Näsijärvi is a lake

Lake

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

 95 metres (311.7 ft) above sea level, in Pirkanmaa

Pirkanmaa

Pirkanmaa , or the Tampere Region , is a region of Finland. It borders on the regions of Satakunta, Tavastia Proper, Päijänne Tavastia, Southern Ostrobothnia and Central Finland....

 region, 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...

. Näsijärvi is the biggest lake in the Tampere

Tampere

Tampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...

 region at 256 square kilometres (98.8 sq mi) in size. The city of Tampere was built around the rapid

Rapid

A rapid is a section of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. A rapid is a hydrological feature between a run and a cascade. A rapid is characterised by the river becoming shallower and having some rocks exposed above the...

s of Tammerkoski

Tammerkoski

Tammerkoski is a channel of rapids in Tampere, Finland. The city of Tampere is located between two lakes, Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi. The difference in altitude between these two is 18 metres and the water flows from Näsijärvi to Pyhäjärvi through the Tammerkoski rapids.The banks of the Tammerkoski...

, through which the lake drains into Pyhäjärvi

Lake Pyhäjärvi

Pyhäjärvi is a lake in southern Finland. Although the name means in modern Finnish "holy lake", it probably meant originally "border lake". Pyhäjärvi is shaped like the letter "C" with the cities of Tampere and Nokia on the northern end, and town of Lempäälä at the southern end.The lake is fed by...

. The water quality of the lake has improved as forest industry has decreased the amount of waste water.

There are boat cruising services on Näsijärvi. The steamer SS Kuru suffered the most severe Finnish inland shipping disaster on lake Näsijärvi.

During the winter, usually during February and March, the lake is frozen in its entirety. Näsijärvi is then used for Nordic walking

Nordic walking

Nordic walking, originally known as ski walking, is a physical activity and a sport consisting of walking with poles similar to ski poles.-Origin:...

, cross-country skiing, and everyday pleasure walking. There is a small, rocky island upon which a lighthouse resides – it is the most popular walking destination on the lake.

In the north Näsijärvi has a wide catchment area that includes among others the lakes Ruovesi

Lake Ruovesi

Lake Ruovesi is a lake in Finland. It is situated in the municipalities of Ruovesi and Mänttä-Vilppula in the Pirkanmaa region in western Finland. The lake is a part of the Kokemäenjoki basin and its main inflows are the Lake Tarjanne in north and the Lake Kuorevesi in the east...

, Kuorevesi

Lake Kuorevesi

Lake Kuorevesi is a lake in Finland. It is situated in the municipalities of Mänttä-Vilppula and Jämsä in the Central Finland region. The lake is part of the Kokemäenjoki basin. The lake drains into the Lake Ruovesi in the west and the lake Keurusselkä drains into it from the north.-References:*...

, Keurusselkä

Keurusselkä

Keurusselkä is a lake in Central Finland between the towns of Keuruu to the north and Mänttä to the south. It covers an area of . Its average depth is with a maximum depth of . The surface lies at above sea level. The lake is long and is a part of the Kokemäenjoki water system...

, Tarjanne

Tarjanne

Tarjanne is a lake in Finland. It is situated in the municipalities of Ruovesi, Virrat and Mänttä-Vilppula in the Pirkanmaa region in western Finland. The lake is part of the Kokemäenjoki basin. The main inflows are the lake Vaskivesi and a chain of lakes north of it in the west and a chain of...

, Pihlajavesi

Pihlajavesi (Keuruu)

Pihlajavesi is a lake in Finland. It is situated in the municipality of Keuruu in the central Finland region. It drains trough a chain of lakes into the lake Tarjanne and is a part of the Kokemäenjoki basin.-References:*...

, Toisvesi

Toisvesi

Toisvesi is a lake in Finland. It is situated in the municipality of Virrat in the Pirkanmaa region in western Finland. The lake is part of the Kokemäenjoki basin and a part of a chain of lakes that consist among others of the lakes Ähtärinjärvi, Toisvesi and Tarjanne, which in its turn drains into...

 and Ähtärinjärvi

Ähtärinjärvi

Ähtärinjärvi is a lake in Finland. It is situated in the municipalities of Ähtäri, Alajärvi and Soini in the Southern Ostrobothnia region in western Finland...

.