What animals live in the Onega lake. Lake Onega area: general information, characteristics and location
The nature of Karelia fascinates everyone who has visited these places at least once. The amazing beauty of northern nature, violent rivers with steep rapids, pristine cleanliness of forests, fresh air filled with the intoxicating aroma of pine needles, stunning sunsets and the richness of the world of flora and fauna have long attracted tourists and travelers to Karelia.
Karelia is located in the northwest Russian Federation... Most of the republic is occupied by coniferous forests, famous for tall pines and slender spruces, juniper thickets and an abundance of berries.
There are more than 60 thousand lakes in Karelia, the most famous of which are Onega and Ladoga. Many rivers and rivulets run through the republic, but the rivers are mostly short. The longest Karelian river Kem has a length of only 360 km. There are swamps and waterfalls in Karelia.
It is the reservoirs in combination with the Karelian forests that create that amazing climate that enchants everyone. It is no coincidence that Karelia is called " lungs of Europe"By the way, it was here, not far from Petrozavodsk, that the first Russian resort was created, founded in 1719 by the decree of Peter I.
Many artists and poets admired Karelia. The Kivach waterfall is one of the most famous sights of Karelia, Marcial Waters is the first Russian resort, founded in 1719 by the decree of Peter I, Kizhi and Valaam are among the most mysterious places Russia, and mysterious petroglyphs Of the White Sea still haunt archaeologists and historians.
The flora of Karelia
The peculiarities of the Karelian flora are primarily due to geographic location republics. Main part flora formed in the postglacial period. Plants typical for the tundra grow in the northern regions and at the heights of the mountains: mosses, lichens, dwarf spruces and birches.
But most of the republic is occupied by coniferous forests. Closer to the north grow pine forests... Approximately in the Segozero region, there is a border between the northern and middle taiga forests. Here begins a forest belt, where spruce and pine trees grow interspersed. The closer to the southern outskirts of Karelia, the more spruce forests, which are interspersed with mixed ones.
Of the conifers, the most common are Norway spruce and Scots pine. Finnish pines are often found in the west. The mixed forest thickets are home to birch, alder, aspen, linden, elm and maple trees.
The lower layer of forests is made up of numerous shrubs. Where pine trees grow, there are fewer bushes. The closer to the south, the more thickets of lingonberry and cloudberry, bilberry and blueberry, wild rosemary and marsh world appear.
Near the water bodies, the soil is covered with gray mosses and lichens. It is easy to find heather and lichen here.
And also the Karelian forests are the kingdom of mushrooms. Most of all, boletus and boletus are collected. In the southern regions, porcini mushrooms, boletus, mushrooms and chanterelles are often found.
Fauna of Karelia
The fauna of Karelia is rich and varied. All the animals that traditionally live in the taiga are found here. But the peculiarity of the Karelian Republic is also that there are many reservoirs here. This means that there are much more representatives of the North Sea representatives of the animal kingdom than in any other corner of Russia.
Lynx, brown bear, wolf and badger can be found among large mammals in the Karelian forests. Numerous white hares have long been the desired prey of local hunters. There are many beavers and squirrels. Rivers and lakes are popular with muskrats, otters, martens and European minks. Seals are found in the White Sea and Lake Onega.
The fauna of the southern regions is somewhat different from the northern ones. The south is home to moose and wild boars, raccoon dogs and Canadian minks.
The bird world is also diverse. The family of passerines is best represented. In the north, there is a lot of upland game: wood grouse, black grouse, hazel grouse and ptarmigan. Among the birds of prey, it is worth noting the hawks, numerous owls, golden eagles and harriers.
Waterfowl of Karelia is its pride. Ducks and loons settle on the lakes, gulls and eiders have chosen the seaside, which are valued for their down. Sandpipers live in the swamps.
Karelian fish can be roughly divided into three categories:
Anadromous (whitefish, salmon, salmon, smelt);
Lake-river (pike, roach, perch, burbot, ruff, in the south - pike perch, grayling and river trout);
And marine (herring, cod and flounder).
The abundance of water bodies also led to a large number of reptiles and insects. Of all the snakes that are found in Karelia, the most dangerous is the common viper. And from late May to early September, forest hikes and picnics are darkened by clouds of mosquitoes, horseflies and midges. In the south, by the way, ticks pose a great danger, especially in May-June.
