Vanajavesi is a large lake in southern
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...
, in the provinces of
Pirkanmaa
Pirkanmaa (; sv, Birkaland; la, Birkaria, link=no), also known as ''Tampere Region'' in government documents, is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, South Ostrobothnia, Central Finland, Päijät-Häme, Kanta-Häme an ...
and
Kanta-Häme. It is part of the
Kokemäenjoki basin. The lake gathers waters from a wide area in the regions of
Pirkanmaa
Pirkanmaa (; sv, Birkaland; la, Birkaria, link=no), also known as ''Tampere Region'' in government documents, is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, South Ostrobothnia, Central Finland, Päijät-Häme, Kanta-Häme an ...
,
Tavastia Proper Tavastia or Tavastland may refer to:
* Häme (Swedish: ''Tavastland'', Latin: ''Tavastia'')
* Tavastia (historical province), a historical province of the kingdom of Sweden, located in modern-day Finland
* Tavastia (constituency), formerly Tavas ...
and parts of the
Päijänne Tavastia region.
[Vanajavesi in the Jarviwiki Web Service]
Retrieved 2014-03-02.
Settlements
The biggest city by the lake is
Hämeenlinna
Hämeenlinna (; sv, Tavastehus; krl, Hämienlinna; la, Tavastum or ''Croneburgum'') is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Tavastia and the modern province of Kanta-Häme in the south of ...
in the Tavastia Proper region. Other cities and towns include
Valkeakoski and
Akaa
Akaa ( sv, Ackas) is a town and a municipality in Pirkanmaa, Finland. It was created on January 1, 2007 when the town of Toijala and the municipality of Viiala were united into a single town. The municipality of Kylmäkoski was consolidated w ...
(formerly
Toijala
Toijala is a former town and municipality of Finland, located some south of Tampere. On 1 January 2007, it was consolidated with Viiala to form the town of Akaa.
Toijala is known as an important railway crossroads. The Helsinki–Tampere an ...
) in the Pirkanmaa region. In addition to these, the municipalities by the lake include
Lempäälä
Lempäälä (; Swedish also ) is a municipality in the Pirkanmaa region of Finland with inhabitants (). Lempäälä is located south of the city of Tampere. The municipality covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .
The ...
in the Pirkanmaa region and
Hattula and
Janakkala
Janakkala () is a municipality of Finland. Its administrative centre is in Turenki, which is often erroneously shown on maps as being "Janakkala". Janakkala is located along the Highway 3 ( E12) in the province of Southern Finland and is part of ...
in the Tavastia Proper region.
Watercourses
The lake is connected to
Mallasvesi in the north, which itself is the joining point of two chains of lakes; The ''Längelmävesi route'' in the northeast, consisting of the lakes
Längelmävesi,
Vesijärvi,
Roine, and
Pälkänevesi
Pälkänevesi is a lake in Finland. The lake is located in the municipality of Pälkäne in the Pirkanmaa region.
The lake is part of Kokemäenjoki basin and a chain of lakes that consists of Längelmävesi, Vesijärvi, Roine, Pälkänevesi and ...
. The other chain, the ''
Hauho route'', drains from the southeast and consists of the lakes
Lummene,
Vehkajärvi,
Vesijako,
Kuohijärvi,
Kukkia,
Iso-Roine,
Vesanselkä and
Ilmoilanselkä.
A third chain of lakes and rivers drain into Vanajavesi from the south, originating in
Pääjärvi in the east and
Loppijärvi
Loppijärvi is a medium-sized lake in Finland. It is situated in the municipality of Loppi in the Tavastia Proper region. The lake is part of Kokemäki River basin and it drains through Tervajoki River into Lake Kernaalanjärvi which in its turn ...
in the west. This third chain is referred to as the ''Vanajavesi route''.
Several lakes drain into Vanajavesi from the southeast, such as
Rutajärvi. Vanajavesi itself drains into lake Pyhäjärvi through the Kuokkolankoski rapids, which are situated in
Lempäälä
Lempäälä (; Swedish also ) is a municipality in the Pirkanmaa region of Finland with inhabitants (). Lempäälä is located south of the city of Tampere. The municipality covers an area of of which is water. The population density is .
The ...
, to the north.
National landscape
Vanajavesi and its surroundings are the central area of the historical province of
Tavastia in Finland. It has been declared as one of the
National landscapes of Finland as defined by the Finnish ministry of environment in 1992.
See also
*
List of lakes in Finland
References
Kokemäenjoki basin
Akaa
Landforms of Pirkanmaa
Landforms of Kanta-Häme
Lakes of Valkeakoski
Lakes of Janakkala
Lakes of Hämeenlinna
{{Finland-geo-stub