Lake Onega has an origin. Lake Onega (Republic of Karelia, Leningrad region, Vologda region)

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.
Basin Lake Onega formed as a result of glacier activity in places 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- most large 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 stone house in which the founder of the shrine lived has been preserved here to this day.

Near the village of Podjelniki there is 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 the Swedish fortress of 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 pine forest- the complex of the same name is located, which nature so carefully hid in the 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, circles-amulets 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 ground 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 another trade route, and 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.

International memorial cemetery Sandarmokh, 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. 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 amenities 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 high level 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 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 is during this period that fans of extreme sports gather annually for the White Nights rally.

Discover your corner in Lake Onega! Enjoy the silence of Karelian nature and the beauty of local landscapes, get an unforgettable experience of a wonderful vacation!

Lake Onega can be considered one of the treasures of Karelia, where thousands of tourists from different cities come.

Lake Onega is the second largest freshwater lake in Europe. Its other name sounds like Onego, which is no coincidence. There are several opinions about the reasons for the appearance of the name. From the point of view of scientists, the reservoir received its name from the river flowing next to it. Another opinion is due to the fact that in the area where the reservoir is located there is often fog, which is why it received the name Onego - translated from ancient Finnish as a smoking lake. About 1000 rivers flow into Lake Onega, and only one flows out - the Svir.

Its area is approximately 9.9 thousand square meters. km. The depth varies in different areas. In the northern part the depth is 127 m, and closer to the south it is only 20-30 m. In the spring, Lake Onega is characterized by a rise in water, which lasts for 1.5-2 months. Storms are frequent. The weather is unpredictable, calm can instantly give way to a storm. In some parts of the lake the water is so clear that it can be seen to a depth of up to 8 m. The water is of high quality.

Lake Onega is especially popular among fishermen. Which is not at all surprising, since it is famous for its fish wealth. It is home to various fish, including valuable commercial fish such as trout and salmon. In total, 47 species of fish live in the reservoir. In addition, at the mouths of some tributaries of Lake Onega there is a bivalve mollusk that forms pearls the size of a pea. Pearl fishermen come to the pond in search of a precious ball, but finding a pearl takes a lot of effort.

Lake Onega is very surprising for its shape, structure of the shores, complex bottom topography, water quality, picturesque bays, mesmerizing sunsets and dawns. Sunsets and sunrises are especially mesmerizing. The shores are mostly sandy, but there are also rocky and even marshy shores. In the middle of the lake there are a lot of islands, in total there are about 1,500 islands, among which there are wild ones, covered with dense forests, some of the islands are inhabited by people.

