Joutsa is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. It is located in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Western Finland Western Finland (, ) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Eastern Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Bothnia towards Åland. Tampere was the largest city of the province. Histor ...

and is part of the

Central Finland Central Finland (; ) is a Regions of Finland, region ( / ) in Finland. It borders the regions of Päijät-Häme, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, North Ostrobothnia, Northern Savonia, North Savo, and Southern Savonia, South S ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Jyväskylä Jyväskylä () is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Central Finland. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Jyväskylä is approximately , while the Jyväskylä sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately ...

is located about north of the Joutsa municipality. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. The municipality of Leivonmäki was consolidated with Joutsa on January 1, 2008. Sahti culture in Joutsa is known by ''Joutsan sahti''.

Geography

Neighbouring municipalities: Hartola, Hirvensalmi, Jyväskylä,

Kangasniemi Kangasniemi is a municipality in the Southern Savonia regions of Finland, region, Finland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Kangasniemi is located on the Highways in ...

Luhanka Luhanka (, also ) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . There are also many summertime cottages ...

, Pertunmaa and

Toivakka Toivakka is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region, near Jyväskylä. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually ...

. There are all together 192

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

s in Joutsa. The biggest lakes are Puula, Suontee and Jääsjärvi. Leivonmäki National Park is located in Joutsa. At area is

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

es and forest in

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 ...

Climate

Villages

* Havumäki * Kivisuo * Kälä * Laitjärvi * Lapinkylä * Leivonmäki * Marjotaipale * Pärnämäki * Ruokoranta * Ruorasmäki * Rutalahti * Savenaho * Selänpohja * Taka-Ikola * Tammilahti * Tolvasniemi * Vehmaa

Media

Newspapers: *''Joutsan seutu'' is published in Joutsa and Luhanka. * Itä-Häme

Twinnings

* Tähtvere Parish, Estonia * Finspång, Sweden

References

External links

Municipality of Joutsa
– Official website {{Authority control Municipalities of Central Finland