Climate in Karelia
Most of Karelia is located in a zone of temperate continental climate with marine elements. Although winter lasts a long time, severe frosts are rare here. Mostly winters are mild, with an abundance of snow. Spring, with all its delights in the form of melting snows, blossoming trees and an increase in daylight hours, comes only in mid-April. But until the end of May, the probability of a return of frosts remains.
Summer in Karelia is short and cool. In most of the territory, real summer weather sets in only by mid-July. Temperature rarely rises above + 20ºC. But already at the end of August, the autumn mood of the weather is felt: cloudy sky, torrential rains and cold winds.
The most unstable and unpredictable weather prevails on the sea coast and in the area of Ladoga and Onega lakes. Frequent cyclones come from the west. The weather is most often cloudy, with constant winds and an abundance of precipitation. The highest cloud cover in the whole republic is noted on the coast of the White Sea.
There are thousands of reservoirs on our beautiful planet, each of which is interesting and significant in its own way. We will tell you about Lake Onega - steeped in legends, glorified by our famous ancestors, mesmerizing with its primeval beauty. They say that in winter you can hear the sun rising, such a silence around. But in summer, the shores of Lake Onega are drowned in the trills and chirps of hundreds of birds. Once you get here, it is as if you find yourself in another dimension, where tangible and visible reality is intertwined with history that you can touch with your hand.
Where is Lake Onega located
This reservoir is located in Russia, in the northwest of its European part. Approximately 80% of its area is located on the lands of Karelia, and the remaining 20% is divided among themselves by the Leningrad and Vologda regions.
The shortest distance from the lake (through forests and swamps) to Onega Bay, which belongs to the White Sea, is 147 km. In 1933, the construction of the Belomorkanal with a length of 227 km was completed. It originates from the village of Povenets, which stretches on the shore of the Povenets Bay of the lake, and ends near Belomorsk, a town with a population of about 10 thousand people, located in the Soroka Bay of the White Sea. Thus, an exit from Lake Onega to the seas of the Arctic Ocean was created. The closest neighbor of the described reservoir is Ladoga lake... It is 127 km in a straight line. The Svir River connects Onega and Ladoga. If you move along its winding channel, you will have to overcome 224 km.
The cities of Petrozavodsk, Medvezhyegorsk and Kondopoga, which have grown on its shores, can serve as landmarks for the location of Lake Onega. They are located in the northern part of the reservoir. Its southern shores are sparsely populated. But the Onega Canal passes here, on the way of which lies a small but fish lake Megorskoe.
Historical facts
It is extremely interesting to study native nature. Now in the arsenal of scientists there are many advanced technologies, for example, isotope and radionuclide methods, spectral analysis. With their help, it was possible to establish that Lake Onega appeared on the site of the shelf sea 300-400 million years BC. NS. (Paleozoic, approximately Carbon-Devon period). It washed the shores of the Baltic - that was the name of the continent that existed at that time. In those days, many protozoa with shells lived in sea waters. Dying, they sank to the bottom, forming a layer of limestone. In addition, many rivers flowed into the sea, carrying with them grains of sedimentary rocks. Now a layer of limestone, sandstone and clay forms a layer about 200 meters thick in the lake. It rests on a solid foundation of granite, gneiss, and diabase, all of which are volcanic-induced.
The origin of Lake Onega is associated with the height of the glacier then reached more than 3 km. Moving, huge white boulders easily plowed the earth's firmament, fundamentally changing the relief. This is also typical for the Baltic Shield, on which Lake Onega is located. About 12 thousand years ago, the glacier retreated. The marks left by him were filled with water, forming large and small lakes. One of them was named Onego. The exact etymology of the word is unknown, there are only unconfirmed theories. People began to settle on the shores of this reservoir, as evidenced by numerous petrographers who have survived to our times.
Geographic characteristics
This is the second body of water in Europe after Lake Ladoga. Its total area (with all the islands) is 9720 km 2, and the coastline stretches for 1 542 km. The depth of Lake Onega is different. There are places where it reaches 127 meters, but closer to the banks and in small backwaters, it does not exceed 1.5-2 meters. Thus, the average depths of the reservoir are about 30 meters.
The famous lake does not have the correct geometric shape. We can only say that it is somewhat elongated from the northwest to the southeast. In the northern part, there is the Big Onego Bay, which cuts deeply into the land. Taking it into account, the maximum length of the reservoir is 245 km, and the maximum width is 91.6 km.