“Onego-father” - this is what the Russian people who lived on the shores of Lake Onega since ancient times called their breadwinner, which they considered this quiet, transparent surface framed by picturesque shores under the sky, shining with pearly 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 N.N. Kharuzin (1865-1900) in his work “Materials collected among the peasants of the Pudozh district of the Olonets province” cites this, written down by him, appeal to the lake: “Berezhok-father, mother-vodushka, king of the water and queen of the water with small children, with the arriving guests, 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. shores. And also, of course, for the beauty that pleases the eye and soul. And now townspeople who come to Lake Onega to see wooden architecture Kizhi Nature Reserve, “demons” - petroglyphs of Cape Besov Nos, go fishing, just relax and unwind, everyone says that they experience an unusually strong surge of mental strength here.
The name Onego is Sami in origin, like many native names settlements on its banks, which is a clear answer to the question of who developed these shores. Scandinavians and Russians also call the Finno-Ugric Sami Lop, Loplyane and Lapp (this is where the toponym Lapland comes from). The 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, simply means “ Big lake" It is 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, archaeological excavations on the islands of southern Zaonezhye, Bolshoi Lelikovsky and Maloye Lelikovsky, indicate that people there lived sedentary 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 springs. At the same time, river beds flowing into the lake were formed. The location of the fjords in the north and northwest of the lake, rocky ridges and scatterings of small islands covered with granite boulders between them in the lips (bays) on the map of the lake is a kind of schematic reproduction of the movement of the ice cover here on the ground. This movement occurred gradually and during different periods of the ancient glaciation of the European continent, with powerful jerks and shocks generated, as is quite obvious, by tectonic processes during the movement of the margins of lithospheric plates. Under the influence of these processes, more large islands lakes, the total number of which, together with 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 here. Other large islands are (Kizh), Kerk, Olenyi, Sennogubsky, Suisari. Large islands are located in the northern segment of the lake.
Depths in the southern segment of the lake on coastal waters range from 9 to 14.5 m. Netak 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 the maximum depth is still considered to be 127 m. The point here is not the disagreement of hydrographers, but the fact that the level water in Onega may vary depending on the prevailing conditions in a given year strong winds, moving layers of water, or the amount of precipitation.
Lake Onega on the territory of Karelia (mainly), Leningrad and Vologda regions extends from north-northwest to south-southeast. The maximum length of the lake - between the Black Sands shore in the south and the mouth of the Kumsa River in the north - reaches 220 km, and the width - from Lake Logmo, actually 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 indented by narrow fjords bordered by skerries.
Some were created by nature, others by man. There is no point in arguing about which ones are more important, they are all valuable because, in fact, they are inseparable.
The natural resources of Lake Onega are not fundamentally different from those of Lake Ladoga or, say, Lake Vänern in Sweden, because all these lakes of Northern Europe stand on the same geological Baltic granite shield and have general 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 layman will not notice this, but any person who understands the dim northern nature will be glad that he again sees deserted sand spits, rocky capes, and vanguard troops of virgin coniferous forests approaching the water. And also to the fact that he can be in silence and fish from his heart here in clean water. The bottom of the lake with its muddy areas, elevation changes from deep holes to shallow water, underwater ridges contribute to the fact that different breeds of fish are found here, and they gain considerable body weight. The ichthyofauna of Lake Onega includes 47 species and varieties of fish. Among them are sterlet, salmon, trout, lake and brook trout, pike, whitefish, grayling, eel, etc. The lake begins to freeze around mid-December, but this is not the main obstacle for fans fishing, but short daylight hours.
Onega is connected to Ladoga by the Svir River, and to the White Sea by the White Sea-Baltic Canal. And so on: with the Volga, Caspian and Black Seas - through the network of canals of the Volga-Baltic waterway.
In total, 552 man-made monuments are registered on the lake coast today. Among the petroglyphs of Onega, the most famous, whose age is 5-6 thousand years, are those located on Cape Besov Nos, especially three large “figures” - an anthropomorphic “Demon” 2.3 m long, with a crack running through its entire “body” , 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; the tourist infrastructure here, alas, is not yet very developed. The technique for creating these images is common for the Neolithic: point cutting on stone. On the Kochkovnavolok Peninsula at the mouth of Vodpa there are deposits discovered in the 1980-1990s. the northernmost rock paintings of Lake Onega. Anthropomorphic figures are also found here, but images of animals predominate, and among them are swans (swans are also found in other clusters of petroglyphs). The largest local “swan” is 4.12 m from head to tail. These petroglyphs are preserved much worse than on Besovy Nos: erosion has affected, some images are overgrown with lichens, and yet the most valuable impression from what was seen 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 of the 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 buildings 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 Zaonezhye and other regions of Karelia were also moved here with all possible care. There are many legends about the unique nature of the exhibits in this open-air museum. The most famous of them is that 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 hydrographic parameters, Lake Onega is included in the water basin of Lake Ladoga and the Neva River.
Type: fresh.
The most significant flowing rivers: Vytegra, Suna, Andoma, Vodla, Shuya.
The largest islands: Bolshoi Klimetsky, Bolshoy Lelikovsky (in southern Zaonezhye), Kerk, Olenyi, Sennogubsky, Suisari.
Cities: Petrozavodsk, Kondopoga, Medvezhyegorsk, urban-type settlement Povenets.
Flowing river: Svir.
Nearest airports: Pulkovo in St. Petersburg (international), Besovets in Petrozavodsk.

