Railway
Which country is known as the 'Land of a Thousand Lakes'?
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Answer: Option C ā Finland
Detailed Solution
Finland is known as the "Land of a Thousand Lakes", although it actually has far more: about 1,88,000 lakes larger than 500 square metres.
About Finland's lakes:
- About 10 per cent of Finland's area is covered by water, and the lakes are spread mainly across the central "Finnish Lakeland".
- The lakes were formed by glaciers during the last Ice Age, which scraped hollows in the land and left them filled with meltwater.
The largest lake is Lake Saimaa, in south-eastern Finland. It is home to the endangered Saimaa ringed seal, one of the rarest seals in the world.
Other large lakes include Paijanne, Inari (in Lapland) and Oulujarvi.
About Finland:
- Its capital is Helsinki.
- Its official languages are Finnish and Swedish; Sami languages are also recognised in Lapland.
Its currency is the euro. It joined the European Union in 1995.
It gained independence from Russia on 6 December 1917.
It joined NATO on 4 April 2023, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, becoming its 31st member.
It is often ranked as the "happiest country in the world" in the UN-backed "World Happiness Report"; it has topped the list every year since 2018.
It is known for its excellent education system, saunas (it has about 3 million saunas), and companies such as Nokia.
Lapland, in northern Finland, is known for the Northern Lights (aurora borealis), reindeer and the "Santa Claus Village" at Rovaniemi on the Arctic Circle.
Finland is also called "Suomi" in Finnish.
Other countries with many lakes:
- Canada has the largest number of lakes in the world (more than 8 lakh lakes, by some estimates), about 60 per cent of the world's lakes.
- Sweden: about 1 lakh lakes.
Other nicknames of countries:
- Norway: "Land of the Midnight Sun".
- Japan: "Land of the Rising Sun".
- Bhutan: "Land of the Thunder Dragon".
- Switzerland: "Playground of Europe".
- Australia: "Land of Kangaroos".
- Korea: "Land of the Morning Calm".
- Zambia: "Land of Copper".
- Kashmir (India): "Paradise on Earth".
Why not the other options?
- āCanada has the most lakes in the world, but the nickname belongs to Finland.
- āSweden has many lakes but is not known by this name.
- āSwitzerland is called the "Playground of Europe".
Quick tip
Remember: "Land of a Thousand Lakes" = Finland (about 1,88,000 lakes; Lake Saimaa largest; capital Helsinki; joined NATO 2023; happiest country); Norway = "Land of the Midnight Sun"; Japan = "Land of the Rising Sun".
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World GK: Countries, Capitals & Currencies ā Preparation
This question tests your understanding of World GK: Countries, Capitals & Currencies, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers world GK: countries with their capitals, currencies and parliaments, national symbols, famous landmarks, the longest, largest and highest features of the world, and international boundary lines such as the Radcliffe, McMahon and Durand Lines. The most common questions match a country with its capital or currency, or a parliament with its name (such as the Knesset of Israel or the Diet of Japan). Revise countries continent by continent, giving extra attention to India's neighbours. Questions on boundary lines usually ask which two countries a line separates. Practise the world GK questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.