The Monitoring Well, Reflections on Geology & Society

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September 9, 2024

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Before going on to discuss the geology and geopolitics of Finland, here are some news items I thought were interesting.

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September 9, 2024

Geology and the Fate of Societies – Finland

Figure 1a – Finland
Credit: CIA World Factbook, public domain

Figure 1b – Location of Finland 
Credit: CIA World Factbook, public domain

This week we will look the Nordic country of Finland. Located in northern Europe, Finland is bordered by: Russia, to the east, Norway to the north, and Sweden to the west. Also, separating Finland and Sweden, is the Gulf of Bothnia of the Baltic Sea; and to the south is the Gulf of Finland, across which is Estonia.

The Republic of Finland is a unitary parliamentary republic. The President is Alexander Stubb and the Prime Minister is Petteri Orpo. The legislature is called the Suomen eduskunta (Parliament) and the Speaker of the Suomen eduskunta is Jussi Halla-aho. The capital and largest city is Helsinki (pop. 1,582,452 in the metropolitan area).

According to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook on Finland, the country has a total area of 338,145 square kilometres (km2), of which 303,815 km2 is land and 34,330 km2 is water (Finland has more than 180,000 recorded lakes. Also according to the CIA World Factbook, 5,626,414 people live in Finland, mostly in the southern part of the country, 85.8% of whom live in urban areas. Of the approximately 5.63 million people in Finland, almost 90% are ethnic Finns. Other ethnic groups in the country include Swedes, Russians, Estonians, Romani, and Sámi. Finnish and Swedish are the two official languages; Sámi, Karelian, and Finnish Kalo, as well, Finnish Sign Language and Finnish-Swedish Sign Language have official recognition. In terms of religion, 66.6% of Finns are Lutheran; of the remainder, 30.6% have no religion, 1.1% are Eastern Orthodox and 1.7% are something other.

Figure 3 – Humorous Coffee Mug
Credit: ©Touch of Finland

Although they often poke fun at themselves for being dull, Finns are a well educated bunch; the median educational achievement forFinns is 19 years in school. The Finnish Human Development Index is very high at 0.942 and the Gini coefficient of inequality is low at 26.6. The per capita GDP in Finland is $59,869. Finland also has a well organized social welfare program.

Figure 3 – Demographic Profile of Finland
Credit: U.S. Census Bureau, International Database, public domain

The demographic profile of Finland shows an aging population where the median age is 43.3 years and 60.3% of the population is between 15 and 64 years of age. The total fertility rate is 1.74 births per woman (below replacement rate of 2.1) and the annual growth rate is 0.2%. Life expectancy at birth for both sexes is 82.0 years.

Geology

Figure 4 – Geological Map of Finland
Credit: Figure 4 in Huhma et al, 2011

The geology of Finland is primarily composed of Precambrian rocks of the Fennoscandian Shield with some younger Paleozoic deposits in the northwest. The major geological domains in Finland, from north to south, are:

This is, of course, a gross simplification of the complex geology of Finland. Like many areas with a long geological history, Finland’s geology gets more complex the closer you look at it. Detailed geological information from the Geological Survey of Finland GTK can be found here.

Resources

Agriculture

Figure 5 – Pasture on Haltiala Farm, Vantaa, Finland
Credit: Abc10, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license

According to the CIA World Factbook, agricultural land takes up 7.5% of the total area of Finland (7.4% arable land, 0% permanent crops, 0.1% permanent pasture). Of the remainder 72.9% is forest and 19.6% is other, such as lakes and urban areas.

A northern country, Finland is unique in that most of its agricultural land is between the 60th and 65th parallel; this gives them long summer days – good for crops, and long winter nights – good for alcohol consumption. Major crops include: barley, oats, potatoes, wheat, sugar beet, rapeseed, carrots, cucumbers, rye, and tomatoes. Livestock production in Finland includes cattle, sheep, pigs, and in the Sami territory, reindeer. The local variety of sheep, called Finnsheep, is considered part of their national heritage. Statistics on agricultural production in Finland from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) can be found here. The select indicators on agriculture for Finland from the FAO can be found here.

