhaselka, and greatly reducing the area of the upper lake. 



