2 / 4 Saimaa: its origins, flora and fauna Saimaa was created by the continental ice sheet in the Ice Age. Ice more than a kilometre thick then covered the entire area; when it melted, Saimaa gradually emerged through various stages as a freshwater basin separate from the sea and about 76 metres above sea level. Note: 'Saimaa' is used here to refer to the Saimaa basin, the central area of the Saimaa lake system or drainage region, consisting of several interconnected lakes of which Lake Saimaa proper, the principal lake in the system, is one. The first leisure craft to come to Suur-Saimaa in spring when the ice breaks.