Pyhäjärvi (Tampere region) explained

Lake Pyhäjärvi
Coords:61.4833°N 63°W
Basin Countries:Finland
Pushpin Map:Finland
Area:121.61km2
Max-Depth:46m (151feet)
Elevation:77.2m (253.3feet)
Reference:[1]

Pyhäjärvi (in Finnish ˈpyhæˌjærʋi/) is a lake in southern Finland. Although the name means "holy lake" in modern Finnish, it probably originally meant "border lake". Pyhäjärvi is shaped like the letter C with the cities of Tampere and Nokia on the northern end, and the town of Lempäälä at the southern end.

The lake is fed by the water running through the Tammerkoski rapids in the center of Tampere from the North, and by the waters from lake Vanajavesi in the South. Due to the Tammerkoski rapids, the water in Pyhäjärvi is warmer and richer in ozone than that in the northern lake, Näsijärvi, which results in the life in this lake being richer, even though the water is more polluted.

There are a number of other lakes named Pyhäjärvi in Finland and its former territories, as well.

Notes and References

  1. http://www.ymparisto.fi/default.asp?contentid=234185&lan=fi&clan=en Finnish Environment Institute: Finnish lakes larger than 40 square kilometers