Easternmost point of the Nordic

The easternmost point of any Nordic country is located somewhere east of Kuopio and Kontiolahti in Finland. It seems natural that this point is in Finland, but in fact only 22 km or so separates the far north-east of Norway from the honor of having this point.

Anyway, just how far east is it really, seen with international eyes? It's quite obvious that Norway is a western european country. Finland is also usually considered among them, although not always. But what if I say parts of Asia is farther west than these points? This is actually the situation! The easternmost points of Norway and Finland pass the longitudes of Istanbul and Cairo, cities usually not even considered eastern european, but eastern.

This is really a strange thought to a norwegian like me living on the longitude of Amsterdam.

Ok, the first Nordic Geo Oddity I will present is actually partly in Russia! The tripoint between Norway, Finland and Russia. Now what's so special about this place? It's not only the most northern point where three countries meet, but also the only place in the world (except for the North Pole and South Pole) where three time zones meet. This would make a tricky quiz question... Anyway, the oddity occurs mostly because Norway uses one time for the whole country even though the northern parts extend to the same longitude as Istanbul! Finland in the south is one hour ahead of Norway, while Russia (at the tripoint) is even one hour ahead of Finland. Because is so far to the north, it doesn't take that much to cross the time zones.


Larger map

Nordic Geography Oddities

Recently I've been reading many interesting articles on the blog "Twelve Mile Circle" (or 12MC). So now I'll try to make a Nordic version as far as possible. There are so many interesting places in these countries! Starting soon.