| Kermajärvi | |
|---|---|
| As seen from Pääskyvuori 100 metres above the lake level | |
| Location | Heinävesi, Southern Savonia |
| Primary inflows | Karvio Rapids, from Varisvesi (Kallavesi) |
| Primary outflows | Kerma Rapids, to Ruokovesi |
| Basin countries | Finland |
| Surface area | 85,57 km² |
| Surface elevation | 80.1 m (263 ft) |
Kermajärvi (literally Finn. kerma for cream, järvi for lake) is a lake of Finland entirely located in Heinävesi in Southern Savonia. It is the country's 53rd largest lake with an area of 85,57 km² and consists of a wide open lake with plenty of islands in both northwest and southeast parts of it and several long, narrow bays in both ends. Its farthest extension from northwest to southeast is some 29 kilometres. The northwest-southeast form shows the orientation of the moving Glacier in the latest Ice Age. The lake gets its water from Varisvesi of Kallavesi by Karvio Rapids and flows through Kerma and Vihovuonne Rapids to Ruokovesi which flows through Pilppa Rapids to Haukivesi of Saimaa. Kermajärvi is the main lake of Heinävesi Route, one of the two routes which Lake Kallavesi flows through to Saimaa (the other being Leppävirta Route). All the four rapids can be evaded with canals built around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries named after the adjacent rapids.
Heinävesi parish village is located on the southern shore of the lake.