The shores
Walking around Lake Onega, you can see that its shores are cut by large and small bays, lips and capes. In addition to Big Onego, there is Small Onego, as well as Povenetsky and Zaonezhsky bays. The lips in the northern water area of the lake are Povenetskaya, Velikaya, Shchepikha, Konda, Petrozavodskaya, Bolshaya Lizhemskaya, Unitskaya, Kondopozhskaya. There is only one lip - Svirskaya.
The appearance of the shores is also different. In the "wilder" south, forests give way to shallows, which are sandy or rocky. Also in this part there are many impregnable rocks and picturesque, but dangerous swamps.
The northern shores are characterized by unusual geological protrusions called "sheep's foreheads". They are rocks (gneisses, granites) polished by a moving glacier, gentle on one side and steep on the other.
Islands
In the European part of Russia, Lake Onega is not only one of the largest, but also a body of water with a huge number of islands. There are more than 1,500 of them here! These areas of land, protruding above the water surface, are large and very tiny, famous all over the world and unknown to anyone, rocky and covered with dense forests.
Most large island called Bolshoi Klimetsky. Its area is 147 km 2. A natural attraction here is Mount Medvezhitsa, which is 82 meters high. There are several villages on Bolshoy Klimetsky, and there is a secondary school. There are no natural and historical monuments here. Communication with the mainland is carried out by ferry.
The second largest island is called Bolshoi Lelikovsky. It is about 6 times smaller than B. Klimetsky. People also live on this island, but there are no public buildings, except for a small shop.
If they ask what is the most famous island on Lake Onega, anyone will immediately name Kizhi. Its area is only 5 km 2, length 5.5 km, and width 1.4 km. You can get around this piece of land in a couple of hours, but the glory knows no boundaries. Here is the eponymous museum-reserve, created on the basis of the architectural ensemble, included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is an ensemble of two churches (twelve-domed and seven-domed) and a bell tower. According to legend, the church "about 12 chapters" of the Transfiguration of the Lord was built by a local craftsman without a single nail. So that no one could repeat his creation, he threw the ax into the lake.
Another island that I would like to mention is called Suisaari (or Suisari). It rises above the water in the Kondopoga Bay. Island in the given time uninhabited, but there is an old village that has the status of a historical monument. Quartz and chalcedony were found on Suisaari, and agates are also found here. Most of the land is occupied by forests, in which even bears are found. The shores of the island are very swampy. There are many bird nests in the reeds.
Rivers of Lake Onega
More than 1,000 rivers and streams carry their waters into the reservoir we are describing, and only one river flows out of it - the Svir. It is quite full-flowing, has a length of 224 km, connects Lake Ladoga and Onega. The width of the Svir can vary from 100 meters to 12 km. The river is navigable. A cascade of hydroelectric power plants was built on it, the largest of which is Verkhnesvirskaya. Svir is interesting because it houses the Storozhensky lighthouse (it is the second in Russia and the seventh in the world in height) and the Nizhnesvirsky nature reserve.
About 50 rivers flowing into Onega are over 10 km long. The most famous are Suna, Gimerka, Vodla, Losinka, Chebinka, Neglinka, Anga, Pyalma and others.
Climate
The weather in the area where Lake Onega is located is windy and changeable. Storms on the reservoir are so frequent that in its southern part they even dug the Onega Canal to ensure safer passage of ships into the Svir River.
Winters here in some years can be mild with temperatures not lower than -4 ° C, but more often there are quite noticeable frosts down to -15 ° C, and sometimes down to -30 ° C. Winter lasts 120 days. In November - December, ice forms in the bays and along the coast, and by mid-January it spreads to the entire lake, except for the most deep places... In some years, the water here remains open throughout the winter.
Strong winds can break ice, creating cracks. Then the white blocks creep one on top of the other. The result is a kind of mountains with a height of several meters.
Ice breaks up by May, but sometimes you can find floating ice floes in June.
The warmest and most suitable months for relaxation are July and August. The water temperature in shallow water can warm up to +22 ° C, but most often it reaches +17 ° C. The ambient temperature during the day rises to +30 ° C, and the average values are around +20 ° C.
The weather in this area is not only windy, but also rainy. The water balance of the lake is replenished by 25% every year due to atmospheric precipitation. It rains consistently throughout the summer.
