How much water is in Lake Onega? Plants and animals of Karelia
No wonder Karelia is called the land of blue lakes. After all, there are over 60 thousand of them here. It just so happens that of the two largest such reservoirs - Onega And Lake Ladoga, throughout history seem to compete with each other in their superiority. Yes, Lake Onega
both in depth and in area it is twice as shallow, but its waters, into which more than 1,150 rivers flow (in comparison: only 35 rivers into Ladoga) wash 1,650 islands (which is 2.5 times more, unlike Ladoga). Even in terms of water quality, Onego puts Ladoga to shame, even Baikal itself!
The shores in the northern part of the lake are elevated, densely covered with forest and quite heavily indented by bays, capes, lips, cliffs, while in the southern half they are low, mostly swampy.
Mainly on Onego Storms are common when waves reach heights of over 2 meters, but there are exceptions with breezes and calms in the summer months.
History of Lake Onega
Lake Onega applies to the pool Baltic Sea and spread out in the southeastern part of Karelia, similar in shape to some kind of monster, stretching either claws or tentacles in the form of bays to the north.
In connection with what the lake was given such a name has not been established to this day. However, there are several versions of its origin. According to the first, aniz means “significant” in Finnish, which corresponds to the impressive size of the reservoir, because it is not for nothing that it is listed as the second largest in Europe. According to another version, from the Sami “onego” is translated as sand, i.e. "lake with a sandy bottom." Another assumption is “low-lying plain” (a lake formed in a lowland) or a variant from Finnish - “sound”, explained by the echo reflected from the rocks that prevail in these places.
Previously, the Finns called Onego “smoking lake” because of the frequent and thick fogs over the reservoir.
The basin of Lake Onega was formed as a result of the activity of a glacier in a place where the earth’s crust collapsed, so large depths are characteristic here, reaching a maximum of 130 meters.
Islands
The main part of the islands is concentrated in the northern and northeastern parts of Onega.
Zaonezhye- the largest peninsula on the lake. This area is included in the UNESCO heritage list as unique territory, the only one in all of Europe. There are many interesting objects scattered here and there along the islands and shores of Zaonezhye: villages, famous and not so well known, with old huts, churches, chapels. Among travelers, Zaonezhie is nicknamed “Russian Rome”. The Kizhi chernozems grow diverse and unique vegetation that is unique to other islands. So every 100 meters, one type of forest is replaced by another.
On one of these islands is pearl of Lake Onega and Zaonezhye, the calling card of Karelia - a whole museum that contains masterpieces of wooden architecture under open air, famous throughout the world - Kizhi.
In the 10th century, the history of the island began, when the local lands, inhabited by Finnish tribes - the Korela and Ves (from which the Vepsians and Karelians descended), gradually began to be developed by the Novgorodians. This mixture of two nationalities left its mark on the formation of the island’s culture (which affected the local dialect, examples of architecture, and epics).
The Kizhi Museum-Reserve includes another specially protected part - the Kizhi Skerries, which are a labyrinth of numerous islands of various shapes and sizes: from large to very tiny. Some are covered with tall grass meadows, some with dense forests, some have inland lakes, others have swamps.
To the most valuable natural objects Kizhi skerries include:
Inland lakes and swamps on Klimetsky Island are a stopping and resting place for swans and geese, as well as a nesting place for cranes. Here you can see rare species of insectivorous plants.
Volkostrov Island a kilometer north of Kizhi Island. These are rocks famous for the extraction of Volkostrovsky amethysts and overgrown with meadows, and in the center of the object there is a grassy swamp with a number of rare plants of the republic. Inspected only on special routes.
Radkolye Island- a rocky island, therefore the soil cover is very rocky, and therefore it is impossible to find a forest here, except that birch and pine trees grow in small groups, and rare plant species for this region, as well as native plant species, are of particular interest.
Lelikovo Island has long been overgrown with waist-deep grass, a few houses with tiny windows. And at the very beginning of the 19th century there were over 280 residents and 90 households. The bulk of the population were Novgorodians who fled the oppression of their boyars. Their main occupation was arable farming. Therefore, there are no forests here, since the trees were completely cut down to create arable land.
