Aavasaksa is a sharp-edged

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not a ...

Ylitornio Ylitornio ( sv, Övertorneå; sme, Badje-Duortnus; smn, Pajetuárnus) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Lapland along the Tornio River, opposite the Swedish town of Övertorneå about by road to its northwest. T ...

municipality in

Finnish Lapland Lapland ( fi, Lappi ; se, Lappi; smn, Laapi; sv, Lappland; la, Lapponia, links=no) is the largest and northernmost region of Finland. The 21 municipalities in the region cooperate in a Regional Council. Lapland borders the region of North O ...

. It has an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Ver ...

of . Aavasaksa is famous for its sights both towards Finland and Sweden, and it is included in the list of the

National landscapes of Finland National landscapes of Finland were selected by the Finnish Ministry of the Environment in 1992 as a part of the 75th anniversary of the Independence of Finland. The 27 selected landscapes represent the special environmental and cultural features of ...

. Decorative hunting cabin "Imperial Lodge" (Keisarinmaja) is one of the buildings on top of the hill. Its construction began with a visit by Alexander II of Russia in mind, but due to political instability it never happened. It's only open in the summer. Due to Aavasaksa's distinctive elevation above other nearby hills, it was first used by

Pierre Louis Maupertuis Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis (; ; 1698 – 27 July 1759) was a French mathematician, philosopher and man of letters. He became the Director of the Académie des Sciences, and the first President of the Prussian Academy of Science, at the ...

in the

French Geodesic Mission The French Geodesic Mission to the Equator (french: Expédition géodésique française en Équateur, also called the French Geodesic Mission to Peru and the Spanish-French Geodesic Mission) was an 18th-century expedition to what is now Ecuador c ...

(1736–1737), and later became part of the Struve Geodetic Arc. As a result of this,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

named Aavasaksa a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

, along with the 33 other sites used in the Struve Geodetic Arc. Aavasaksa is often considered the southernmost point in Finland where the

midnight sun The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When the midnight sun is seen in the Arctic, ...

is literally visible. The hill is surrounded by rivers running next to it:

Torne River The Torne, also known as the Tornio ( fi, Tornionjoki, sv, Torne älv, , se, Duortneseatnu, fit, Tornionväylä), is a river in northern Sweden and Finland. For approximately half of its length, it defines the border between these two countr ...

to the west and the smaller to the east and north. Asteroid 2678 Aavasaksa is named after the hill.

References

Struve Arc in Finland

External links

{{commonscat-inline, Aavasaksa Hills of Finland Ylitornio Landforms of Lapland (Finland) Tourist attractions in Lapland (Finland) Struve Geodetic Arc