Flora
Lake Onega is extraordinarily beautiful. Its shores are frozen in stern charm. They silently frame the water surface, sparkling in the sun with golden reflections. The water in the lake is so clean and transparent that the bottom can be seen at a depth of 4 meters or more. Some islands and some parts of the coast are covered with dense virgin forests of coniferous trees, but deciduous copses are also found here. Spruce, pine, fir, larch are the main higher plants that make up the Onega biome. Only from time to time the gaze catches birch, alder and aspen. Walking around the vicinity of Lake Onega, you can find euonymus, honeysuckle, currants in the undergrowth. Underfoot are carpets of blueberries and lingonberries, cranberries can be found in the swamps, and the mushroom season begins in the second half of summer.
On swampy shores and shallow waters, the shores are overgrown with reeds and cattails, which is very valuable for many birds. Some bays are decorated with lilies and water lilies, and on the banks oxalis, wintergreens, horsetails and other herbaceous plants grow green.
Fauna
The surroundings of Lake Onega are full of life. Geese, ducks, swans nest in the reeds. Cranes, terns, eagle owls, toadstools, herbalists also come here. Woodpeckers, jays, tits, and many other small birdies live in the forests.
Animal world is also widely represented. Local residents more than once saw hares, squirrels, ermines, and roe deer in the surrounding forests. They say that bears are also found here, because their droppings are often found.
Seals can be observed in the waters and on the banks. They come here for food. There are a lot of fish in Lake Onega. It is home to about 54 species of fish, including whitefish, smelt, grayling, pike perch, perch, eel, sabrefish, silver bream, pike, bream and others.
Fishing on Lake Onega is effective at any time of the year. You can fish from the shore and from the water, which is more preferable. The depth of the bays 40-100 meters allows the use of motor boats.
Settlements
The most famous and largest city that grew on coastline Lake Onega is the capital of Karelia (Petrozavodsk). It is called the city of labor and military glory, historical and cultural center Prionezhsky district. People lived in this area for 6,000 years BC. e., as evidenced by the numerous sites found. But the city itself was founded by Peter I, who founded an arms factory here. Petrozavodsk is interesting for its historical monuments, architectural ensembles and the fact that interesting festivals are held here - "Hyperborea", "Air", "White Nights of Karelia", as well as a sailing regatta.
Kondopoga is another city on the banks of Onega, located 54 km from Petrozavodsk. It has been mentioned in historical chronicles since 1495. From the 18th century, marble began to be mined near it, which was used for the construction of palaces in St. Petersburg. V last years the city authorities are actively developing tourism here. Of interest are the Assumption Church, built at the end of the 18th century, but restored twice, two carillons of bells, as well as outdoor activities. The city stands on the banks of the Kondopoga Bay. The depth of Lake Onega here is up to 80 meters, which allows for both amateur and industrial fishing. Its species composition in this part of the lake is incredibly rich, and the nibble is excellent.
Medvezhyegorsk. It is the northernmost and youngest city on Onega. Its history began in 1915 with the construction of a railway. station Medvezhya Gora. There are no unique attractions here, but this town is an excellent starting point for traveling around Onega.
On the shores of the lake there are many small villages and villages where tourists can find comfortable conditions for recreation. Among them are Pyalma, Povenets, Pindushi, Shalsky and others.
Ecology
In the northern water area of the lake, environmental indicators are much worse than the southern one. This is due to the fact that about 90% of the industry and more than 80% of the population are concentrated here. Every year, thousands of tons of waste are dumped into Lake Onega, including phenols, lead, sulfur oxides, waste reclamation water, and sewage.
sights
Interesting places there are several dozen in the vicinity of Lake Onega. All of them can be divided into monuments of nature and history. It is more convenient to get to both of them by water. Overland routes in many areas are so broken that only an SUV can overcome them.
You can visit not only the island of Kizhi on the lake. Of great interest are the petroglyphs concentrated on the eastern shore of the reservoir. There are over 800 drawings here.
Tourists are always taken to Cape Besov Nos. It is famous for its hooked shape, as well as the many rock paintings that adorn it.
Damn chair. This is an unusual formation in a rock near the village of Solomennoye. The height of the "seat" is 80 meters above sea level, and the height of the "back" is 113 meters. Glaciers formed the damn chair. They say that if you sit on its edge and make a wish, it will certainly come true.
The Kivach waterfall on the Suna river was more powerful before the dam was built, but even now it fascinates with its power and beauty. The reserve of the same name is also located here.
Of the man-made monuments in the vicinity of Onega, there are dozens of old operating and already closed wooden churches. Each is interesting in its own way. We can highlight the Murom Monastery in the village of Pudozh, the Museum of Marcial Waters, the Church of the Great Martyr Barbara.