Numbers

Length: 220 km.
Maximum width: 86 km.
Note: different sources give different figures for the length and width of the lake.
Water surface area: 9720 km 2 (excluding islands, whose area is 224 km 2).
Total number of islands: more than 1500.
Volume of water mass: 295 km 3 .
Length coastline : 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 temperate continental to maritime.
Average January temperature: -9°C.
Average temperature in July: +16°C.
Maximum water temperature in July-August: +24°С.
Average annual precipitation: 610 mm.

Economy

Shipping.
Fishing.
Tourism.

Attractions

■ Petrozavodsk: Cathedral 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, monuments-gifts from sister cities, the Wishing Tree, other sculptures and structures, Park culture and recreation - the former Petrovsky Garden, founded in 1703, oldest park Russia.
■ Kondopoga: wooden church Dormition of the Mother of God (1774), local history museum, Ice Palace (2001).
■ Petroglyphs of Cape Besov Nos, the Kochkovnavolok Peninsula and other rocky ledges on the banks.
■ Kizhi Island- State Historical-Architectural and Ethnographic Museum-Reserve “Kizhi” (UNESCO World Heritage Site): ensemble “Kizhi Pogost”: Church of the Transfiguration (1714), crowned with a complex system of 22 chapters located in 4 tiers; Church of the Intercession of the Virgin (1764), 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, mill, barns - a total of 76 buildings.
■ Monuments of Pegrema(opened in 1985) - archaeological complex 1.5 km from the village of Pegrema on the Zaonezhsky Peninsula there are 100 monuments from different eras, including a unique religious complex (III-II millennium BC): boulders resembling figures of people and animals.
■ Bolshoi Klimetsky Island.

Curious facts

■ The island of Bolshoi Klimetsky has fame anomalous place. Those who like to interpret mysticism explain the origin of such stories by saying that there is an “entrance to Parallel Worlds" Ancient legends about ghosts wandering around the island and “witch fires” can immediately be attributed to the phantasmagoria of an inflamed consciousness, because it is known that there was an ancient temple on the island. But there are also facts of our time that have not yet been explained in any way. 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 say anything, he only insisted that he didn’t remember where he was or what happened to him. In 2008, local fisherman Efimov said that “someone” took him in the same circle five times in a row. In the summer of 2009, a group of students landed on the shore. But as soon as they pitched their tents, they heard a rumble coming from somewhere underground. Everyone began to have severe headaches and nausea. The frightened youth quickly packed up and set off on their way back. As soon as the guys sailed away from the shore, all the unpleasant symptoms subsided.
■ From time to time, rumors arise about increased levels of radiation on Kizhi Island. Scientists from the Karelian Institute of Geology scientific center Based on their research, the Russian Academy of Sciences refuted these idle speculations.
■ The word “trolling” in the language of modern people is associated primarily with some kind of practical joke, deliberate challenge, provocation, manipulation. Most often it appears in in social networks- both as a way of action and as a term. However, the primary origin of this word is from the vocabulary of fishermen. This is a fishing method. On Lake Onega, trolling at medium depths, from 30 to 60 m, is widely used. Its essence is to place the bait in the water from a boat or motor boat. When trolling, up to 10 rods are used. They are installed on the sides using special devices.
■ Since 1972, the largest international multi-day sailing regatta in Russia has been held on Lake Onega at the end of July. Mainly raced cruising yachts class "Eagle 800", since 2003, yachts of the "Micro" class are also allowed to compete. The regatta starts and finishes in Petrozavodsk.

Lake Onega is the second largest lake in all of Europe. This lake is 2 times smaller than Lake Ladoga and contains three times less Veda. However, at the same time, the water in Lake Onega is of the highest quality: it is much purer than Ladoga water, and even the water in Lake Baikal.

The length of Lake Onega from north to south is 248 kilometers, and from west to east – 96 kilometers. Here a large number of capes, islands, lips and bays. The total number of all islands is 1500.

The shores of the lake are mostly sandy and pebble, but at the same time there may be rock outcrops. The shores of the northern region of Lake Onega consist of crystalline rocks, they are rugged and elevated. The topography of the lake bottom is quite simple, especially in its northern part. Lake Onega is home to almost all species of fish that are known in the reservoirs of Karelia. More than 110 tributaries flow into this lake.