The church in the name of the Holy Forerunner was built by the local merchant Kleerov. The entire facility fell into disrepair, the iconostasis was completely stolen. And although the church is not a masterpiece, it is a legacy from our ancestors. A hundred-year-old two-story building has been preserved here to this day. stone house, in which the founder of the shrine lived.
Near the village of Podjelniki there is a sacred grove. Ancient fir trees, the maximum diameter of whose trunks reach a meter, were concentrated around the local chapel.
The wooden chapel of Praskeva Pyatnitsa and Varlaam Khutynsky (1750) is not operational, the iconostasis has not been preserved. It consists of two rectangular log houses placed end to end. The wider one is a vestibule with a porch, the narrower one is the chapel itself. A hexagonal bell tower rises above the entrance hall. The belfry tent is supported by pillars and ends with onion domes. Both log houses are covered with a gable roof. On the south side of the chapel there is a bench for rest, where you will have the opportunity to inhale the aroma of freshly cut hay and wild rosemary, and see cloudberries and cranberries ripening in the swamp nearby.
Thermokarst sinkholes in the central part of Kizhi Island (100 meters west of the village of Yamka) illustrate a complete picture of how the landscape was formed. When the glacier melted, rivers with melt water formed in its thickness. Sand and gravel absorbed blocks of ice, which subsequently melted and formed caves, the arches of which were so unstable that they collapsed, forming craters.
Deer Island
12 km east of Kizhi Island with an area of just over 1 sq. km., it is archaeological site republic, since there are preserved limestone deposits formed by the remains of sponges, mosses, corals and blue-green algae more than 2 billion years old. In the 17th century, limestone was mined on the island, during which a burial ground with bones was discovered ancient man, presumably considered an ancestor who stood at the origins of the formation of the Sami people, as well as numerous hunting and fishing tools and jewelry.
The village of Suisar, Prionezhsky district (50 km from Petrozavodsk), founded in the 16th century, has preserved its original historical layout and the remains of a relict spruce grove. But the local ancient forge was transported to the island of Kizhi and is now presented as an exhibit. Nowadays Suisar is an integral stop for the yacht regatta, which is held annually in Lake Onega
"Osudareva Road"
The exact location of the path was not recorded in historical sources. It stretched through swampy forests, from the village of Nyukhcha in the White Sea to Povenets in Lake Onega, with the aim of secretly leaving the troops of Peter I to Swedish fortress Noteburg, in order to recapture and return to Russia the banks of the Neva and access to the Baltic coast at the beginning of the 18th century. The road is 260 km long. was laid out in 14 days and overcome on foot by battalions in 8 days, which in history is a complete paradox.
A couple of kilometers from the Village of Pegrema, Medvezhyegorsky district, surrounded by a pine forest, there is a complex of the same name, which was so carefully hidden by nature in thick grass, was opened to public viewing thanks to a fire: boulders in the form of human figures, animal figures “Duck”, “Frog” ", which served as idols for worshiping the souls of the dead, amulets circles made of boulders lined with a snail. Burials of an ancient man were discovered on the territory of the monument
Klimetsky Island is the largest on the way to Kizhi Island (7 km from the reserve) with a length of 30 km. These places were made famous by local storytellers in various legends and epics. In addition, Klimetsky gained particular fame, perhaps, as the most mysterious, shrouded in many inexplicable stories: vibration of the earth underfoot, a oppressive buzzing that causes terrible headaches, people disappearing in one place and appearing in a completely different place, memory lapses and much more.
On the same island you can see the ruins and, in some places, preserved frescoes of the Klimets Monastery (16th century). According to legend, the Novgorod merchant Klim was caught in a storm during his next trade route, and after praying for salvation, he promised the Almighty to build a monastery in this place. Soon deserts appeared on the island. After this incident, Klim spent the rest of his life in solitude in the holy monastery. Despite the dilapidated state of the building, the atmosphere here is peaceful.
Sandarmokh International Memorial Cemetery, Medvezhyegorsky district, highway A119 to Povenets, 12 km. from Medvezhyegorsk.
In the 30s of the 20th century, the place was used as an execution and burial place for victims of Stalinist repressions (there are about 7 thousand people of 60 nationalities). These were mainly prisoners of the White Sea-Baltic Canal and Solovetsky camps.