Recreation
Tourists come to the lake to have a rest both as a “savage” and as a civilized one. In the first case, there are tons of possibilities and suitable places for staking campground... It is advisable to take into account that best weather here they stand in August, but in the same period there is a massive outbreak of mosquitoes and midges.
You can also stay in guest houses, which are now available in almost every coastal village. In mini-hotels, they will not only offer a sleeping place, but also provide food, rent a boat and fishing tackle.
Fishing on Lake Onega is the main entertainment for men. Guest houses are ideal for a comfortable rest for fishermen, because guests have the opportunity to steam in a Russian bathhouse, cook a catch on the grill, and sleep in a clean bed.
In 55 km from the city of Petrozavodsk there is a sanatorium "Marcial Waters", which began its work in 1719. Here they treat allergies, skin diseases, cardiovascular system, lungs, joints, bone apparatus, nervous diseases, digestive organs. Vacationers are offered comfortable rooms with conveniences, delicious food. Medical and diagnostic procedures are carried out using modern technologies.
Legends and myths
Lake Onega attracts many mysterious phenomena, happening in its vicinity.
The local population and tourists often see ogival lights, dark figures. Some even hear bells ringing and voices. These phenomena are most often observed in places of mass graves or where there used to be pagan sanctuaries.
There are also many documented cases that occurred in the vicinity of Lake Onega with people and give rise to the assumption that there are temporary and energetic faults.
The most sensational one took place in 1073 on the island of Bolshoi Klimetsky with A.F. Pulkin, captain of the fleet, deviator. He grew up in these places, knows every path here. While fishing on the island, Pulkin went deep into the forest for firewood. The captain came ashore 34 days later. Pulkin could not explain where he was all this time, and why the rescue teams could not find him.
Another incomprehensible story happened to the students. They arrived on the island to rest. But as soon as their boat moored to the shore, the guys felt an incredible energetic effect in the form of vibration and an unpleasant buzzing that caused a headache. All this stopped as soon as the students set sail from the coast.
In 2009, an incredible incident happened to a girl named Anya (age 6). Her family came to Lake Onega to rest as "savages". Dad pitched a tent, made a fire. Mom got busy with lunch. Anya was playing nearby, but suddenly disappeared. The parents searched everything around. The father rushed into the forest, constantly calling his daughter loudly. Mom stayed near the tent. The girl was nowhere to be found. Imagine the amazement of the parents when, looking into the tent for the tenth time, they saw their daughter peacefully sleeping there. This story ended happily, except that Anya's eye color changed, curly hair straightened, old moles disappeared and new ones appeared. Also, parents are embarrassed that the girl often speaks in a dream in a language unknown to anyone.
There are a lot of similar stories among local residents. Lake Onega, beautiful and majestic, keeps many secrets and awaits their discoverers.
"Onego-father" - this is how the Russian people who lived on the shores of Lake Onega since antiquity called their breadwinner, which they considered this quiet, transparent surface framed by picturesque shores under the sky, shining with pearl light through the veil of almost constant clouds here.Russian scientist historian and archaeologist of the late 19th century, founder of the Russian school of ethnography H.N. Kharuzin (1865-1900) in his work "Materials collected among the peasants of the Pudozh district of the Olonets province" gives the following, written down by him, an appeal to the lake: with the guests who come, bless the water to take not for the sake of cunning, not for the sake of wisdom, but for the sake of goodness and health ... "In addition to the sacred and ritual intonation, here you can read the sincere gratitude of the people to the lake - for the purity of its water, for the abundance of fish and timber on its shores. And, of course, for the beauty that pleases the eye and soul. And now the townspeople who come to Lake Onega in order to see the wooden architecture of the Kizhi reserve, the demons - the petroglyphs of the Besov Nos cape, go fishing, just relax and have a rest, all as one say that they are experiencing an unusually strong surge of spiritual strength here.
The name of Onego is Sami in origin, like many of the original names of settlements on its shores, which is a clear answer to the question of who mastered these shores. The Scandinavians and Russians call the Finno-Ugrians the Sami also Lop, Loplians and Lapps (hence the toponym Laplandia comes from). Vepsians (Chud) also lived here. The Slavs came here in the 5th century. In the Sami language, the word Ale, or Elo, transformed in Russian into Onego or Onega, means simply “ Big lake". It is the large, the second largest water mirror in Europe after Lake Ladoga, with which it is connected by the only river flowing from Onego - the Svir, while about 50 rivers flow into it. As for the more ancient inhabitants of the shores of Lake Onega, then archaeological excavations on the islands of the southern Zaonezhie Bolshoy Lelikovsky and Maly Lelikovsky testify that people have settled there since the Neolithic era (the turn of the V-IV - the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC).
