Pielisjoki (River Pielinen)SUP Joensuu
/ref> is a long river in

Eastern Finland Eastern Finland (, ) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Western Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered Russia to the east. History On September 1, 1997, the Mikkeli Province, the Kuopio Pr ...

. It is the sixth most fast-flowing river in Finland and the largest river draining into

Lake Saimaa Saimaa ( , ; ) is a lake located in the Finnish Lakeland area in southeastern Finland. With a surface area of approximately , it is the largest lake in Finland, and the fourth-largest natural freshwater lake in Europe. The name Saimaa likely co ...

. The river connects the two largest lakes in

North Karelia North Karelia (or ''Northern Karelia'', ; ) is a region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of Kainuu, North Savo, South Savo and South Karelia, as well as Russia's Republic of Karelia. It is the easternmost region of Finland and share ...

Pielinen Pielinen () is the fourth largest lake of Finland, with a drainage basin area of equally distributed between eastern Finland and Russia. The creation of the lake and its outlet is attributed to a post-glacial isostatic rebound, which resulted in ...

and

Pyhäselkä Pyhäselkä is a former municipality of Finland, now part of Joensuu. It seat was located in ''Hammaslahti''. Pyhäselkä is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the North Karelia region. The municipality had a populat ...

(part of Greater Saimaa). The city of

Joensuu Joensuu (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Karelia. It is located in the eastern interior of the country and in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Joensuu is approximately , while the sub-region has a population ...

is situated at the mouth of the river. The river was formed shortly after the last glaciation when the Uimaharju

esker An esker, eskar, eschar, or os, sometimes called an ''asar'', ''osar'', or ''serpent kame'', is a long, winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel, examples of which occur in glaciated and formerly glaciated regions of Europe and North Amer ...

was broken under the pressure of Pielinen waters, which previously drained north but were redirected by tilting of the ground as a result of post-glacial land uplift. Ten

canal locks A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a chamber in a permanently fixed position i ...

were built for navigation on the river in the late 19th century. In the 1950s and 1960s two power plants were built that block the river, Kaltimo and Kuurna. At the same time associated new canals were constructed that replaced the previous navigation system.

References

External links

Rivers of Finland Tributaries of the Vuoksi {{Finland-river-stub

See also

References

External links