Lake Inari

Where is Lake Inari?

Countries on its shores: Finland.

Middle of the lake: 68.97° N, 27.75° E

The story behind it

Lake Inari lies 119 metres above sea level in the north of Finnish Lapland, close to the border with Russia. It is up to 92 metres deep. For much of the year it is frozen: the ice usually comes in November and stays until early June. Some of its 3 318 islands have a special history. Hautuumaasaari, 'Graveyard Island', was once a burial place of the Sámi. Ukonkivi, 'Ukko's Stone', is a place where people long ago brought offerings. The Ivalo River flows in from the south-west, and the Paatsjoki River carries the water north to the Arctic Ocean. A power plant in Russia controls the water level. Trout, lake salmon, Arctic char, whitefish, grayling, perch and pike swim in the lake. On the south-western shore lies the village of Inari, where the Siida museum tells about Sámi culture and northern nature.

Find it on the globe

Lake Inari is there as a small blue dot with its name, right on the water. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.

It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.