The Republic of Finland (Suomen Tasavalta) is situated in N Europe facing the NE part of the Baltic Sea. The capital city is Helsinki. The bedrock of Finland represents a peneplaned platform of Precambrian orogenic belts, characterized by an abundance of metamorphic and plutonic rocks that form part of the Fennoscandian, or Baltic, Shield. The bedrock is overlain by thin veneers of Pleistocene and Holocene glacial deposits, or it may be seen in ice-polished outcrops.
The total area of the country, excluding the coastal waters, is 337000 km2 (130 165 mi2). Some 60000 lakes cover an area of 31 600 km2, 9.3% of the total.
History of geological and mining activity
Geological research in Finland originated with mining activity. The first mine was opened in 1540. The governmental mining department was established in 1818. Academic instruction in geology began in 1877 at the University of Helsinki, and the Geological Survey was founded for exploration, research and mapping in 1885.
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Simonen, A., Donner, J.J., Laikakari, I. (1997). Finland . In: Encyclopedia of European and Asian Regional Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4495-X_29
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