Finnish Ice Age Thaws

Approximately 12,000 years agoduring the Finnish Ice Age,Finland as we know it and inhabited by Finns,Lapps and Karelians,was almost totally covered under a continental ice sheet.much the same as Greenland todayThis though was the Finland Ice Age.Over time the ice sheet melted causing its southern margin to retreat further North.Due to the ice thawing,the Earth`s crust began to rise and appear.This process is continues to this day most apparent along the Gulf of BothniaDuring this process of the ice sheet melting,the Finnish Peninsula rose from the sea,forming solitary islands and chains of islands,then in the end forming a clearly defined extension of the continent.The as before mentioned retreating glacier striated Finland`s bedrock.This process has allowed geologists to deduce the origins of Finland as it was and is today from its origins in the Finnish Ice Age

There were three times that the continental ice sheet halted,during the Finnish ice age.These were through 9 000 and 8 000 B.C.when it got extremely cold.The result led to the formation of two chains of eskers,made up of gravel and sand,These two separate ridges now known as The Salpausselklä ranges run east and west across the entire breadth of Finland

 The Final Stages of the Finnish Ice Age

After the Finnish ice age the body of water that eventually evolved in to The Baltic Sea was in fact a lake,from this huge mass of water,an extremely large labyrinthine lake separated with in the Finnish land mass and was to become known as the Finnish Peninsula and lad to the formation of tens of thousands of lakes that can be seen to this day.Hence the saying,”Finland Land of a Thousand Lakes”

Early Inhabitants of The Finnish Ice Age

Whilst the Finland Ice Age and continental ice sheet with great bodies of water covered much of Finland,a tundra overgrown with dwarf birch was to be found on the glacial margin,both in the South and the North.There were a variety of wild animals to be seen,such as wild reindeer,fur bearing arctic animals and fish in the coastal waters.These fish and animals offered primitive hunters and fishermen a chance to settle and make the beginnings of a livelihood.Many old relics are still being discovered to day some dating back to 8000 B.C.The worlds oldest fishing net found in 1914 in Korpilahti swamp,Karelia ,Eastern Finland.It carbon dated at 10,000 years old during the Finland Ice Aghe

Later inhabitants in Finland

Ancient Relics found in Southern Finland show them to date back to a later origin,about 7100 B.C.It is believed there lived a simple race of people eking out a living hunting and fishing with weapons they had made from bone,stone and wood.It is believed these early settlers had arrived from Eastern Europe

It has  been shown that in about 5 000B.C the Finnish climate warmed and became damp.This resulted many groves of elm,hazel.oak and linden trees grew.Again all of which can be seen today in scattered intervals in Southern Finland.With such rich and propitious surroundings,Finnish Stone Age Man moved their abodes North and gradually populated the entire Finnish Peninsula

There is even evidence which shows even in these remote times,the local inhabitants were maintaining trade relations with foreign people.An example being some of the stone weapons used are made from stone not found in Finland .

The Finnish Ice Age carved The Finland we know today

Portrayal of Finnish Ice Age