Place of Memory
Welcome to the National Land Survey of Finland’s history website, www.mapscroll.fi. This site will take you through five centuries of land survey in Finland, describing their impact on the land and its inhabitants. The www.mapscroll.fi website is the memory of land survey.
You can access the Archive Centre and the Land Surveying Museum from these pages. Whether you are a traveller, scientist, student or land survey professional, or just interested in the subject, www.mapscroll.fi is your window to the multi-faceted world of land survey.
Measure of Land
The Measure of Land is an online exhibition on the history of land survey which takes you on a journey through the multifaceted world of land survey. It illustrates the role land survey has played in Finnish society and strives to answer the question: what is the measure of land?
Visit the image bank on this page to view the images shown on the Mapscroll.fi website, including historical photos and maps.
- Mr Struve in a nutshell
- Struve Geodetic Arc – from the Danube Delta to the shores of the Arctic Ocean
- Arc measurement
- View the Struve Geodetic Arc on the map
- World Heritage Sites in Finland
Arc measurement
Arc measurement is used to determine both distances, and variations in terrain elevation. In triangulation, the surveyor determines the distance between reference points – the baseline – by performing a measuring sequence. According to the laws of trigonometry, when the length of one side of a triangle and the angle values are known, it is possible to calculate the lengths of the two remaining sides.
The measurement of angles requires unimpeded visual contact between the station marks. This is why triangulation points are located on high ground, often with a tower built on the site for observation purposes.
Theoretically, a degree of latitude should have the same value at the equator as at the pole. However, as early as in the 17th century Isaac Newton suggested that the Earth was slightly flattened at the poles.
Before Struve, in 1736–1737, the Frenchman Pierre-Louis Moreau de Maupertuis had also performed measurements in an attempt to determine the size and shape of the Earth. The measurements taken by de Maupertuis’ expeditions to the Torne river valley and the equator confirmed Newton's theory.
Today, measurements are made using GPS instruments based on satellite positioning, some of them having an accuracy of only a few millimetres. Many of the triangulation towers that once rose above the treetops decayed over time and have now disappeared from the landscape. Their place in the landscape has been taken over by mobile phone base stations.
Importance of Land
An esoteric science, or just dull fiddling with numbers? Land surveying may seem like an obscure branch of science, but it is actually very much present in our daily lives. We use land survey information and geographical data every day without paying much attention to the fact. The examples found on this page were designed as tools for teachers and to provide insightful learning experiences.
This page contains learning material designed to help you consider what land means for all of us. Teachers of various subjects can use the exercises to demonstrate the practical relevance of the topic at hand.