Lake Inari

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Lake Inari
Location	Inari, Lapland Province
Coordinates	69°00′N 28°00′ECoordinates: 69°00′N 28°00′E
Primary outflows	Paatsjoki
Basin countries	Finland
Max. length	80 km
Max. width	50 km
Surface area	1,040.28 km²[1]
Average depth	15 m
Max. depth	92 m
Water volume	15,9 km³
Shore length1	3,308 km
Surface elevation	118.7 m[1]
Islands	3318 (Hautuumaasaari, Ukonkivi)
Settlements	Inari
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Lake Inari (Finnish: Inarijärvi, Northern Sami: Anárjávri, Inari Sami: Aanaarjävri, Skolt Sami: Aanarjäuˊrr, Swedish: Enare träsk) is the third largest lake in Finland. It is located in the northern part of Lapland, north of the Arctic Circle. The lake is 117–119 meters above sea level and it is regulated at the Kaitakoski power plant in Russia. The freezing period normally extends from November to early June.

The most well known islands of the lake are Hautuumaasaari ("Graveyard Island"), which served as cemetery of ancient Sami people and Ukonkivi ("Ukko's Stone"), a historical sacrifice place of the ancient habitants of the area. There are over 3,000 islands in total. Trout, lake salmon, white fish, perch and pike are found in Lake Inari's waters.

The lake covers 1,040 square kilometres. It empties northwards through the Paatsjoki at the mouth of the Varangerfjord, which is a bay of Barents Sea.

[edit] Mentions in media

In the 'His Dark Materials trilogy of books, by Phillip Pullman, there is a lake called Enara, which is thought to be an alternate version of Inari. It is the region over which the witch queen Serafina Pekkala presides.

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} Finnish Environment Institute: Finnish lakes larger than 40 square kilometers