Southern Lapland or Rear Bothnia ( or ''Peräpohja''; or ''Överbotten''; ) was the northernmost part of the historical province of Ostrobothnia, and it has sometimes been considered a separate

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 ...

, but it is now part of the Lapland region. It belonged to the

province of Oulu The Province of Oulu (, , ) was a province of Finland from 1775 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Lapland, Western Finland and Eastern Finland and also the Gulf of Bothnia and Russia. History The Province of Oulu was established in 1775 ...

for a long time, but from 1938 it formed the southern part of the province of Lapland, which was founded that year. Parts of the Salla-Kuusamo area, which included the easternmost part of southern Lapland, were ceded to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in 1940, after the end of the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

and again in 1944, after the end of the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

. The

willow ptarmigan The willow ptarmigan ( ); ''Lagopus lagopus'') or willow grouse is a bird in the grouse subfamily Tetraoninae of the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is also known colloquially as awebo bird. The willow ptarmigan breeds in birch and other forests ...

(''Lagopus lagopus'') is the regional bird of Southern Lapland.Riekko, Lagopus lagopus
– LuontoPortti (in Finnish)

Municipalities of Southern Lapland

Kemi Kemi (; ; ; ) is a cities of Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located approximately from the city of Tornio and the Finland–Sweden border, Swedish border. The distance to Oulu is to the south and t ...

Kemijärvi Kemijärvi (; ; ) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the sub-region of Eastern Lapland. History The first permanent settler inhabitant of Kemijärvi was Paavali Ollinpoika Halonen, who moved from the region of Oulu, fro ...

Keminmaa Keminmaa (; until 1979 ''Kemin maalaiskunta''; ; ) is a municipality of Finland. It is located near the towns of Kemi and Tornio in the Lapland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The popu ...

Kolari Kolari is a municipality of Finland at the Swedish border, which follows the Torne River, the longest free-flowing river in Europe. It is located in the region of Lapland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of w ...

Pello Pello (formerly Turtola) is a municipality of Finland. It is located approximately north of the Arctic Circle in the western part of the province of Lapland, and is part of the Lapland region. The municipality is on the national border with ...

Posio Posio is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Lapland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbour municipalities are Rovaniemi, Kemijärvi, Ra ...

Ranua Ranua is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Lapland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Geography ...

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Lapland (Finland), Lapland. It is located near the Arctic Circle in the northern interior of the country. The population of Rovaniemi is approximately , while the Rovaniemi su ...

Salla Salla, known as Kuolajärvi until 1936, is a municipality of Finland, located in Lapland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The nearby settlement of Sallatunturi is ...

* Simo *

Tervola Tervola is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Lapland, Finland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbour municipalities are Keminmaa, Ra ...

Tornio Tornio (; ; ; ) is a city and municipalities of Finland, municipality in Lapland, Finland. The city forms a cross-border Twin cities, twin city together with Haparanda on the Swedish side. The municipality covers an area of , of which is wat ...

Ylitornio Ylitornio (; ; ; ) is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Lapland, Finland, Lapland along the Torne (Finnish and Swedish river), Tornio River, opposite the Sweden, Swedish ...

References

Lapland (Finland) {{Lapland-geo-stub

Municipalities of Southern Lapland

See also

References