Vanajavesi is a lake in 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...

. It is part of the Kokemäenjoki

Kokemäenjoki

The Kokemäenjoki is a river and its drainage basin in southwestern Finland.-Geography:The river originates at Lake Liekovesi in the Pirkanmaa region, and flows to the Gulf of Bothnia at Pori in the Satakunta region...

 basin. The lake gathers waters from a wide area in the regions of 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....

, Tavastia Proper

Tavastia Proper

Tavastia Proper is a region of Finland. It borders to the regions Finland Proper, Pirkanmaa, Päijänne Tavastia, and Uusimaa.Hämeenlinna is the largest urban area in the region...

 and parts of the Päijänne Tavastia

Päijänne Tavastia

Päijänne Tavastia is a region in Southern Finland south of the lake Päijänne. It borders the regions Uusimaa, Tavastia Proper, Pirkanmaa, Central Finland, Southern Savonia and Kymenlaakso.- Historical provinces :...

 region.

Settlements

The biggest city by the lake is Hämeenlinna

Hämeenlinna

Hämeenlinna is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Häme in the south of Finland and is the birthplace of composer Jean Sibelius. Today, it belongs to the region of Tavastia Proper, and until 2010 it was the residence city for the Governor of the...

 in the Tavastia Proper region and other cities and towns include Valkeakoski

Valkeakoski

Valkeakoski is a town and municipality in Finland.Valkeakoski is located south of Tampere and north of Helsinki in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of...

 and Akaa

Akaa

Akaa is a town and a municipality in Pirkanmaa, Finland. It was created on January 1, 2007 when the town of Toijala and the municipality of Viiala were united into a single town. The municipality of Kylmäkoski was consolidated with Akaa on 1 January 2011....

 (formerly Toijala

Toijala

Toijala is a former town and municipality of Finland, located some south of Tampere. On 1 January 2007, it was consolidated with Viiala to form the town of Akaa....

) in the Pirkanmaa region. In addition to these the municipalities by the lake include Lempäälä

Lempäälä

Lempäälä is a municipality in southwestern Finland with inhabitants . Lempäälä is located south of the city of Tampere. The municipality covers an area of of which is water...

 in the pirkanmaa region and Hattula

Hattula

Hattula is a municipality of Finland. Its seat is in Parola.It is part of the Tavastia Proper region and until 2010 it was located in the province of Southern Finland. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water...

 and Janakkala

Janakkala

Janakkala is a municipality of Finland. Its administrative centre is in Turenki, which is nowadays often erroneously shown on maps as being "Janakkala"....

 in the Tavastia Proper region. Among the settlements by the lake are also the former municipalities of Viiala

Viiala

Viiala is a former municipality of Finland. On 1 January 2007, it was consolidated with Toijala to form the town of Akaa.Viiala is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality had a population of 5,329 and covered an area of 56.78 km2 of which...

 (now part of Akaa), Sääksmäki

Sääksmäki

Sääksmäki is a village and a former municipality, currently part of Valkeakoski in the Pirkanmaa region of Western Finland. A past president of Finland, Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, the Finnish film producer and director Veikko Aaltonen,eminent Finnish historian Eino Jutikkala, and actress Pirkko Mannola...

 (now part of Valkeakoski), Kalvola

Kalvola

Kalvola is a former municipality of Finland. Its seat was in Iittala. It was consolidated with Hämeenlinna on 2009-01-01.It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Tavastia Proper region. The municipality had a population of 3,449 and covered an area of 338.81 km² of...

 (now part of Hämeenlinna), Tyrväntö (now part of Valkeakoski and Hattula), Hämeenlinnan maalaiskunta (now part of Hämeenlinna) and Vanaja

Vanaja

Vanaja is a former municipality of Finland. It was located in Tavastia Proper about north of Helsinki. It is also speculated that it might have been the name for an Iron Age and early Middle Ages settlement found opposite to the Häme Castle....

 (now part of Hämeenlinna).

Watercourses

In northeast, a chain of lakes

Chain of Lakes

Chain of Lakes is a common name for a series of lakes linked by waterways. Some of these include:* The Chain of Lakes area in Minneapolis, Minnesota* The village of Chain-O-Lakes, Missouri* Chain of Lakes...

 that consists of the lakes Längelmävesi

Längelmävesi

Längelmävesi is a lake in southwestern Finland. The lake is located mostly in the Pirkanmaa region at an elevation of . Längelmävesi is within the municipalities of Jämsä , Kangasala , Kuhmalahti, and Orivesi....

, Vesijärvi

Vesijärvi (Kangasala)

Vesijärvi is a lake in Finland. It is located in the Pirkanmaa region and there mostly in the municipality of Kangasala and for a lesser part in the municipality of Orivesi....

, Roine

Roine (Finland)

Roine is a lake in Finland. The lake is located in the Pirkanmaa region mostly in the municipality of Kangasala and for a lesser part in the municipality of Pälkäne....

, Pälkänevesi

Pälkänevesi

Pälkänevesi is a lake in Finland. The lake is located in the municipality of Pälkäne in the Pirkanmaa region.The lake is part of Kokemäenjoki basin and a chain of lakes that consists of Längelmävesi, Vesijärvi, Roine, Pälkänevesi and Mallasvesi...

 and Mallasvesi drains into Vanajavesi in Valkeakoski

Valkeakoski

Valkeakoski is a town and municipality in Finland.Valkeakoski is located south of Tampere and north of Helsinki in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of...

