Salpausselkä

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Salpausselkä is an extensive ridge system left by the ice age in Southern Finland. It is a large terminal moraine formation that formed in front of the Baltic ice lake during the Younger Dryas period about 10.000 years ago. It runs from Hanko hundreds of kilometers to the east. It traps the extensive river and lake systems of Central Finland and forces the water to flow through the only breach in the ridge, the Vuoksi River, into lake Laatokka. From there the water subsequently flows through river Neva into Gulf of Finland, bypassing the Salpausselkä. There are also a formations called Second and Third Salpausselkä, which are similar in form but smaller. They are situated north of the main Salpausselkä, and were formed later respectively.