Lauhanvuori National Park is a national park

National park

A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...

 in the Southern Ostrobothnia

Southern Ostrobothnia

Southern Ostrobothnia is one of the 20 regions of Finland.Seinäjoki is the regional centre and by far the largest city in the area.- Historical provinces :For History, Geography and Culture see: Ostrobothnia- Municipalities :...

 region of 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...

, on the border of Kauhajoki

Kauhajoki

Kauhajoki is a town and municipality of Finland. The city is unilingually Finnish.It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region. The population of Kauhajoki is and the municipality covers an area of of which is inland water...

 and Isojoki

Isojoki

Isojoki is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region. The population of Isojoki is and the municipality covers an area of of which is inland water . The population density is . Although the area isn't very high,...

. It was established in 1982 and covers 53 square kilometres (20 sq mi).

The park is characterized by its pine

Pine

Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...

 forestland, spring

Spring (hydrosphere)

A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...

 brooks, and swamps.

Mountain

The Lauhanvuori mountain is a 231 m (757.9 ft) high moraine

Moraine

A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...

 mountain and one of the highest points in Western Finland. The summit area was uncovered 9500 BCE

Common Era

Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...

 when the glacier retreated, and it has never been under the water. Indeed, it was an island in the middle of the Ancylus Lake

Ancylus Lake

Ancylus lake is a name given by geologists to the body of fresh water that replaced the Yoldia Sea after the latter had been severed from its saline intake across central Sweden by the isostatic rise of south Scandinavian landforms. The dates are approximately 9500-8000 BP calibrated, during the...

.

Flora and fauna

The summit of Lauhanvuori is lusher than its surroundings due to not having been under the sea and thus having retained its loose soil and nutrients. The hillsides are barren and infertile.

Cranes

Crane (bird)

Cranes are a family, Gruidae, of large, long-legged and long-necked birds in the order Gruiformes. There are fifteen species of crane in four genera. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back...

 and capercaillie

Capercaillie

The Western Capercaillie , also known as the Wood Grouse, Heather Cock or Capercaillie , is the largest member of the grouse family, reaching over 100 cm in length and 6.7 kg in weight. The largest one ever recorded in captivity had a weight of 7.2 kg....

s can be heard in the bogs during summertime. The willow grouse

Willow Grouse

The Willow Ptarmigan , also known as the Willow Grouse, is a bird of the grouse subfamily. It is a sedentary species, breeding in birch and other forests and moorlands in the tundra of Scandinavia, Siberia, Alaska, northern Canada, in particular the province of Newfoundland and Labrador...

 also inhabits the bogs. The park also has a hectare of fen

Fen

A fen is a type of wetland fed by mineral-rich surface water or groundwater. Fens are characterised by their water chemistry, which is neutral or alkaline, with relatively high dissolved mineral levels but few other plant nutrients...

, where Succisa pratensis

Succisa pratensis

Succisa pratensis Moench, also known as Devil's-bit Scabious, is a flowering plant of the genus Succisa in the family Dipsacaceae. It differs from other similar species in that it has 4 lobed flowers, whereas Small Scabious and Field scabious have 5 lobes and hence it has been placed in a separate...

, brown beak sedge, carnation sedge, moor rush, Scottish asphodel, and many rare moss

Moss

Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...

es grow. Lauhanvuori is the southernmost habitat of the Scottisch asphodel.

External links

• Outdoors.fi – Lauhanvuori National Park