Soisalo is the largest island

Island

An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

 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...

 and the largest inland island in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. The area of the island is 1638 square kilometre. Located in Savonia

Savonia (historical province)

Savonia is a historical province in the east of Finland. It borders to Uusimaa, Tavastia, Ostrobothnia, and Karelia. Largest cities in Savo by population are Kuopio, Mikkeli, Savonlinna and Varkaus.-Administration:...

, Eastern Finland

Eastern Finland

Eastern Finland was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2010. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Western Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered Russia.- History :...

, it is surrounded by the lakes Kallavesi

Kallavesi

Kallavesi is a lake in Northern Savonia, eastern Finland located around the town of Kuopio. Combined with the lakes Suvasvesi, Juurusvesi, Muuruvesi, Melavesi, and Riistavesi Kallavesi forms an lake system named Iso-Kalla....

, Suvasvesi

Suvasvesi

Suvasvesi is a lake in Eastern Finland near the town of Kuopio. Suvasvesi consists of two circular open lakes, Kuukkarinselkä in north and Haapaselkä in south. The lakes are separated by a group of islands. The lake has 688 islands in total. The area of the lake is 234 km² making it the 18th...

, Kermajärvi

Kermajärvi

Kermajärvi is a lake of Finland entirely located in Heinävesi in Southern Savonia. It is the country's 53rd largest lake with an area of 85,57 km² and consists of a wide open lake with plenty of islands in both northwest and southeast parts of it and several long, narrow bays in both ends...

, Ruokovesi, Haukivesi

Haukivesi

Haukivesi is a lake in southeastern Finland and a part of the Saimaa lake system. Its area is 562.31 km² . Like other lakes in the system, it contains numerous islands and is divided into a number of smaller regions such as Siitinselkä, Saviluoto, Tahkoselkä, Vuoriselkä, Kuokanselkä, Kuivaselkä,...

 and Unnukka

Unnukka

-References:* *...

. Geographically

Geography

Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...

 Soisalo, although being surrounded by water, is not a real island because the lakes are not on the same level. The greatest difference between the lakes is 6 metres (19.7 ft). Sääminginsalo

Sääminginsalo

Sääminginsalo has been said to be the largest true island of Finland . However, it is not a real island, because it is partly surrounded by an artificial canal. If it is considered as an island, it is the third largest island in a lake in the world...

, the next largest island, is similarly surrounded by lakes but they are on the same level. However, Sääminginsalo is also partly surrounded by an artificial canal, and thus it may not be considered a real island either. In this case, the largest island in Finland would be Fasta Åland

Fasta Åland

Fasta Åland is the largest and most populous island of Åland, an autonomous province of Finland. The provincial capital Mariehamn is located on the island. With the area of 685 km² it is the 3rd largest island in Finland....

.