Landscape
Vaasa is located on the eastern shore of the Kvarken, in Ostrobothnia, Western Finland. The area’s landscape is mainly flat former seabed, punctuated by small, low moraine hummocks and narrow clay valleys.
Elevation differences are small. The highest points rise to about 50 metres above sea level. The soil is everywhere washed by post-glacial sea waters.
The area of Vaasa is a total of 575 hectares. Of this, 364 ha is land and 210 ha are water areas.
City structure
A wide bay, the Southern City Basin (Eteläinen Kaupunginselkä), divides Vaasa into two parts. The head of the bay is an estuarine area into which, among others, the Laihia River and the Sulva River flow.
The city has been built mainly on the shores northeast of the bay on moraine hummocks and has expanded from there both to the north and inland. In front of the bay lies the island of Vaskiluoto, north of which opens the Northern City Basin. Between the shoreline zone and the open sea lies a varied archipelago with both recreational housing and protected natural areas.
Sundom and Söderfjärden
Sundom, located southwest of the city basin, is a rural and forest-dominated area. Settlement is mainly located at the edges of cultivated fields. Of interest for recreation and local attractions are, among others, the Öjberget recreational area and Söderfjärden, a circular cultivated crater area.
Vähäkyrö
Vähäkyrö merged with Vaasa in 2013. It is located about 25 kilometres northeast of Vaasa city centre. The municipality of Mustasaari lies between Vaasa and Vähäkyrö, geographically separating the areas from each other.
Vähäkyrö is a rural area traversed by the Kyrönjoki river. The area is characterised by extensive cultivated fields and ribbon-like settlement along the river. The Kyrönjoki landscape is one of Finland’s national landscapes.