, and from southeast another chain of lakes, consisting of the lakes Lummene

Lummene

Lummene is a lake in Finland in the municipality of Kuhmoinen in the Central Finland region.The lake is a bifurcation lake. One outflow from it is eastwards into the lake Päijänne, which is a part of Kymijoki basin and drains into the Gulf of Finland. Other outflow is into lake Vehkajärvi and from...

, Vehkajärvi

Vehkajärvi

Vehkajärvi is a lake in Finland. It is located at the border of Pirkanmaa, Päijänne Tavastia and Central Finland regions in the Finnish Lakeland and there mostly in the former municipality of Kuhmalahti, now part of Kangasala, and for lesser parts in the municipalities of Pälkäne , Padasjoki and...

, Vesijako

Vesijako

Vesijako is a lake in Finland. It is situated in Padasjoki in the region of Päijänne Tavastia.The lake is famous in Finland as a bifurcation lake , together with the nearby Lummene that is somewhat less known, and from which waters flow eastwards into lake Päijänne and westwards through the lake...

, Kuohijärvi

Kuohijärvi

Kuohijärvi is a lake in Finland. It is part of a chain of lakes that begins from the lakes Lummene and Vesijako at the drainage divide between the Kokemäenjoki and Kymijoki basins, flows westwards from there and drains into lake Mallasvesi trough the lakes Kuohijärvi, Kukkia, Iso-Roine, Hauhonselkä...

, Kukkia

Kukkia

Kukkia is a lake in Finland. It is a part of a chain of lakes that begins from the lakes Lummene, Vehkajärvi and Vesijako at the drainage divide between the Kokemäenjoki and Kymijoki basins and flows westwards from there through the Lake Kuohijärvi into Lake Kukkia. From Kukkia the chain of lakes...

, Iso-Roine

Iso-Roine

Iso-Roine is a lake in Finland. It is part of a chain of lakes that begins from the lakes Lummene and Vesijako at the drainage divide between the Kokemäenjoki and Kymijoki basins and flows westwards from there through the lakes Kuohijärvi and Kukkia into the Lake Iso-Roine, which in turn drains...

, Hauhonselkä

Hauhonselkä

Hauhonselkä is a lake in Finland. It is part of a chain of lakes that begins from the lakes Lummene and Vesijako at the drainage divide between the Kokemäenjoki and Kymijoki basins and flows westwards from there trough the lakes Kuohijärvi, Kukkia, Iso-Roine, Hauhonselkä and Ilmoilanselkä and ends...

 and Ilmoilanselkä

Ilmoilanselkä

Ilmoilanselkä is a lake in Finland. It is part of a chain of lakes that begins from the lakes Lummene and Vesijako at the drainage divide between the Kokemäenjoki and Kymijoki basins, flows westwards from there trough the lakes Kuohijärvi, Kukkia, Iso-Roine, Hauhonselkä and Ilmoilanselkä and drains...

 drains into the lake Mallasvesi and thus joins into the first mentioned. In Finnish the former chain of lakes is called Längelmäveden reitti according to the biggest lake and the latter Hauhon reitti as it runs trough the former municipality of Hauho

Hauho

Hauho is a former municipality of Finland. It was situated in the province of Southern Finland and is today a part of the region of Tavastia Proper ....

.

From south, a third chain of lakes and rivers originating in Pääjärvi

Pääjärvi (Lammi)

Pääjärvi is a lake in Finland. It is situated on the border between the city of Hämeenlinna in the Tavastia Proper region and the municipality of Hämeenkoski in the Päijänne Tavastia region....

 in east and Loppijärvi

Loppijärvi

Loppijärvi is a lake in Finland. It is situated in the municipality of Loppi in the Tavastia Proper region. The lake is part of Kokemäenjoki basin and it drains through Tervajoki River into Lake Kernaalanjärvi which in its turn drains into Lake Vanajavesi through Hiidenjoki River.-References:*...

 in west drains into Vanajavesi. Together with Vanajavesi itself these form a chain of lakes called Vanajaveden reitti in Finnish.

From southwest, among others Rutajärvi

Rutajärvi (Urjala)

Rutajärvi is a lake in Finland. It is situated in the municipality of Urjala in the region of Pirkanmaa and it is a part of Kokemäenjoki basin. The lake is a part of a chain of lakes and rivers that consists of the lakes Nuutajärvi, Rutajärvi and Kortejärvi in Urjala and Tarpianjoki River in...

 and several other lakes drain in Vanajavesi.

Vanajavesi itself drains into lake Pyhäjärvi trough Kuokkalankoski rapids in Lempäälä

Lempäälä

Lempäälä is a municipality in southwestern Finland with inhabitants . Lempäälä is located south of the city of Tampere. The municipality covers an area of of which is water...

 in north.

National landscape

Vanajavesi with its environments is the central area of the historical province of Tavastia

Tavastia (historical province)

Tavastia, Tavastland or Häme, Russian Emi or Yemi, is a historical province in the south of Finland. It borders Finland Proper, Satakunta, Ostrobothnia, Savonia and Uusimaa.- Administration :...

in Finland and it has been declared as one of the national landscapes of Finland as defined by the Finnish ministry of environment in the 1990s.