Taipalsaari municipal centre next to the ice-marginal formation

Saimaanharju’s Suurilampi pond is a kettle whose water level (77.7msl) is two metres higher than the surrounding Saimaa. This means that the delta deposit contains types of quaternary deposits which water does not easily penetrate, such as clay. Kettles formed as large blocks of ice were buried in the sand and gravel at eskers and deltas formed by glacial rivers. As the ice blocks gradually melted away, holes of various shapes and sizes were left behind. Kettles can be holes in which forest grows, but if they are in contact with surface or groundwater, they can form kettle ponds or paludified kettles.

The municipal building and church as well as the Saimaa Geopark sign can be found on the municipal center side. Taipalsaari church and the adjacent Röytty home museum are cultural sites of Saimaa Geopark.

Three panels in the sign open up different contents on your mobile device (a series of panels beginning with the title “Discover the hidden treasures of Lake Saimaa”). You need the free Salmi AR app to view the content. Content includes pictures, videos, audio narration, and peepholes. You’ll find information about Suvorov’s time, wartime, and industrialization, and get to see what the area looked like 11,000 years ago and how the ancestors lived. The contents are currently available only in Finnish.

Image: municipality of Taipalsaari