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The Karelian Isthmus (; (フィンランド語:Karjalankannas)) is the approximately 45–110 km wide stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia, to the north of the River Neva (between 61°21’N, 59°46’N and 27°42’E, 31°08’E). Its northwestern boundary is the relatively narrow area between the Bay of Vyborg and Lake Ladoga. If the Karelian Isthmus is defined as the entire territory of present-day Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast to the north of the Neva, the isthmus' area covers about 15,000 km2. The smaller part of the isthmus to the southeast of the old Russia-Finland border is considered historically as Northern Ingria, rather than part of the Karelian Isthmus itself. The rest of the isthmus was historically a part of Finnish Karelia. This was conquered by the Russian Empire during the Great Northern War in 1712 and included within the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland (1809–1917) of the Russian Empire. When Finland became independent in 1917, the isthmus (except for the territory roughly corresponding to present-day Vsevolozhsky District and some districts of Saint Petersburg) remained Finnish. Finnish Karelia was ceded to the Soviet Union by Finland following the Winter War (1939–1940) and Continuation War (1941–1944). In 1940–1941, during the Interim Peace, most of the ceded territories in the isthmus were included within the Karelo-Finnish SSR. However, since World War II the entire isthmus has been divided between the city of Saint Petersburg (mostly Kurortny District), as well as Priozersky District, Vsevolozhsky District and Vyborgsky District of Leningrad Oblast. According to the 2002 census, the population of the Kurortny District of Saint Petersburg and the parts of Leningrad Oblast situated on the Karelian Isthmus amounts to 539,000. Many Saint Petersburg residents also decamp to the Isthmus during their vacations. ==Geography and wildlife== The isthmus' terrain has been influenced dramatically by the Weichsel glaciation. Its highest point lies on the Lembolovo Heights moraine at about 205 m (670 ft). There are no mountains on the isthmus, but steep hills occur in some places. The Vuoksi, largest river, runs southeastwards from Lake Saimaa of Finland to Lake Ladoga, dividing the isthmus into two uneven parts. Saimaa Canal opened in 1856 links Lake Saimaa to the Bay of Vyborg. The Karelian Isthmus lies within the ecoregion of Scandinavian and Russian taiga. Geobotanically, it lies at the juncture of the Central European, Eastern European and Northern European floristic provinces of the Circumboreal Region of the Holarctic Kingdom. The isthmus is mostly covered by coniferous forests formed by Scots pine (''Pinus sylvestris'') and Norway spruce (''Picea abies''), with numerous lakes (e.g. Lake Sukhodolskoye and Lake Glubokoye) as well as small grass, fen and ''Sphagnum'' raised bogs. Forests cover approximately 11.700 km of the isthmus, more than three-fourths of its total square. Swampy areas occupy on average 5.5 percent of the territory. In the large contiguous area along the shore of Lake Ladoga in Vsevolozhsky District, in the southeastern part of the isthmus, bogs occur much more frequently than in other parts. The same was once true of the lowland along the Neva River, which has been drained.〔(Karelian Isthmus )〕 The soil is predominantly podsol, which contains massive boulders, especially in the north and northwest, where large granite rocky outcrops occur. Pine forests (with ''Pinus sylvestris'') are the most widespread and occupy 51% of the forested area of the Karelian Isthmus, followed by spruce forests (with ''Picea abies'', 29%) and birch forests (with ''Betula pendula'' and ''B. pubescens'', 16%). Stands on more fertile soils and in more favorable locations are occasionally dominated by Norway maple, black alder, grey alder, common aspen, English oak, grey willow, dark-leaved willow, tea-leaved willow, small-leaved lime or European white elm. Common vegetation of various types of pine forests includes heather, crowberry, common juniper, eared willow, lingonberry, water horsetail, bracken, graminoids (i.e. grasses in the wider sense) ''Avenella flexuosa'' and ''Carex globularis'', mosses ''Pleurozium schreberi'', ''Sphagnum angustifolium'' and ''S. russowii'', and lichens ''Cladonia'' spp. Prominent in various spruce forests are wood horsetail, common wood sorrel, bilberry, lingonberry, graminoids ''Avenella flexuosa'', ''Calamagrostis arundinacea'', ''Carex globularis'', and mosses ''Polytrichum commune'' and ''Sphagnum girgensohnii''. Prominent vegetation of various birch forests include meadowsweet, common wood sorrel, bilberry and graminoids ''Calamagrostis arundinacea'' and ''C. canescens''.〔Доронина А. Ю. ''Сосудистые растения Карельского перешейка (Ленинградская область)''. (A. Vascular plants of the Karelian Isthmus (Leningrad Region) ) Moscow: КМК, 2007. ISBN 978-5-87317-384-6.〕 1184 species of wild vascular plants are recorded in the isthmus.〔Доронина, Анна. (Флористическиe исследования на Карельском перешейке )〕 See also the List of the vascular plants of the Karelian Isthmus. Red squirrel, moose, red fox, mountain hare and boar (reintroduced) are typical inhabitants of the forests. The climate of the isthmus is moderately continental, with 650–800 mm (25–32 in) average precipitation per year, long snowy winters lasting from November through mid-April and occasionally reaching about -40 °C (-40 F), moderately cool summers and short frost-free period. Compared to other parts of the Leningrad Oblast, the winter here is usually milder due to the moderating influence of the Gulf of Finland, but longer. The city of Vyborg and the town of Priozersk are situated on the northwestern part of the isthmus. The Karelian Isthmus is a popular place for hiking, cycling, skiing (Korobitsyno and Kavgolovo), climbing (near Kuznechnoye), canoeing (Losevo), fishing for consumption (of carp bream, northern pike, roach, European perch, ruffe, burbot and others), mushroom hunting (for porcini, red-capped scaber stalk, birch bolete, velvet bolete, slippery Jack, golden chanterelle, ''Lactarius resimus'', woolly milk-cap, ugly milk-cap, saffron milk-cap, ''Lactarius rufus'', various Russulas and others), berry picking (of bilberry, raspberry, woodland strawberry, cowberry, cranberry, cloudberry, bog bilberry and stone bramble). It is a popular summer resort for Saint Petersburg citizens since the late 19th century, served by trains of Finlyandsky Rail Terminal. The isthmus, especially the land along Saint Petersburg–Vyborg and Saint Petersburg–Priozersk railroads, hosts numerous dachas. A 20–35 km wide stretch of land in Vyborgsky District and Republic of Karelia to the west of the Vyborg–Hiitola railway, as well as the islands and shores of the Gulf of Vyborg, belongs to the strictly guarded zone of the border control, reaching the shore of Lake Ladoga at Hiitola. In 1993–2006 the zone was formally 5 km wide, although in fact it has always been much wider.〔See maps: () (in Russian)〕 Visiting it is forbidden without a permit issued by the FSB (by KGB during the time of the Soviet Union). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Karelian Isthmus」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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