In the chapel located nearby there is a book that lists the names of the people who were executed. There are no birds singing here, no traces of animals. Now there are steles and crosses installed here.
Petroglyph places - Eastern Shores Lake Onega is mainly represented by rocky capes containing monuments of the stone chronicle - petroglyphs, represented by signs, drawings of animals, birds and conveying the consciousness of those people who lived here in the era of millennia BC. Until now, the meaning of many has not been figured out by scientists.
Cape Besov Nose is the richest in petroglyphs. Of this abundance, the most famous is a drawing in the shape of a demon, more than 2 meters in length. On the cape there is a lighthouse that is no longer operational. 200 meters east of the cape lies the rocky island "Besikha", which is adjacent to the cape. It is worth noting that the Demon's Nose is listed as a landmark in the Onega Regatta.
Cape Peri Nos is located a kilometer north of Besov Cape. Of all the petroglyphs located in the Onega complex, half are located on this cape. Some of the petroglyphs are located at the bottom of the lake. The edges of the cape are strongly indented by seven capes of varying sizes with rock carvings near the water, between which bays and bays are concentrated.
West Bank
Shoksha- an ancient Vepsian village 60 km away. from Petrozavodsk. The history of the village began with the mining and processing of crimson quartzite. This is the only deposit of royal and time-tested stone. It was used in the decoration of the Kazan Cathedral, Mausoleum, Winter Palace, and was also supplied to France for Napoleon’s tombstone.
16 km from Shoksha you will see the ruins of one of the oldest in Karelia, the Annunciation Ion-Yashezersky Monastery (the village of Sheltozero, surrounded by forest lakes-lambushki), already mentioned in sources during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. The desert was founded by a student of Alexander Svirsky - Jonah. Now the monastery is being restored.
Kolgostrov is one of the large islands of Lake Onega, with an area of about 7 sq. km. Interesting object on the rock “Bell” is located in the southwestern part of the island - a “ringing stone” in the form of a boulder, when hit on the top of which with a small cobblestone, the stone emits a melodic sound, reminiscent of the ringing of a church bell.
Where to stay
A vacation away from civilization on the shores of the picturesque Lake Onega can be not only serene, but also comfortable accommodation, each option equipped with all the amenities of modern life. From the variety offered, any guest will find accommodation to their liking and taste.
At the recreation center "Zaonego.Ru" there are cottages with a high level of comfort (7 km from the property), a house with amenities in the Kizhi skerries area. Services: hunting (1000 rubles/person/day), fishing (500 rubles/8 hours), boat trips (from 700 rubles/day), excursions (from 2000 rubles), sauna, barbecue.
Tourist base "Senoval" (village of Garnitsy, 7 km from Kizhi), guest houses with a bathhouse, kitchen, smokehouse and barbecue, shop 3 km away. Cost of accommodation from 2800 rubles/day.
Tourist base "Big Bear" (M18, 27 km from Medvezhyegorsk), guest complex for 2 people. - from 1800, VIP cottage - from 3000, fisherman's cottage for 6 people - from 4200 rubles/day.
Fishing
IN Lake Onega There are about 50 species of fish, among them: pike, perch, bream, pike perch, catfish, burbot, sterlet and even salmon and trout. This diversity is determined by the complexity of the bottom topography due to alternating depressions and increases in depth, which creates favorable conditions for its expansion.
The most common method of fishing, which even a beginner can master, is trolling (using a boat with a motor), which can also use a downrigger for catching deep-sea fish. Spinning fishing is also used - throwing bait into the water, which then begins to slowly pull up, simulating movement towards the shore.
Fishing pier, Kvartsitny village (70 km from Petrozavodsk). Services: boats, echo sounders, barbecue, smokehouse. Renting a boat for 4-5 people for 8 hours will cost about 10 thousand rubles, including the cost of fuel and fishing gear.
Country Club "Silver Onega". Services: salmon fishing licenses - 500 rubles, instructor, gear, catch storage - 50 rubles/pcs/day. A boat for 3 people for 5 hours will cost 12,000, a catamaran for 6 people for the same time will cost 15,000 rubles.
