Sotkamo has grown beside a water route formed by a continuous band of lakes and rivers. Half of the water runs to the White Sea and the other half to the Baltic Sea. The so called "Sotkamo route" was one of the most important commercial water routes in the past. It made it possible for the Russians to navigate their commercial vessels through a curly and labyrinth-like water route deep from the Russian inland all the way to the Baltic Sea. The same water route has been used by soldiers of Russia, Sweden and Denmark to rob and ravage this remote countryside for centuries. The name Sotkamo comes either from the Finnish word "sotku" which means a mess and refers to the obscure water route or from the word "sotka" which was a general name for water birds in ancient Finnish.
During the 19th century Sotkamo was visited by notable Finnish artists such as Akseli Gallen-Kallela and Hugo Simberg.
On November 17, 2007 first pictures of the Kern arc were made in the town of Sotkamo by Marko Mikkilä.
Villages
Alasotkamo, Heinämäki, Halmetvaara, Jormaskylä, Juholankylä, Korholanmäki, Kontinjoki, Laakajärvi, Losovaara, Naapurinvaara, Nuasjärvi, Ontojoki, Paakinmäki, Pohjavaara, Riekinranta, Sipinen, Sipola, Soidinvaara, Sumsa, Suovaara, Tipasoja, Torinkylä, Tuhkakylä, Vuokatti, Ylisotkamo, Ärväänkylä, Maanselkä