Lake Onega. general characteristics

Lake Onega is one of the largest freshwater bodies of water in Karelia, which is located in its southeastern part. The total area of ​​the water surface of Lake Onega is 10,050 km2, and the total area including the islands is 10,340 km2. The maximum width of the lake is 248 kilometers, and the maximum width is 83 kilometers. The total number of islands is 1650, with an area of ​​290 km2. The length of the entire coastline is 1542 kilometers, and together with the islands - 2699 kilometers. The total volume of water masses is 295 km3. The height of Lake Onega above sea level is 33 m2.

The lake has an elongated oblong shape from the northwestern part to the southeastern part. Lake Onega is divided into several large bays and reaches. It is divided into 3 main parts:

1. The main part is Central Onego.
2. Northwestern region - Bolshoye Onego.
3. The northeastern region, which consists of Maly Onego, Kuzarandsky Onego, Pyalemsky Onego, Tolvuisky Onego, Povenetsky Onego, Bolshaya Guba and a number of small bays.

Sandy and rocky shores predominate here. Rocky shores are common in the northern part of the lake and in the area west coast. Sandy banks stretch from the mouth of the Vodla River to the source of the Svir River.

The area of ​​the Lake Onega river basin is 51,540 km2. From it, approximately 16 km3 of water flows into the lake every year.

The water level in the lake changes every year. This is mainly due to the amount of precipitation. The constant current is expressed only in some parts of Lake Onega and is weak.

Lake Onega is one of the deepest bodies of water in Karelia (after Lake Ladoga). His average depth is 29.4 meters, and the maximum depth is 120 meters. At a depth of up to 10 meters there is approximately 26 percent of the total area of ​​the lake, at a depth of up to 20 meters - 42 percent, at a depth of up to 40 meters - 69 percent, and at a depth of up to 60 meters - 92 percent.

The bottom topography of Lake Onega is quite complex. This especially applies to the northern part of the lake. This lake is characterized by depressions and rises in the bottom. Typical landforms for the lake are selgi, luds, underwater ridges and ridges, holes and depressions. In addition, the lake also has some areas with a flat bottom. The soils of Lake Onega are very diverse. Rocky, stony-sandy, sandy and sandy-gravel soils are found here. The colors of the water in Lake Onega range from light yellow to yellow or orange-brown.

Lake Onega. Flora and fauna

Higher aquatic vegetation is the least common in Lake Onega. Its thickets can be found only in the northern part, in small bays and other places that are protected from waves.

The total length of the thickets is approximately 1 percent of the length of the entire coastline. These thickets mainly consist of reeds, and in some places you can find pondweed, reeds, water lilies, horsetails, villains, egg capsules, sedges and other types of vegetation.

The fauna of the lake is quite diverse, if we talk about its quality. Here you can see aquatic insects, mollusks, crustaceans, water mites, worms, bryozoans, sponges and others. In Lake Onega there are only 350 different forms and species of bottom fauna, however, only 30 percent of them have a significant distribution in the lake itself, but the rest are quite rare.

The richest and most diverse population is the thicket areas of the littoral zone, which make up approximately half of the forms and species known for this lake.

The average volume of biomass of the bottom mass of the lake in the summer and autumn periods is 11.5 kg/ha, with an average population of 5.72 million individuals/ha.

Of all the bottom fauna of Lake Onega, the most valuable food for fish are crustaceans, including pontoporea. Oligochaetes, in turn, are quite rarely used by fish as food. The most significant accumulation of food objects is in holes and depressions with a depth of up to 50 meters.

If we talk about the crustacean plankton of the lake, it is distinguished by significant species diversity in composition. In total, 37 species of lower crayfish live in the lake.

In the shallow coastal waters of Lake Onega you can find various forms of planktonic crayfish. Planktonic crustaceans reach their greatest quantitative development in the summer in the surface layer of water.

In terms of the abundance of crayfish, as well as their biomass in the horizon up to 2 meters, Lake Onega is an average productive reservoir in the entire republic. However, individual areas of this lake are unequal in terms of food resources in the shallow, most warmed areas.