White nights in Karelia are considered one of the attractions of this region, and compared to St. Petersburg, here they last longer, starting from the May holidays and ending in August. This phenomenon is of particular interest to lovers of picturesque landscapes, when all nature is filled with magical colors. At this time of day it is quite light, almost like daytime. It was during this period of lovers extreme species recreation annually gathers for the White Nights rally.
Discover your corner in Lake Onega! Enjoy the silence of Karelian nature and the beauty of local landscapes, get unforgettable experience from a wonderful holiday!
The rocks that make up the environs of Lake Onega are very hard, and they do not contain the remains of ancient animals and plants, except for the imprints of simple crustaceans and algae discovered in recent decades. These imprints of organic matter and organic remains, found mainly in the Middle and Upper Proterozoic formations of the Onega trough, indicate a very early (in the geological sense) development of organic life within the shores of Lake Onega, approximately 1900-1500 million years ago.
Further, in the history of the development of the organic world on the territory of Karelia, there is a significant gap, since geological changes, accompanied by high temperatures and pressures, did not contribute to the preservation of traces of ancient life. In addition, at the beginning, organisms associated with the sea arose, and the territory of Karelia, together with adjacent Finland, Sweden and the Kola Peninsula, was an island for a long time.
The first of the Quaternary glaciations, which began about a million years ago and covered not only Karelia, but also areas far beyond its borders, destroyed all living things that had managed to develop here in pre-glacial times: plants and animals that were not capable of rapid movement died out, the rest - migrated to more southern regions, and during the glaciation the territory of Karelia was an icy desert, similar to modern Antarctica.
There were several glaciations, and there is evidence that in the intervals between them, that is, in interglacial times, the vegetation of Karelia was very similar to modern: the territory was predominantly covered with forests, which included such heat-loving tree species as linden, oak and elm, and among shrubs - hazel. This means that the interglacial climate was warmer than the modern one. But in subsequent glaciations, this vegetation was also destroyed by ice, slowly but stubbornly moving from northwest to southeast. Therefore, the history of the development of modern vegetation and fauna of Karelia in general and the coast of Lake Onega in particular should begin from the time when the ice of the last glaciation began to melt.
About 11,000-12,000 years ago, the northern half of Lake Onega was still occupied by ice, while along the shores of its southern part, already freed from ice cover and largely flooded with the waters of the periglacial lake, tundra-type vegetation grew, with polar willow and low-growing birch. When the northern part of Onego was also freed from ice, the tundra vegetation moved north, closer to the edge of the glacier, and its place was taken by forest-tundra type vegetation and swamps began to form.
The composition of plants and animals of this time is almost unknown, since their fossil remains have not yet been discovered in the vicinity of Lake Onega, but the analogy with more southern regions allows us to assume that the animal world was somewhat different from the modern one: mammoths, woolly animals could have moved here from the southern regions rhinoceroses, fossil deer and other smaller animals.
Later, when the glaciers had already completely melted, in the middle of post-glacial time, that is, about 6-7 thousand years ago, there was a period of warm and humid climate, and the shores of Lake Onega were covered with dense forest vegetation of pine, birch and heat-loving broad-leaved species. The composition of the animals also changed. Fossil remains (skulls, teeth and others) discovered in sediments of that time indicate a taiga faunal complex similar to the modern one. Such large animals as the mammoth and the woolly rhinoceros could not exist in typical forest conditions and became extinct; others (musk ox, wild horse) were pushed south.
In the dense, mostly deciduous forests there were brown bear, wolf, reindeer, roe deer, wild boar, and among the smaller ones - beaver, otter, ferret, marten, white hare, and in the waters of the lake - seal. Somewhat later, a man appeared on the banks of the Onego - the oldest sites were discovered by archaeologists in the vicinity of Medvezhyegorsk, on the Chelmuzhskaya Spit, near the village of Solomenoye near Petrozavodsk and in other places.
In subsequent times, the nature of vegetation and fauna gradually changed, mainly due to changes climatic conditions towards cooling and humidification, and, if in the area south coast Although the forests were still predominantly deciduous, in the northern parts there was already a significant development of coniferous species: pine and spruce. Some idea of the fauna of that time can be obtained from the analysis of rock paintings in the area of the southeastern coast of the lake. Here, on capes Besov Nos, Gazhiy Nos and others, our distant ancestors depicted animals such as elk, reindeer, bear, dog, etc.