Figure 6 – The Fishing Village of Kiviniemi, Haukipudas, Finland 
Credit: Estormiz, public domain

Commercial fishing remains an important source of food production in Finland. The commercial fishery includes: salt water fishing, in the Baltic Sea; fresh water fishing, in the many lakes and rivers of the country; and aquaculture. Here are the links to statistics on commercial salt water fishing, freshwater fishing, and aquaculture. There is also a lively sport fishery in Finland.

As part of the European Union, Finland is part of the Common Agricultural Policy and Common Fisheries Policy that subsidizes and regulates food production. One result is a low, 12.6%, rate of moderate to severe food insecurity.

Forestry

Figure 7 – Late Winter Forest, Yyteri, Finland 
Credit: kallerna, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license

As indicated above, forests cover about 72.9% of the land in Finland. The forests in Finland are part of the circumpolar taiga forests. The Finnish taiga consists mostly of coniferous forest: pines, spruces, and larches interspersed with peat bogs, fens and mires.

The forest industry in Finland is a significant part of the country’s culture and economy. About 160,000 Finns work in the forest industry and the sector accounts for 18% of all industrial production, 15% of industrial workers and approximately 20 per cent of all Finnish exports. Statistics on forestry production from the FAO can be found here.

Mineral Resources

Figure 8 – Kittila, Finland, Open Pit Gold Mine
Credit: Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited, Creative CommonsCC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication

Mining is a major industry in Finland. The country has major metallic mineral deposits include chromite, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, nickel, and zinc together with industrial minerals such as apatite, dolomite, feldspar, limestone, silica, talc and wollastonite. Finnish production of talc accounts for 4% of total world production. Another product quarried in Finland is peat, used for both energy production and as an agricultural soil amendment. Statistics on mineral production in Finland, from the USGS, can be found here. Operational mines in Finland include:

Recently closed mines include:

Figure 9 links to an interactive mineral occurrence map of Finland.

Figure 9 – Interactive Mineral Occurrence Map, Finland
Credit: ©Mindat.org

Climate

Figure 10 – Köppen Climate Classification Map, Finland
Credit: Ali Zifan, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license

The climate of Finland is primarily cool continental / subarctic climate (Dfc) with an area of temperate continental / humid continental climate (Dfb). It has cold, snowy winters with warm summers.

Finland looks like a great place to visit, the travel advisories (here and here) suggest normal precautions. If you plan to visit, check out Lonely Planet and Climates to Travel. It’s an advanced country, so check the news before you go and dress for the weather. The official tourism information site for Finland calls it the “The happiest country in the world’.

History and Geopolitics

History of a Northern Country

Figure 11 – Grand Duchy of Finland 1662
Credit: Joan Blaeu Atlas Maior, Magnvs Dvcatvs Finlandiæ, Amsterdam 1662, public domain

The history of Finland goes back to the retreat of the continental glaciers at the end of the Last Glacial Period. Once the land became inhabitable, hunter-gatherer peoples, possibly Finnic speaking peoples, moved in and made a living off the land.

During the Middle Ages, Swedish Vikings began settlements on the Finnish coastline for plundering and trading with the Finnish tribes. This began a long period of Swedish influence and rule in Finland. Swedish adventurers, continuing their traditions of plunder and conquest, embarked on crusades to take over Finland, beginning with the First Swedish Crusade in 1150. By the 13th Century, Christianity was established in the Finland, Bishop Thomas being recorded as the first bishop of the land. A Second Swedish Crusade in 1236 was followed by a Third Swedish Crusade in 1293. In 1389, a bloody power struggle among the Nordic nations resulted in the founding of the Kalmar Union of Sweden, Denmark and Norway with Queen Margaret I of Denmark; the Finnish holdings of Sweden were thus incorporated into Queen Margaret’s realm.

The Kalmar Union broke up in bloodshed in 1523, but Finland remained a part of the Swedish realm. Finland was frequently fought over in wars between Sweden and Russia. In 1808, following the Finnish War, Finland was incorporated in the Russian Empire as the Grand Duchy of Finland. Under Russian rule, Finland was a semi-autonomous principality of the Russian Empire, left to practice the Lutheran Christianity they adopted along with Sweden in the 16th Century.