Geologists attribute the rocks that make up the lake basin to the Proterozoic period. Hydrologists believe that this basin was filled mainly with water from melting glaciers, as well as underground sources. At the same time, the channels of the rivers flowing into the lake were formed. The location of the fjords in the north and northwest of the lake, rocky ridges and placers of small islands covered with granite boulders between them in the bays (bays) on the map of the lake are a kind of schematic reproduction of the movement of the ice cover on the ground here. This movement took place gradually and in different periods of the ancient glaciation of the European continent, by powerful jerks and shocks, generated, as is quite obvious, by tectonic processes during the movement of the edges of the lithospheric plates. Under the influence of these processes, the larger islands of the lake were formed, the total number of which, together with the very tiny ones, is about 150. The largest of the islands is Bolshoi Klimetsky (Klimenetsky), whose area is 147 km 2; there are several settlements and a school. Other large islands are (Kiz), Kerk, Olenyi, Sennogubsky, Suisari. Large islands fall on the northern segment of the lake.
The depths in the southern segment of the lake on the coastal waters range from 9 to 14.5 m. There is no such in the north. From the line Petrozavodsk - the mouth of the Vodla River, bottom depressions begin, some reach depths of 111, 115.5 and even 132.5 m, although 127 m are still considered the maximum depth. water in Onega can vary depending on the prevailing strong winds in a given year, moving layers of water, or the amount of precipitation.
Lake Onega in the territory of Karelia (mainly), Leningrad and Vologda regions stretches from the north-north-west to the south-south-east. The maximum length of the lake - between the Black Sands shore in the south and the mouth of the Kums River in the north - reaches 220 km, and the width - from Lake Logmo, in fact an extension of Onega, to the village of Pudozhsky Pogost - 86 km. The coastline in the south is relatively smooth, in the north it is cut by narrow fjords bordered by skerries.
Some were created by nature, others - by man. It makes no sense to talk about which is more important, they are all valuable - because, in fact, they are inseparable.
The natural resources of Lake Onega do not fundamentally differ from those of Lake Ladoga or, say, Lake Venern in Sweden, for all these lakes Northern Europe stand on the same geological Baltic granite shield, have common history origin, similar climate and hydrology. True, Onega belongs to the Baltic shield only in its northern part, and in its southern part - to the Russian platform. A non-specialist will not notice this, but any person who understands the dim northern nature will be glad that he again sees desert sand spits, rocky capes, vanguard detachments of virgin coniferous forests approaching the water. And also the fact that he can stay in silence and from the heart fishing here in clear water. The bottom of the lake with its muddy areas, elevation changes from deep pits to shallow water, underwater ridges contribute to the fact that different species of fish are found here, and they feed considerable body weight. The ichthyofauna of Lake Onega includes 47 species and varieties of fish. Among them are sterlet, salmon, trout, lake and brook, pike, whitefish, grayling, eel, etc. The lake begins to freeze in about mid-December, but this is not the main obstacle for fishing enthusiasts, but a short daylight hours.
Onega is connected with Ladoga by the Svir River, with the White Sea - by the White Sea-Baltic Canal. And so on: with the Volga, the Caspian and Black Seas - through the network of canals of the Volga-Baltic waterway.
In total, 552 man-made monuments are registered on the coast of the lake. Among the petroglyphs of Onega, the most famous ones, which are 5-6 thousand years old, are those located at the Besov Nos cape, especially three large "figures" - the anthropomorphic "Bes" 2.3 m long, along the whole "body" of which there is a crack , looking really ominous, "Otter" (or "Lizard") and "Burbot" (or "Catfish"). There are other places on Onega with Neolithic monuments, no less interesting, on the rocky outcrops of the coast from the mouth of the Vodla River to the mouth of the Chernaya River: it is better to learn about them and the road to them on the spot, tourist infrastructure here, alas, is not yet very developed. The technique for creating these images is common in the Neolithic: point-cut stone. On the Kochkovnavolok peninsula at the mouth of the Vodpa, there are open in the 1980s-1990s. the northernmost rock paintings of Lake Onega. Anthropomorphic figures are also found here, while images of animals prevail, and among them - swans (swans are also found in other clusters of petroglyphs). The largest local "swan" from head to tail is 4.12 m. These petroglyphs have been preserved much worse than on the Devil's Nose: erosion has affected, some images are overgrown with lichens, and yet the most valuable impression here is that the ancient hunters and fishermen thought not only about food, they also admired the world around them and, judging by the size of some figures, deified it, because the swan is not a game bird at all, but the personification of beauty and purity.