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The depth, structure of the shores and bottom, soils, and water temperature are different in different parts of the lake. Therefore, life in it is also diverse.
In coastal and shallow-water areas, macrophytes rise from the bottom, either proudly rising above the water like a green carpet (reeds, reeds), or those whose leaves float on the surface of the water (white water lily, yellow capsule), or submerged in the water (pondweeds),
Small algae (phytoplankton) and living organisms (zooplankton) develop in the water column. Most species of zooplankton, if they can move independently, do so very slowly.
There are relatively few macrophytes. Thickets of them along coastline found mainly in the northern, northwestern and northeastern regions of the reservoir and in small bays protected from waves. Most of them are in the skerry area, in the Velikaya, Svyatukha, Keften, Chelmuzhskaya lips and in the shallow waters of the Lizhemskaya, Unitskaya lips and others.
Among the representatives of the bottom fauna, or benthos, there are 350 species and forms. Over 80% of them live in coastal areas, with about half in thickets.
The distribution of benthos in the lake depends on the bottom soils, aquatic vegetation and wave action. Therefore, the number of individuals and the number of species of bottom inhabitants varies in different areas of the lake.
On Onego, rocky coastal surf areas and luds do not overgrow. They are inhabited by mollusks, caddisflies, mayflies, and chironomids. There are fewer bottom dwellers in sandy surf areas.
The bottom fauna of the deep silted part of the lake is poorer. In the silts of relatively shallow areas - Tolvuisky, Pyalemsky, Kuzarandsky Onego - it is richer due to the distribution of shallow-water forms here.
Significant accumulations of food benthos in these areas were found in depressions at a depth of 40 to 50 m.
Despite its relatively low development, the bottom fauna in Onego is still more abundant than in other large lakes of Karelia.
Bottom inhabitants on the underwater slopes of ludas and herrings, where both deep-sea and coastal forms of organisms are developed, are an indispensable food for fish.
Lake Onega is characterized by average plankton productivity. Phytoplankton is dominated by diatoms, characteristic of cold waters. At the end of spring there is a lot of golden algae, in the fall there are blue-green ones. In summer, phytoplankton1 is more diverse, especially in the north, on the border of the skerry area with the open lake. In the Onega zooplankton there are 35 forms of lower crustaceans, 25 belong to cladocerans, among them, for example, daphnia.
In summer, the upper two-meter layer of water is most saturated with plankton; each cubic meter of this layer contains on average about 18 thousand crustaceans. Most of the plankton is in the relatively shallow, well-warmed eastern regions of Central and Southern Onego (up to 60 thousand per 1 m3). In the open part of the lake there is less plankton, and its abundance decreases with depth. Thus, in the large Onego there are only 6 thousand crustaceans per 1 m3 of water; There are approximately the same number of crustaceans in the western areas of Central Onego and Bolshaya Bay.
Planktivorous fish usually feed in the upper ten-meter layer of water. In the most warm time years, in pursuit of cold-water plankton, they descend deeper.
Fish adapt to conditions, and primarily to the quantity and composition of food. Onego is home to both cold-water fish, accustomed to clear, oxygen-rich water (whitefish, salmon and palia), and inhabitants of warm, stagnant waters (crucian carp). There are also so-called peaceful fish that feed on plankton or benthos - vendace, smelt, bream, and predators that eat other fish - pike, large perch, pike perch.
The lake is home to almost all the fish known in the inland waters of Karelia - a total of 47 species and varieties belonging to 13 families. Lampreys are found in the lake and at the mouths of some rivers. This diversity of the lake's inhabitants is partly explained by their origin. Some species of fish came here in post-glacial times from the Baltic and White seas and from the Upper Volga.
Many species of Onega fish feed on benthos. This is the main food for bream and whitefish. Zooplankton is the food of six species of fish, including the main commercial fish of the lake: vendace and smelt.
Pike perch and pike perch feed almost exclusively on fish. It makes up half of the diet of both perch and burbot. The distribution of various fish in the lake depends on what food predominates in a particular area of the reservoir. Thus, roach, bleak, and bream live in shallow bays and stretches. The latter is also found in the mouths large rivers- Andoma, Vodly and others. Vendace settles in shallow waters and in the coastal parts of deep-sea reaches; it feeds in the surface and bottom layers of the lake.
