Kajaani (Kajana in Swedish) is a town in Finland. It is located in the province of Oulu and is the capital of the Kainuu region. It is located southeast of Oulujärvi (Lake Oulu), which drains to the Gulf of Bothnia along the Oulujoki (Oulu river). The city has a population of 38,217 and covers an area of 1369 km² of which 212 km² is water. The population density is 33.0 inhabitants per km². The city is unilingually Finnish. Kajaani is in the center of the region of Kainuu. The folklorist Elias Lönnrot began his travels from here when collecting folklore in Karelia.