The beauty of the wooden structures collected on the island of Kizhi in the State Museum-Reserve of Russian Orthodox wooden architecture "Kizhi", or "Kizhi Pogost", is included in the list World heritage UNESCO. In addition to the churches originally built on the island itself, chapels, houses and outbuildings from Zaonezhie and other regions of Karelia were moved here with all possible care. There are many legends about the "pieceiness" of the exhibits of this open-air museum. The most famous of them is the carpenter Nestor, who built the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord with one ax (initially without a single nail), threw the ax into the lake so that no one could copy his work.
general information
A lake of glacial-tectonic origin on the territory of the Republic, Leningrad and Vologda regions in the north-west of the European part of the Russian Federation.Education time: about 12 thousand years ago, with the end of the last Valdai glaciation.
According to its hydrographic parameters, Lake Onega is included in the water basin of Lake Ladoga and the Neva River.
Type: fresh.
The most significant rivers flowing in: Vytegra, Suna, Andoma, Vodla, Shuya.
The largest islands: Bolshoi Klimetsky, Bolshoi Lelikovsky (in the southern Zaonezhie), Kerk, Olenyi, Sennogubsky, Suisari.
Cities: Petrozavodsk, Kondopoga, Medvezhyegorsk, Povenets urban-type settlement.
Outflowing river: Svir.
Nearest airports: Pulkovo in St. Petersburg (international), Besovets in Petrozavodsk.
Numbers
Lenght: 220 km.Maximum width: 86 km.
Note: different sources give different indicators of the length and width of the lake.
Water surface area: 9720 km 2 (excluding islands, the area of which is 224 km 2).
Total number of islands: more than 1500.
Volume of water mass: 295 km 3.
Coastline length: 1280 km
Maximum depth: 127 m.
Catchment area: 62 800 km 2.
Water clarity: from 1.5 to 8 m.
Climate and weather
Transitional: from moderately continental to maritime.Average January temperature: -9 ° C.
Average temperature in July: + 16 ° C.
Maximum water temperature in July-August: + 24 ° C.
Average annual rainfall: 610 mm.
Economy
Shipping.Fishing.
Tourism.
sights
■ Petrozavodsk: Cathedral of Alexander Nevsky (1826), Holy Cross Church (1852), Onega embankment - an open-air museum, which houses a monument to the founder of the city Peter I, gifts from sister cities, the Tree of Desires, other sculptures and structures, Park of Culture and Leisure - the former Petrovsky Garden, founded in 1703, the oldest park in Russia.■ Kondopoga: wooden church of the Assumption of the Mother of God (1774), local history museum, Ice Palace(2001).
■ Petroglyphs of the Besov Nos Cape, peninsula Kochkovnavolok and other rocky ledges on the banks.
■ Kizhi island- State Historical, Architectural and Ethnographic Museum-Reserve "Kizhi" (a UNESCO World Heritage Site): the ensemble "Kizhi Pogost": the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord (1714), crowned with a complex system of 22 chapters arranged in 4 tiers; the Church of the Intercession of the Virgin (1764), the Tent Bell Tower (1863), the oldest wooden church in Russia - the Resurrection of Lazarus from the Murom Monastery (XIV century), as well as other churches, chapels, peasant houses, barns, a mill, barns - a total of 76 buildings.
■ Monuments to Pegrema(opened in 1985) - archaeological complex 1.5 km from the village of Pegrema on the Zaonezh peninsula, there are 100 monuments from different eras, including a unique cult complex (III-II millennium BC): boulders resembling the figures of people and animals.
■ Bolshoi Klimetsky Island.