Whitefish, perch, ruffe, and grayling are found everywhere. Migratory whitefish and whitefish feed in the littoral zone and in the upper layers of water in the central part of the lake, at a depth of 20-40 m, and grayling prefers the upper layers, up to 10-20 m in depth. Smelt is found in almost all areas of the lake, but most of it is found on the coastal slopes, to depths of 30-50 m. Pike perch and pike perch follow vendace and smelt, which constitute their main food.
There is no mass feeding (feeding) of fish deeper than 40-50 m.
Fishing in 1965 accounted for about 12% of the total production of Lake Onega. Catch of the main commercial fish of the lake - smelt and vendace - in 1961-1965. gave 74% of the catch (42 and 32%, respectively). Other types of large fish (burbot, bream, pike perch, pike) and small fish (perch, roach, ruffe and others) account for 11% each, and the most valuable fish - salmon (whitefish and grayling) - only 4%.
The main fishing area of the lake is considered to be the northeastern one. These are Tolvuiskoe, Kuzarandskoe and Pya-lemskoe Onego with lips. More than 6 thousand quintals of fish are caught annually in Zyes, or 39% of the catch of the entire lake. The southern region is in second place in terms of fish catch (30%), the central region is in third (21%) and the northwestern region is in last place.
Fishing is seasonal due to the spawning time of the main commercial fish. In May - June, when smelt spawns, 40-50% of the annual catch is caught, and in the fall, during vendace spawning, 40-45%.
During the fishing period, preference is given to valuable species of fish and little “weeds” are caught (perch, ruffe and others), while weeds compete with valuable fish for food, eat their eggs and juveniles.
Average annual catch 1950-1956 reached 22.9 thousand centners in 1957-1960. only 17.3 thousand centners. In 1961-1965 the catch has stabilized (18.2 thousand quintals).
There are fewer and fewer salmon, whitefish, pike perch, and pike perch in the lake. Their stocks decreased due to trawl fishing for juveniles, which has now been discontinued. Damage to spawning grounds during timber rafting and industrial water pollution, which we have already discussed, cause even greater damage. The conservation and reproduction of fish resources should take first place among measures to protect Onego’s nature.
Lake Onega is a lake in the north-west of the European part Russian Federation, located on the territory of Karelia, Leningrad and Vologda regions. The second largest lake in Europe after Ladoga. Belongs to the Baltic Sea basin Atlantic Ocean. The area of the lake without islands is 9690 km 2, and with islands - 9720 km 2; volume of water mass - 285 km 3; length from south to north is 245 km, greatest width is 91.6 km. The average depth is 30 m, and the maximum is 127 m. The cities of Petrozavodsk, Kondopoga and Medvezhyegorsk are located on the shores of Lake Onega. About 50 rivers flow into Lake Onega, but only one flows out - the Svir.
The average depth of the lake is 31 m, the maximum depth in the deepest northern part of the lake reaches 127 m. The average depth in the central part is 50-60 m, closer to the south the bottom rises to 20-30 m. Lake Onega is characterized by numerous pronounced rises and lowering the bottom. In the northern part of the lake there are many troughs, alternating with high rises in the bottom, forming banks where industrial trawlers often fish. A significant part of the bottom is covered with silt. Typical forms are luds (shallow rocky shoals), selgi (deep-sea bottom elevations with rocky and sandy soils in the southern part of the lake), underwater ridges and ridges, as well as depressions and pits. Such a relief creates favorable conditions for the life of fish. The regime of Lake Onega is characterized by a spring rise in water, which lasts 1.5-2 months, with an annual amplitude of the water level of up to 0.9-1 m. The flow from the lake is regulated by the Verkhnesvirskaya hydroelectric station. Rivers bring up to 74% of the incoming part of the water balance (15.6 km 3 per year), 25% comes from precipitation. 84% of the expenditure part of the water balance comes from runoff from the lake along the Svir River (on average 17.6 km 3 per year), 16% from evaporation from the water surface. The highest water levels of the lake are in June - August, the lowest - in March - April. Frequent disturbances are observed, storm waves reach 2.5 m in height. The lake freezes in the central part in mid-January, in the coastal part and in the bays - in late November - December. At the end of April, the mouths of the tributaries open, the open part of the lake opens in May. The water in the deep open parts of the lake is clear, with visibility up to 7-8 m. In the bays it is slightly less, up to one meter or less. The water is fresh, with a mineralization of 10 mg/l.
