Реферат: Finland
Реферат: Finland
The
Moscow State Social- Humanitarian
Institute
The
Faculty of foreign languages
The
English Department
PROJECT
“Finland”
Developed
by the student
Of
the group PM-07
Romanov
Stas
Москва 2007
PLAN
1.
History
2.
Geography and environment
3.
Climate
4. Political
system
5. Industry,
economy and globalization
6. Culture
Geography and environment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Finland_1996_CIA_map.jpg
Detailed map of Finland.
Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands;
187,888 lakes (larger than 500 m²) and 179,584 islands to be precise. One of these lakes, Saimaa, is the fifth largest in Europe. The Finnish landscape
is mostly flat with few hills and its highest point, the Halti at 1,324 metres, is found in the extreme north of Lapland at the border between Finland and Norway.
The landscape is covered mostly (seventy-five percent of land
area) by coniferous taiga forests and fens, with little arable land. The most
common type of rock is granite. It is a ubiquitous part of the scenery, visible
wherever there is no soil cover. Moraine or till is the most common type of
soil, covered by a thin layer of humus of biological origin. The greater part
of the islands are found in southwest in the Archipelago Sea, part of the
archipelago of the Åland Islands, and along the southern coast in the
Gulf of Finland.
Finland is one of the few countries in the world whose
surface area is still growing. Owing to the post-glacial rebound that has been
taking place since the last ice age, the surface area of the country is growing
by about 7 square kilometres (2.7 square miles) a year.
The distance from the most Southern point – Hanko – to the
most northern point of Finland – Nuorgam – is 1,445 kilometres (898 miles) (driving distance), which would take approximately 18.5 hours to drive. This is very
similar to Great Britain (Land's End to John o' Groats – 1,404 kilometres
(872 miles) and 16.5 h).
Flora and fauna
All terrestrial life in Finland was completely wiped out
during the last ice age that ended some 10,000 years ago, following the retreat
of the glaciers and the appearance of vegetation.
Today, there are over 1,200 species of vascular plant, 800
bryophytes and 1,000 lichen species in Finland, with flora being richest in the
southern parts of the country. Plant life, like most of the Finnish ecology, is
well adapted to tolerate the contrasting seasons and extreme weather. Many
plant species, such as the Scots Pine, spruce, birch spread throughout Finland
from Norway and only reached the western coast less than three millennia ago.
Oak and maple grows in nature only in the southern part of Finland.
The Archipelago Sea, between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland,
is the largest archipelago in the world by number of islands; estimates vary
between 20,000 and 50,000.
Similarly, Finland has a diverse and extensive range of
fauna. There are at least sixty native mammalian species, 248 breeding bird
species, over seventy fish species and eleven reptile and frog species present
today, many migrating from neighbouring countries thousands of years ago.
Large and widely recognised wildlife mammals found in Finland
are the Brown Bear (the national animal), Gray Wolf, elk and reindeer. Other
common mammals include the Red Fox, Red Squirrel, and Mountain Hare. Some rare
and exotic species include the flying squirrel, Golden Eagle, Saimaa Ringed
Seal and the Arctic fox, which is considered the most endangered. The Whooper
Swan, the national bird of Finland, is a large Northern Hemisphere swan. The
most common breeding birds are the Willow Warbler, Chaffinch and Redwing. Of
some seventy species of freshwater fish, the northern pike, perch and others
are plentiful. Salmon remains the favorite of fly rod enthusiasts.
The endangered Saimaa Ringed Seal, one of only three lake
seal species in the world, exists only in the Saimaa lake system of
southeastern Finland, down to only 300 seals today. It has become the emblem of
the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation.
Due to hunting and persecution in history, many animals such
as the Golden Eagle, Brown Bear and Eurasian Lynx all experienced significant
declines in population. However, their numbers have increased again in the
2000s, mainly as a result of careful conservation and the establishment of vast
national parks.
Climate
The climate in Southern Finland is a northern temperate
climate. In Northern Finland, particularly in the Province of Lapland, a
subarctic climate dominates, characterised by cold, occasionally severe,
winters and relatively warm summers. The main factor influencing Finland's
climate is the country's geographical position between the 60th and 70th
northern parallels in the Eurasian continent's coastal zone, which shows
characteristics of both a maritime and a continental climate, depending on the
direction of air flow. Finland is near enough to the Atlantic Ocean to be
continuously warmed by the Gulf Stream, which explains the unusually warm
climate considering the absolute latitude.
A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the Arctic
Circle, and as a consequence the midnight sun can be experienced – for more
days, the farther north one travels. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun
does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer, and does not rise at all
for 51 days during winter.
Political system
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Eduskuntatalo_%28Finnish_Parliament_building%29.JPGEduskuntatalo, the main
building of the Parliament of Finland (Eduskunta) in Helsinki.
Finland has a semi-presidential system with parliamentarism.
The president is responsible for foreign policy outside of the European Union
in cooperation with the cabinet (the Finnish Council of State) where most
executive power lies, headed by the Prime Minister. Responsibility for forming
the cabinet is granted to a person nominated by the President and approved of
by the Parliament. This person also becomes Prime Minister after formal
appointment by the President. Any minister and the cabinet as a whole, however,
must have continuing trust of the parliament and may be voted out, resign or be
replaced. The Council of State is made up of the Prime Minister and the
ministers for the various departments of the central government as well as an
ex-officio member, the Chancellor of Justice.
The 200-member unicameral parliament is called the Eduskunta
(Finnish) or Riksdag (Swedish). It is the supreme legislative authority
in Finland. The parliament may alter the Constitution of Finland, bring about
the resignation of the Council of State, and override presidential vetoes. Its
acts are not subject to judicial review. Legislation may be initiated by the
Council of State, or one of the Eduskunta members, who are elected for a
four-year term on the basis of proportional representation through open list
multi-member districts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Finland_%28state%29.svgThe judicial system of
Finland is divided between courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction
and administrative courts with responsibility for litigation between the
individuals and the administrative organs of the state and the communities.
Finnish law is codified and based on Swedish law and in a wider sense, civil
law or Roman law. Its court system consists of local courts, regional appellate
courts, and the Supreme Court. The administrative branch of justice consists of
administrative courts and the Supreme Administrative Court. In addition to the
regular courts, there are a few special courts in certain branches of
administration. There is also a High Court of Impeachment for criminal charges
(for an offence in office) against the President of the Republic, the justices
of the supreme courts, members of the Council of State, the Chancellor of
Justice and the Ombudsman of Parliament.
The parliament has, since equal and common suffrage was
introduced in 1906, been dominated by secular Conservatives, the Centre Party
(former Agrarian Union), and Social Democrats, which have approximately equal
support, and represent 65–80 percent of voters. After 1944 Communists were a
factor to consider for a few decades. The relative strengths of the parties
vary only slightly in the elections due to the proportional election from
multi-member districts but there are some visible long-term trends.
Like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Finland has no
constitutional court, and courts may not strike down laws or pronounce on their
constitutionality. In principle, the constitutionality of laws in Finland is
verified by a simple vote in the parliament. However, the constitutional
committee in the parliament reviews legistlation during the lawmaking process,
and thus performs a similar role.
According to Transparency International, Finland has had the
lowest level of corruption in all the countries studied in its survey for the
last several years. Also according to the World Audit study, Finland is the
least corrupt and most democratic country in the world as of 2006.
In its 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without
Borders ranked Finland (along with Belgium and Sweden) 5th out of 169
countries.
Industry, economy and globalization
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