A true relic of the Ice Age, Lake Saimaa's history is also closely bound with the various stages of development of the Baltic Sea. About 11 500 years ago all of Scandinavia was covered by a thick continental ice-sheet. Present-day Finland was also under a mass of ice, with a thickness of up to 2000-3000 metres.

A fabulous songster, the Thrush Nightingale (Luscinia luscinia) is the regional bird of South Karelia. More often heard than seen, this modest looking bird lives in deciduous woods, lush water meadows and deep thickets.

The regional fish of South Karelia is the Finnish Landlocked Salmon (Salmo salar m. sebago). A freshwater fish, the Landlocked Salmon is an ecological sub-species of the salmon which lives in lakes and rivers.

In 1940 in an area near the lake Ylijärvi in Ylämaa was found labradorite, where the hues of the rainbow are especially rich. It was later named to spectrolite. The play of colours is caused by interference of light waves, and the colours reflect hues from golden browns to darkest blues.

Pale Pasque Flower is a gorgeous plant that flowers in May in pine ridges and dry heaths. This shivery flower with a hairy stem grows even in the very east of Finland.