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the Degree Confluence Project
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Finland : Länsi-Suomen lääni

4.1 km (2.5 miles) SSW of Mustajärvi, Länsi-Suomen lääni, Finland
Approx. altitude: 129 m (423 ft)
([?] maps: Google MapQuest OpenStreetMap ConfluenceNavigator)
Antipode: 62°S 156°W

Accuracy: 4 m (13 ft)
Quality: good

Click on any of the images for the full-sized picture.

#2: View to the North with some Alder trees along a ditch #3: View to the East over the clearfelling site #4: View to the South #5: Garmin GPS12 display information #6: The whole Bergmann family at the confluence #7: The youngest visitor: Lennart (8 weeks old)

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  62°N 24°E (visit #1)  

#1: View to the West over the confluence (marked with a flag)

(visited by Arne Bergmann, Claudia Bergmann, Linnea (5), Lovisa (3) and Lennart (8 weeks))

28-Jul-2001 -- "Be adventurous" is the challenge stated at the end of the step-by-step instructions on How to Find a Confluence. For us, the most adventurous and challenging element of this visit was how to get our 8-week old baby to the spot.

According to the Finish GT-4 road map (scale 1:200.000) which we used to get in the general vicinity, we could get as close as 300m to the confluence on a smaller road about 2 km WNW from Ruovesi, and luckily the confluence would not be located in a lake.

Forests dominate the Finnish landscape, covering more than 70% of the country, and really, after parking the car, we found ourselves in the middle of a 80-year old Norway Spruce dominated forest - according to my Garmin GPS 12 only 230 m from the confluence.

Immediately attacked by numerous mosquitoes, the baby carried in a belt by my wife and our two daughters protected by their jackets despite 23 degr. centigrade in the air, we started zeroing in on the confluence.

After only 50 m in the older forest, we had to make our way through a quite dense 20-year old plantation of Scotch Pine with heavy underbrush. On the last 120 m to the confluence, the forest became even younger and easier to walk in and finally I realized that the confluence would be located almost in the middle of a 5-6 ha big recently re-forested site.

The young trees (mainly Scotch Pine and Norway Spruce) were only 5 years old and not very tall. My GPS received 10 satellites in the orbit and with no obstacles all the way to the horizon I had perfect conditions to zero in with highest possible accuracy (EPE 4 m).

First thing I did was setting up a flag with latitude and longitude to mark the confluence. I also attached a paper on the flag with a screenshot of the confluence web-site and with the European map showing all the successful confluences.

After shooting the pictures we left the confluence after 30 min. On our way back home we took a refreshing bath in the lake close to Ruovesi village. We really had fun and a great day. Maybe this was also the youngest person to visit a confluence so far!


 All pictures
#1: View to the West over the confluence (marked with a flag)
#2: View to the North with some Alder trees along a ditch
#3: View to the East over the clearfelling site
#4: View to the South
#5: Garmin GPS12 display information
#6: The whole Bergmann family at the confluence
#7: The youngest visitor: Lennart (8 weeks old)
ALL: All pictures on one page