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Flatness is typical for the northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia coast. Specially the area of Liminka is situated on the geological formation of Muhos: bedrock lies as deep as in one km underthe grounds surface. This flat formation makes this area one of the biggest lowlands in Finland. The name Lakeus can be traced to word laakea, which means flat. Liminka bay is the biggest bay in the northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia. It`s area is 100km2. It is Finland`s most valuable wetland. Liminka bay is famous for it`s wide meadows, rising of the ground, special vegetation and rich bird population. It`s in the list of most important birdwaters of the Nordic countries. Every year about 25 000 - 30 000 birds use the area. It is an important resting and nesting area of migration birds. About 170 different species of birds is observed in the bay. Rising of the ground In the time of the Ice Age about 2 kilometer thick sheet of ice pressed earths surface downwards. When the ice melted in the northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia area the earth`s surface started to rise slowly to its former level. New land is rewealing from the sea under 9,2 mm every year because of the rising of the ground. The rising of the ground is familiar phenomenon for inhabitants of the Botnias flat coast area. In Liminka bay the grownd is rising about 92 cm in 100 years or 9,2 mm in a year. In the bottom of Liminka bay the grownd is rising about82 cm in 100 years. The reason for rising of the grownd is the melting of the ice in Veiksel ice age. Because of the rising of the grownd the place of the coastline has changed continuously. The earth is taking area from the sea. Zoning Clear and wide zonings offer versatile environments for different species of animals and plants. The zoning is essential factor for Liminka bay`s natures multiplicity. Vegetation zones are from the seashore to the inland are: reed, sedge, cane, willow, bush, birches, pine and spuce -trees. Farming The Liminka`s area is traditional agricuitural region; Liminka`s plain area is Finland`s widest united growing areas. Agriculture`s focus is livestock production. From the 14th century there have been a permanent settlement in Liminka. People have had a great influence on the ecosystem and landscape. The Liminka`s area is a traditional agicultural region - cultural environment. Now days Liminka`s plain is one of the widest united cultivation areas in Finland. Agriculture focus on animal husbandry, livestock production, and growing of potatoes. Also the coastal area of Liminganlahti have been important for farmers: before 1960`s they cut reeds for cattle for wintertime, in summertime cattle eat vegetation at shore meadow. When after 1960 grasing cattle and sheep and cutting the reeds for cattle came to an end because of effective farming methods, it had a great influence on cultural landscape and meadow ecosystem. It became too difficult for some birds and plants to survive anymore - because of too much of cane and bushes. Today traditional shore meadow is normalized as it was before 1960`s to save rare biotopes for unique plants and birds - also traditional agricultural cultural environment is conserved. Part 2 The bay of Naples Because of several mountains the typography of the area is very variable. The area of Naples is densely populated specially in the coast area and the roads are very curving. Everything is quite well adjusted although the nature is very varying. The bay of Naples makes possible many industries. For example fishing, dock work and shipbuilding are valuable. It is also important for tourism with mount Vesuvius. Vesuvius is one of the favourite destinations for travellers. Sulfatara We visited at the Sulfatara, an old collapsed volcano, kaldera. We saw the fumarolic activity and muddy hot springs. There the ground is very warm because of the vulcanologic activity. Vesuvius It is a volcano rising from the eastern margin of the Bay of Naples in Italy. Vesuvius is a composite volcano, made up layers of ash and lava. Composite volcanoes normally have two different kinds of eruptions. One kind produces mostly ash and cinders and the other kind produces lava. In Vesuvius these two types of eruptions have not been seen happening together. The rocks at Vesuvius are called tephrite. After Somma collapsed about 17000 years ago, Vesuvius started to form. In 5960 B.C. and 3580 B.C., Vesuvius had two eruptions. They were the largest known in Europe. This mountain has erupted more than 50 times since the catastrophic eruption in 79 A.D., when it destroyed Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplonti and Stabia. The mountain`s top splitted open and a smoke cloud raced upward. The inhabitants of Pompeii were showered with ash and stones. A pyroclastic flow berried the city of Herculaneum. After Pompeii was buried and lost, the volcano continued to erupt every 100 years until about 1037 A.D., when it had a 600-year period of silence. In 1631, the volcano erupted and killed about 4000 inhabitants. Vesuvius has also erupted in 1906 and 1944. In 1595, excavations discovered artifacts at Pompeii and centuries of pillaging followed. Archeological excavations started in the nineteenth century. Now large part of Pompeii has been revealed. We know how people lived during that time and how they died in the eruption. Today about two million people living in the vicinity of Vesuvius could be seriously affected by future eruptions. At the moment there are no signs of serious volcanic unrest at Vesuvius. In the last few decades the volcano has been characterised by weak fumarolic activity mostly in the crater area and by seismic activity with quakes of low energy. The volcanologists are observing all the volcanic actions and studies of past eruptions and their deposits continue. These studies help volcanologists to understand the hazards associated with future eruptions. (lähde?) Thanks to Mount Vesuvius the soil of the area is very fertile. It makes possible the farming of different kinds of fruits and vegetables. There are also wine producing areas. On the mountainside the vegetation is minor. Vesuvius is one of the favourite destinations for travellers. And here's some pics.. Bay from Italy Bay from Italy 2 Bay from Italy 3 
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