In addition, if we talk about feeding, the composition of the crustacean plankton of Lake Onega has a number of positive features. The plankton of the lake is significantly dominated by cladocerans, most of whose mass consists of valuable food substances, which include holopedium and bosmina.

Lake Onega. Fish

In Lake Onega you can find almost all species of fish that are known for the reservoirs of Karelia. This lake is inhabited by sturgeons (sterlet), salmonids (salmon, trout, brook trout, pike fish, pit fish, vendace, whitefish), choriaceae (grayling), smelt fish (smelt), pike fish (pike), carp fish (roach, dace, silver bream, sabrefish, bream, golden crucian carp), loaches (mustached char, spined loach), catfish (catfish), eels (eels), perch (pike perch, perches, ruffs), gobies (Onega slingshots, lopars, sculpin), sticklebacks (nine-spined sticklebacks, three-spined sticklebacks), cod (lake burbot and lake-river burbot). Of the minigidae, the most common are the river lamprey and the brook lamprey.

In general, Lake Onega is home to 47 varieties and species of fish, which belong to 13 families and 34 species. It is possible to find chub in the lake.

The greatest fishing value in the lake is given to 17 species of fish, namely vendace, whitefish, ruffe, roach, pike, pike perch, pike perch, smelt, salmon, bream and perch, and the least important are crucian carp, ide, dace, bleak and grayling. Other species of fish in Lake Onega are quite rare.

The main commercial fish of this lake is vendace. It is common in almost all places. The vendace feeds only on crustacean plankton. In turn, kilets is a large form of vendace. It is mainly found in the southern part of the lake. Smelt is an object of mass fishing. But at the same time, it will also be used as food for fish such as pike perch, salmon, burbot and palia. If we talk about whitefish, there are 9 different forms of them in Lake Onega. In addition, all whitefish are divided into 2 large groups - lake-river whitefish and lake whitefish. Also in Lake Onega there is also burbot, or rather its two forms - lake-river and lake burbot. Burbot, like vendace, is ubiquitous. Pike perch is one of the most valuable fisheries on the lake, but its catch is quite small. However, the most common and numerous fish in Lake Onega is the ruffe, which is found at a depth of up to 70 meters. Perches can be found mainly in coastal areas, as well as in shallow waters open lake. Bream are found here in the area of ​​river mouths and sources. But pike is not of significant importance in the fishery of the lake. It lives in shallow, vegetated areas. If we talk about salmon, there are several stocks of this fish in Lake Onega. Now the most numerous is the herd of Shuya salmon.

But one of the most valuable fish of the salmon family is the palia, which is common in the area adjacent to the deepest parts of the lake. Ide in this lake is of insignificant commercial importance, but grayling can be found almost everywhere. Golden crucian carp are very rarely found in Lake Onega, unlike bleak and dace.

Powerful and majestic, with long coastlines and many tributaries, Lake Onega is located in Karelia.

The lake is located in the European part of Russia and is considered the second largest freshwater reservoir, after Ladoga. Most of the lake went to the Republic of Karelia, about 80% of the entire reservoir was located there, and the remaining 20% ​​went to the Leningrad and Vologda regions. Lake Onega belongs to the Baltic Sea basin of the Atlantic Ocean.

Characteristics of Lake Onega

Lake area

The reservoir has a coastline length of 1542 kilometers, a total area of ​​9720 km². The maximum depth is 127 meters, although the average depth for the lake is about 30 meters.

The length from south to north is 245 kilometers, and the greatest width of the coastal zone is 92 meters.

(Map and diagram of Lake Onega)

Lake water temperature

The water temperature in Lake Onega during warm periods of the year (starting from May) varies from +5 to +13 degrees. In August, if the summer turned out to be extremely successful and warm, then in shallow water the water temperature will be about +17 degrees. However, the water in Lake Onega has not yet heated above +22.

During the cold periods of the year, starting from September, the lake cools down. After a hot summer, the temperature slowly drops, reaching +2 degrees in October and November. And when frost occurs, it drops to 0 or -2.

