Finland's Remaining National Parks in the Order They Were Founded, From Pyha-Hakki in 1956 to Pyha-Luosto in 2005

Founded in 1956 and extended in 1982 with the Kotaneva bog, this small park of about 13 square kilometers holds the largest remaining area of virgin forest in the southern half of Finland, with bog covering roughly half of it. Planning for its protection began in the late 1930s and was interrupted by the Second World War.

Also founded in 1956, Rokua covers about 8.8 square kilometers between Oulu and Kajaani and sits inside the Rokua UNESCO Global Geopark. Its glacial landforms include drumlins, eskers, kettle holes and terminal moraines, set among undisturbed pine forest, ravines and peat bogs.

Established in 1982 in Posio, Finnish Lapland, the park protects extensive hillside swamps around the twin peaked Riisitunturi fell, which rises to 465.3 meters. Its 77 square kilometers are served by a single wilderness shelter.

Also set up in 1982, Salamajärvi covers about 62 square kilometers of the rugged Suomenselkä watershed across three municipalities. It is known for its diverse mire ecosystems and wilderness wildlife, with roughly 60 kilometers of marked trails over often rocky terrain.

The third park of 1982, expanded in 1989, Seitseminen in Pirkanmaa covers about 45.5 square kilometers of boreal forest, with coniferous stands on higher ground and sphagnum wetlands below. It preserves some of the oldest accessible forest in Finland and gained European protected area recognition in 1996.

Established in 1990 on land that was already protected, Torronsuo guards a large raised bog in Kanta-Häme with a peat layer that reaches 12 meters in places. About 100 bird species nest there, including northern species rarely seen elsewhere in southern Finland, and it supports a notable butterfly population.

Founded in 2003 in the municipalities of Kouvola and Mäntyharju, Repovesi protects about 15 square kilometers that were formerly used for intensive commercial forestry. It now preserves a mix of pine and birch forest with numerous lakes and streams, including the Koukunjoki river.

Formed in 2005 by merging Pyhätunturi, Finland's oldest national park, founded in 1938, with the neighboring Luosto area. Its 142 square kilometers hold Finland's southernmost fell chain, twelve peaks that are remnants of rock about two billion years old, the highest being Noitatunturi at 540 meters.