Pihlajavesi (Saimaa)

For other uses, see Pihlajavesi (disambiguation).

Pihlajavesi is a lake in Finland. The area of the lake is 712.59 square kilometres (275.13 sq mi) making it the sixth largest lake in the country. Pihlajavesi is the second-largest basin in the complex Saimaa lake system. Pihlajavesi lacks large open lake areas but has more islands than any other lake in Finland.

Pihlajavesi
Mitinhiekka, Pihlajavesi
Pihlajavesi
Coordinates	61°43′N 028°53′E
Basin countries	Finland
Surface area	712.59 km2 (275.13 sq mi)[1]
Average depth	11.3 m (37 ft)
Max. depth	72 m (236 ft)
Water volume	18.08 km3 (14.66×10^6 acre⋅ft)
Shore length1	3,200 km (2,000 mi)
Surface elevation	75.7 m (248 ft)[1]
Settlements	Punkaharju, Savonlinna, Sulkava
References	[1]
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Pihlajavesi and the castle Olavinlinna on an island of it are regarded as a national landscape of Finland.^[2]

Part of the lake belongs to a namesake 45-km² nature reserve (created 2014) and Natura 2000 area (1998). There is a population of Saimaa seals in the lake. The area has infrastructure for visiting boaters.^[2] The purpose of the area is to protect the archipelago nature – including shores, woods and outcrop hills – and the Saimaa seal habitat, to maintain the traditional landscape, and to further outdoor life, teaching and research.^[3]