Nationally valuable stones

The vector data relate to the national inventory of valuable stones carried out as a joint project of the Ministry of the Environment, the Finnish Environment Institute and the Geology Research Centre, on which a final report has been published (Räisänen et al. 2018). The aim of the project has been to create a comprehensive picture of different types of rock formations in Finland and to produce a coherent environmental classification data. In this study, rocks have been valued on the basis of their geological, biological and landscape characteristics. With the exception of the Åland Islands and the archipelago, the valuation work has been carried out throughout the country. Based on the riddle work based on field observations, 472 rock deposits were considered to be of national value. The national rocks are divided into the following categories: nationally very valuable (value class 1) stones 12, 45 nationally very valuable (value class 2), 144 nationally valuable stones and 271 nationally valuable (value class 4) pieces. The total area of nationally valuable rocks is 3 687 hectares. Nationally valuable stones are found throughout the country, but they are clearly concentrated in Lapland and the provinces of Central Ostrobothnia and Central Finland. The results of the study can be utilised not only in the planning of permits and land use planning, but also in environmental protection, as well as in education and research activities. The results also provide a basis for assessing geological and biodiversity. The survey also serves citizens interested in nature. Research is not a conservation programme and does not have legal effects directly based on law. The Nationally Valid Stones Report has been published in the Finnish Environment Series as an electronic version and can be downloaded at HTTP://URN.FI/URN:ISBN:978-952-11-4795-1. The second part of the extensive two-part report presents general descriptions and map demarcations of nationally valuable stones. Reference: Räisänen, J., Teeriaho, J., Kananoja, T. and Rönty, H. 2018. Nationally valuable stones, Finland’s surroundings 2/2018. 194 p. The material is part of SYKE’s open data (CC BY 4.0). Coverage: the whole country, except the Åland Islands and the roadless archipelago of the coast. Purpose: The survey primarily serves the planning of permits under the Land Materials Act and planning of the use of areas. For more information: https://geoportal.ymparisto.fi/meta/julkinen/dokumentit/ValtakunnallisestiArvokkaatKivikot.pdf (explanations of the property data fields) In connection with the work, 640 rocks were inspected from the 1,000 sites included in the pre-selection. On the basis of the valuation, 472 stone sites were considered to be of national value.