Kemijoki with its 550 km (341.8 mi) length, is the longest river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

. It runs through Kemijärvi

Kemijärvi

Kemijärvi is a municipality of Finland and the northern-most town in Finland. It is located in the province of Lapland. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...

 and Rovaniemi

Rovaniemi

Rovaniemi is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland. It is situated close to the Arctic Circle and is between the hills of Ounasvaara and Korkalovaara, at the confluence of the Kemijoki River and its...

 before reaching the Gulf of Bothnia

Gulf of Bothnia

The Gulf of Bothnia is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It is situated between Finland's west coast and Sweden's east coast. In the south of the gulf lie the Åland Islands, between the Sea of Åland and the Archipelago Sea.-Name:...

 at Kemi

Kemi

Kemi is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located very near the city of Tornio. It was founded in 1869 by royal decree, because of its proximity to a deep water harbour....

.

At Rovaniemi the Ounasjoki

Ounasjoki

The Ounasjoki River is the Kemijoki River's largest tributary, as well as, Finland's longest single river tributary. It is also the largest river entirely within its borders. Ounasjoki is approximately in length, and the catchment area is , 27 percent of the Kemi catchment area.-Course:The...

 river merges with Kemijoki.

The first hydroelectric plant on Kemijoki was constructed in 1946 at Isohaara. A total of 15 power plants have been constructed so far. The plants are owned by Kemijoki Oy and Pohjolan Voima Oy. In 2003 the plants produced a total of 4.3 TWh, which was about 34.5% of Finland's total hydroelectric production.

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