(Air temperature on Lake Onega in winter and summer)

The air temperature here does not warm up above +30 degrees, even if the weather is sunny for a long time. The highest temperature recorded in the lake is +35 degrees. The warmest period is July, when the air warms up to +17 degrees.

During the winter months average temperature air varies from -7 to -13 degrees. The absolute minimum recorded in this area was -42 degrees.

Svir River

Connected by a water thread, 224 km long, the Svir River two large lakes Onega with Ladoga. The river begins its movement from Onega and changes in its bed from 100 m in the very bottlenecks and up to 12 km wide Ivinsky Razliv, then the river flows in the lowlands, occupied in the past by glaciers and flows into Ladoga lake. In the Ivinsky Razliv the river passes through the created Verkhnesvirskoye reservoir, with an area of ​​183 sq. km with a hydroelectric dam. The river contains 30 islands, and in the Leningrad region along the banks of the river there is the Nizhne-Svirsky Nature Reserve.

Nature of Lake Onega

Lake Onega is characterized by low shores. Therefore, there are areas of the coastal area that are completely swampy. However, such conditions do not prevent the development of flora and fauna, which is abundant both in the reservoir itself and near it.

The highest form of vegetation is least common on the territory of Onega; it can only be found in protected secluded corners in the northern part. But here reeds and reeds feel good, growing in an even row along the coastal zone. In some places you can find water lilies, sedges, pondweeds, egg capsules, and horsetails. Also, coastal areas are rich in dense taiga forests.

The fauna located on the territory of the Onega reservoir does not suffer from the conditions either. In total, more than 350 different forms and species live on its territory. Starting from the simplest forms, aquatic insects, crustaceans, mollusks and sea sponges, and ending with seals.

If we talk about feathered friends, then waterfowl nest on the lake - geese, gulls, ducks and swans. Often on migration there are such species as cranes, eagle owls, short-eared owls, grasshoppers, grebes, terns, and rails.

Fishes of Lake Onega: 1) Lake salmon; 2) Trout; 3) Palia; 4) Vendace

There are also more than 45 species of fish, which belong to 13 families. The species that a fisherman can find are: salmon, lake and river trout, catfish, eel, ruffe, pike perch, dace, crucian carp, sabrefish, rudd, smelt, roach, pike, silver bream, spined loach, sterlet, vendace, palia, whitefish, ide, perch and grayling. The most common of them are perches, bream, pike perch, smelt, pike, vendace and ruff, and the least common are whitefish, grayling, palia, catfish and dace.

Cities on Lake Onega

The coastal strip of Lake Onega is densely populated, although it does not have million-plus cities on the shore. The entire coastal zone is dotted with small villages and settlements. Most of the villages are located in the southern and western parts of the lake.

The largest populations are the cities: Petrozavodsk, Medvezhyegorsk, Vytegra and Kondopoga, and if we take into account the urban-type settlements, the list can be supplemented with the villages of Povenets, Voznesenye, Shalsky and Pindushi.

If you travel through the territory of the Onega reservoir, be sure to visit Petrozavodsk. In the capital of the Republic of Karelia there is a large number architectural monuments, for example, the building of the old men's provincial gymnasium or the ensemble of Round Square. Don’t forget to also visit Kizhi Island; its main attraction is the historical, architectural and ethnographic museum-reserve.

Climate and seasons of Lake Onega

(Winter rotunda on the embankment of Lake Onega, Petrozavodsk)

In general, winter on Lake Onega is mild, the air and water temperatures are acceptable even for desperate swimmers who want to harden themselves. However, on the territory of the reservoir it is often too windy; the cold subarctic climate brings with it an abundance of air masses. In winter this results in prolonged blizzards and blizzards, and in summer - into storms.

When continental anticyclones arrive from the south and east, dry and hot weather sets in in the spring-summer period, and sunny and clear days in the winter.

Summer on Lake Onega is distinguished by picturesque places. Almost the entire coastal strip in Karelia looks like a colorful picture come to life, and under the warm rays of the sun the landscape seems fabulous. However, in the summer there is often precipitation on Onega, most of The norm (about 70%) falls precisely from May to August.