This body of water has an interesting shape - it stretches towards the north with tentacle-like bays, its shores are dotted with many headlands, there are also islands overgrown with lush vegetation. Lake Onego is the second largest freshwater body of water in Europe; it is sometimes compared to the majestic Ladoga and called its younger sister.
As is known, they are almost twice as large as Onega, but they were formed at the same time.
History of the origin of the lake
This reservoir appeared on the surface of the Earth as soon as the last glaciers retreated and melted, filling huge pits with the purest water that existed long before the formation of the glaciers themselves. Scientists claim that the reason for their appearance was faults and shifts in the earth’s crust in ancient geological eras.
The deep waters of this mysterious lake have seen many amazing creatures that settled here many thousands of years ago. Who knows, perhaps their descendants still live at the bottom of the reservoir.
The lake has an oblong shape, its maximum length, taking into account the river mouths flowing into it, is 245 km. Its widest part is 91 km long.
About 50 rivers flow into this reservoir, while only one flows out - the Svir. Maximum depth The reservoir reaches 107 meters, with an average depth of 30 meters. In terms of purity and transparency of Onego water, it is comparable only to the famous one.
Coastline
The reservoir deservedly enjoys unprecedented popularity among tourists who love to explore remote corners of the country. It is worth noting that the two parts of the lake are strikingly different from each other in the outline of the shores and their structure.
The southern part (the so-called Central Lake Onega) is a wide reach. It is here that the greatest depths are concentrated, and the shores are striking in their diversity - these are rocks, sandbanks, and swamps.
Nature itself divided the northern part of the reservoir into two picturesque bays, which are called Small and Large Onega lakes. They stretched towards the north, crashing their cold waters into the southern edge of the Baltic crystalline shield. Thanks to excellent natural conditions, is well developed here.
Islands of Lake Onega
The surface of the beautiful Lake Onega is literally dotted with numerous islands. In total there are more than 1.5 thousand of them - large and small, rocky and covered with vegetation. The largest islands are Bolshoi Lelikovsky, Klimetsky, and Suisari. One of the most famous among them is the protected island of Kizhi, known for its unique monuments of folk architecture.
Some of the islands are wild, rarely set foot by humans. Many islands attract travelers with an excellent opportunity to spend time alone with nature and enjoy the enchanting landscapes of the Karelian region.
Due to the sheer quantity and variety of fish, the best fishing experience of a lifetime can be staged here. The waters of the lake are especially rich in such species of fish as grayling, whitefish, perch, vendace, roach, and smelt. Lamprey and valuable commercial species such as trout and salmon are also found here.
In addition to trout, which was once brought from the Armenian city of Sevan, the Baikal omul has taken root here and has spread throughout the entire reservoir. Picturesque shores Lake Onega and its many islands will be a wonderful place for those who are interested in real life.
Mysteries of Lake Onega
In the famous Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg there is an interesting exhibition, which is a huge piece of stone slab weighing several tens of tons. This gigantic block was once part of Lake Onega, or rather, its rocky cape Peri Nos.
Literally the entire surface of the granite slab is covered with ancient images of swans, deer, fish and people. In addition to living figures, you can see numerous signs on the stone in the form of lines and circles. What they mean is still a mystery.
Scientists have established that the age of the rock paintings of Lake Onega is 4 thousand years. The shores of this reservoir have always been inhabited by people, as evidenced by the different places the remains of their ancient sites.
On the banks of Onego there are the most unique monuments antiquity - this is the Oleneostrovsky burial ground ( City of dead) and Onega Sanctuary. Surely there are other amazing places here that are still inaccessible to humans. Unraveling the ancient mysteries of the lake is a great reason to head to its shores.
How to relax on the lake
Famous for its unique corners nature, where everyone can relax and gain strength. Lake Onega is one of these places.
It’s worth coming here with families or friends, but even single travelers will have something to do in this amazing land. Excellent conditions have been created here for all lovers of an active lifestyle. Exciting hikes, picking berries and mushrooms - all this is available to travelers.