Curious facts
■ The island of Bolshoy Klimetsky has the glory of an anomalous place. Those who like to interpret mysticism explain the origin of such stories by the fact that there is “an entrance to parallel worlds”. Ancient legends about ghosts and "witch's lights" roaming the island can be immediately attributed to phantasmagorias of inflamed consciousness, because it is known that there was an ancient temple on the island. But there are still unexplained facts of our time. So, in 1973, the captain of the fishing vessel Pulkin disappeared here. It is impossible to imagine that he got lost, he is a local, experienced person. Pulkin appeared 34 days later, dirty, ragged and exhausted. But he didn’t really tell anything, he only kept saying that he didn’t remember where he was and what was happening to him. In 2008, a local fisherman, Efimov, said that “someone” had driven him in the same circle five times in a row. In the summer of 2009, a group of students moored to the shore. But as soon as they pitched their tents, they heard a rumble coming from somewhere from under the ground. They all had severe headaches and nausea. The frightened youth quickly packed up and headed back. As soon as the guys sailed from the coast, all unpleasant symptoms receded.■ From time to time there are rumors about elevated level radiation on the island of Kizhi. Scientists of the Institute of Geology of the Karelian Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, on the basis of their research, refuted these idle speculations.
■ The word "trolling" in the language of a modern person is associated primarily with some kind of prank, deliberate challenge, provocation, manipulation. Most often it appears in social networks- both as a course of action and as a term. However, the primary origin of this word is from the vocabulary of fishermen. This is the fishing method. On Lake Onega, trolling at medium depths, from 30 to 60 m, is widely used. Its essence is to carry out the bait in the water from a boat or from a motor boat. When trolling, up to 10 rods are used. They are installed on the sides using special devices.
■ Since 1972, at the end of July, the largest international sailing regatta in Russia has been held on Lake Onega. Basically, cruising yachts of the "Eagle 800" class participate in the races, since 2003 yachts of the "Micro" class are also allowed to compete. The regatta starts and finishes in Petrozavodsk. Lake Onega is a lake in the north-west of the European part of the 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 and Atlantic Ocean basin. 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 - 245 km, maximum width - 91.6 km. The average depth is 30 m, and the maximum is 127 m. On the shores of Lake Onega, the cities of Petrozavodsk, Kondopoga and Medvezhyegorsk are located. About 50 rivers flow into Lake Onega, and 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. lowering the bottom. In the northern part of the lake there are many troughs, alternating with high rises of the bottom, forming banks, on which industrial trawlers often fish. Much of the bottom is covered with silt. Typical forms are luds (shallow stony shoals), selga (deep-water rise of the bottom with stony 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 of water, which lasts 1.5-2 months, with an annual amplitude of the water level up to 0.9-1 m. The flow from the lake is regulated by the Verkhnesvirskaya HPP. Rivers bring up to 74% of the incoming part of the water balance (15.6 km 3 per year), 25% falls on atmospheric precipitation. 84% of the expenditure part of the water balance falls on the runoff from the lake along the Svir River (on average 17.6 km 3 per year), 16% - on evaporation from the water surface. The highest water levels of the lake are in June - August, the lowest - in March - April. Frequent waves 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 are opened, the open part of the lake - in May. The water in the open deep parts of the lake is clear, with a visibility of 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.
is the second largest lake in Europe. Its length from south to north is 248 km, from east to west - 96 km. Lake Onega is twice as small, its water mass is 3 times less. However, the Onega water is of high quality, it is much cleaner than the water of Ladoga and even. The maximum depth of Lake Onega is 120 meters.
Currently, there are 1,500 islands on the lake, one of which houses the main attraction and important architectural 
monument - Kizhi churchyard. Lake Onega has a very difficult bottom topography. Its geography is characterized by pronounced depressions and rise of the bottom; it is characterized by shallow-water stony shoals, underwater ridges, selga, pits and depressions. This kind of relief creates the best living conditions for the inhabitants of the depths of the lake. In total, there are more than 45 species of fish belonging to 13 different families. It flows into Lake Onega 110 rivers and streams. The largest of them are: Shuya, Suna, Vodla, Andoma. The Svir River is its only drain.
The shores of Lake Onega mostly pebble and 
sandy, occasionally there are outcrops of rocky capes and small islands. The most famous was the Besov Nos Cape, located in the eastern part of the lake, where images of people and animals carved into the rocks were found. The northern shores of the lake are very indented, have many heights, and consist of crystalline rocks. For southern shores smooth outlines are characteristic, there are many lowlands covered with dense forests.
It is gaining more and more popularity among tourists, yachtsmen and fans of elite fishing. Various festivals are held here every year, in maritime museum"Polar Odyssey" of the city of Petrozavodsk, old wooden ships are being built.
Lake Ladoga is the largest freshwater lake Europe. Its length from north to south reaches 185 km, width - 120 km. The surface area of the lake's mirror is 18,400 square kilometers. The Neva is the only river flowing out of the lake, while about a dozen streams and rivers of the Leningrad region, Karelia flow into it. The Svir River connects [...]