Finland remained under the Russian Tsars until the end of the Russian Empire in the February Revolution and October Revolution of 1917. Declaring independence in December 1917, the Finns descended into their own civil war. The “white guard” anti-communist side won the war over the “Finnish Socialist Workers Republic”, the “reds”. Finland the tried to settle down to build a peaceful democratic republic, with mixed success.

In August 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, a protocol of which gave over Finland to the Soviet sphere of influence. In November 1939, the Soviets attempted to enforce the pact by invading Finland sparking the Winter War.

Initially, it did not go well for the Soviets, i.e. the Soviets got their ass kicked. The Finns fought skillfully behind prepared defensive positions, the Mannerheim Line, and also defeated Russian mobile incursions into Central Finland at the Battle of Suomussalmi. Despite heavy losses, the Soviet displayed their usual disdain for human life and pressed on with their attacks on Finland.  Although they incurred heavy losses, the Soviets eventually wore down the Finns and forced them to negotiate a settlement. The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed in March 1940. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, the Finns took the opportunity to take back the land they lost to the Soviets in the Moscow Peace Treaty, a conflict the Finns call the Continuation War. When it was clear that the German cause was lost, the Finns made a separate peace with the Soviets in 1944.

Despite Finland essentially losing the Continuation War to the Soviet Union, the heavy casualties of the Winter and Continuation War left the Soviets with no appetite to swallow up Finland in 1944. The peace agreement did require Finland to remain neutral; as they did until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989.

Postwar Finland was marked by fairly peaceful internal affairs, with the usual democratic churn, and a growth in both prosperity and the welfare state. In the years since 1989, Finland grew increasingly closer to Western Europe, joining the European Union in 1995 and NATO in 2023.

Geopolitics – Living Next to the Bear

Figure 13 – Two American F-15 Operating out of Prikkala Air Base, June 1, 2023
Credit: U.S. Air Force, public domain

Finland’s harsh experience in the Winter War and Continuation War some 80 years ago had the effect of uniting the country and toning down the internal political disputes. The experience of neutrality during the Cold War put Finland into the position of being in a precarious relationship with their Soviet neighbours; this also encouraged the Finns to stick together. The fall of the Soviet Union gave Finland an opportunity to reorder their foreign relations, and they made the choice to join the Western commercial and military alliances.

With regards to their relations with NATO and the European Union, Finland has aligned itself with countries that it shares cultural and economic ties, i.e. the other Nordic countries. By default, this led Finland into alliance with NATO and the United States and into the European Union commercial alliance. This can be seen as a natural outcome based upon common cultures and interests. It is difficult to see how Finland could have made a different choice.

Unfortunately for Finland’s relationship with Russia, the Finnish move to integration into NATO and the EU has triggered deep fears among the Russians as it is part of a larger encroachment by NATO upon their borders. The Russians haven’t forgotten Finland’s aid to Nazi Germany during the Continuation War nor have they forgotten the many invasions of Russia including by western powers such as Sweden, France and Germany. For their part, the Finns haven’t forgotten the years of Russian occupation of Finland nor have they forgotten the conflicts with Russia during the 20th Century. History makes both Finland and Russia wary of each other and makes Russia suspicious of Finland’s friends in NATO. The current war in the Ukraine can be seen in the light of Russia’s fears of foreigners. For Finland, this means living next to a fearful, and well armed, neighbour who has interfered with Finland in the past. It will be a continuous challenge for the Finns, and their NATO allies.

The current wide spread movement of migrants from Africa and the Middle East into Europe has not left Finland out. One of the issues in the movement of migrants has been Russia aiding migrants seeking entry to the EU through Finland. Finland has recently passed a law to block migrants crossing from Russia. The migrants will probably find another way to get to places like Finland that have generous social welfare systems – the problem will not go away easily and we can expect further action on this front.

That kind of wraps up this look at Finland. I am fairly optimistic for them and think that they will rise to the many challenges they face.

Standard Caveat

The purpose of my weblog postings is to spark people's curiosity in geology. Don't entirely believe me until you've done your own research and checked the evidence. If I have sparked your curiosity in the subject of this posting, follow up with some of the links provided here. If you want to, go out into the field and examine some rocks on your own with the help of a good field guide. Follow the evidence and make up your own mind.

In science, the only authority is the evidence.