Map of the depths of Ladoga southern shore. Ladoga lake

The nature of the North-Western part of Russia is amazingly attractive. The discreet beauty of taiga landscapes is replaced by vast swamps rich in cranberries and cloudberries. Elevated areas are decorated with small-leaved forests and spruce forests. But the mirror surface of numerous lakes gives this region of Russian nature a unique charm.

Ladoga lake - the largest in Europe, the length of which is 219 km with the greatest width - 138 km. The northern and eastern parts of the reservoir belong to Karelia. The western, southeastern and southern shores of Lake Ladoga are located in Leningrad region. Ladoga contains 908 km³ of water. Replenishment water resources occurs due to 35 flowing rivers. One river flows out of Lake Ladoga - the Neva.

The area of ​​Lake Ladoga is 18,135 km², the length of the coastline is 1,570 km. The bottom topography is characterized by sharp changes in the north and a flatter character in the south. The depths of Lake Ladoga are very diverse: from 60–220 m in the northern part and from 15–70 in the southern part. Typically, the steeper and higher the shores, the greater the depths observed near them. Recorded near the Valaam archipelago maximum depth Lake Ladoga - 233 meters.

Islands of Lake Ladoga

There are about five hundred large and small islands in the waters of Lake Ladoga. The largest of them make up the Valaam archipelago. The Konevetsky Monastery, famous in the Orthodox world on Lake Ladoga, was erected on another large island– Konevets, about 600 years ago. Some islands are separated from each other by small straits - the famous skerries of Ladoga, which give this region a unique beauty.

History of Lake Ladoga - historical references, “the road of life”, finds and artifacts

Ladoga is present on one of the first geographical maps of the Moscow state, compiled in 1544 by the German cartographer Sebastian Munster.

First detailed map Lake Ladoga was compiled under the Admiralty Department in 1812.

For Russia, Ladoga was of strategic importance: in the 9th century, an important part of the waterway “from the Varangians to the Greeks” passed through its expanses. Documentary mention of the “great Lake Nevo” (as Lake Ladoga was called in the old days) was first found in the ancient Russian chronicle of 1228. The first capital before Kievan Rus was located near the confluence of the Volkhov River into Lake Ladoga.

The Novgorodians kept merchant ships and a military flotilla on Ladoga. Many pages of the Peter the Great era are closely connected with this lake. These regions are witnesses to the glorious battles on Lake Ladoga during the Northern War.

"The road of life"

During World War II, from 1941 to 1944, most of the coast of Lake Ladoga was under German-Finnish occupation. Residents of cities and villages were virtually cut off from the world. And only in the southwestern part of Ladoga there was communication with Soviet troops. This “road of life” functioned from September 1941 to March 1943. The path connected the residents of besieged Leningrad with the rest of the country. The “Road of Life” began from the port of Osinovets on Lake Ladoga and ended at the docks of Leningrad. In summer by water, and in winter by ice road, food, medicine and basic necessities were transported to the city under a hail of enemy shells. In total, during the existence of the “road of life”, 1.6 million tons of various cargo were transported, which allowed the residents of Leningrad to hold out until the blockade was lifted. But food was transported along this route and people were taken out. Approximately 1,400 people were evacuated this way. In the place where the “road of life” lay, 7 monuments and 102 memorial pillars were erected. All of them are included in the Green Belt of Fame.

Finds at the bottom of Lake Ladoga

The bottom of Ladoga to this day preserves numerous interesting and valuable artifacts from various eras. The ancient Vikings and soldiers of the Northern and Great Patriotic Wars left their mark. Of course, first of all, Lake Ladoga hides traces of the Second World War. A striking example of this is “Death Bay”. In this place in August 1941, an urgent evacuation of the Soviet rifle and motorized divisions took place. For two weeks, under fierce artillery and mortar fire, the ships removed the fighters from the shore. The small bay was literally bombarded with shells. Until now, the entire bottom of the lake is covered with a layer of shell casings, shell fragments and iron.

The “Secrets of Sunken Ships” project has been carried out throughout Lake Ladoga for more than ten years. Participants in this project compile a register in which they enter a description of the found sunken ships and aircraft. Thanks to the fresh cold water In Ladoga, all objects are perfectly preserved at the bottom. They are of great interest to diving enthusiasts.

Lake Ladoga on the map of Russia and depth map

The historical name of Lake Ladoga is Nevo. The reservoir is located on the border of two regions. The southwestern part is located in the Leningrad region, and the northeastern part is in the Republic of Karelia. The area of ​​the reservoir is very large, so it is conventionally divided into parts. The northern Ladoga region belongs to southern Karelia, two districts of the Leningrad region are considered southern - Volkhovsky and Kirovsky. Lake Ladoga is also divided into eastern and western Ladoga regions: the Olonets region of the Republic of Karelia and the Karelian Isthmus, respectively.

On the shores of Lake Ladoga in the Republic of Karelia there are the cities of Sortavala, Lakhdenpokhya, and Pitkyaranta. On the Leningrad region side there are also large settlements- the cities of Priozersk, Shlisselburg and Novaya Ladoga. Many small and large tributaries flow into the lake, and only one river flows out of it - the Great Neva. In the southern part of the reservoir there are three beautiful large bays. These are the Shlisselburg, Svir and Volkhov Bays.

Geographic map

Map of the depths of Lake Ladoga

The bottom topography of Lake Ladoga is heterogeneous. The depth gradually increases from south to north. In the northern part, the bottom surface is uneven, there are many depressions and underwater rocks. Depths of 100 meters or more prevail. In the north of Ladoga the largest

The depth of the lake is 230 meters. The depth of the depression opposite the Kurkijoki skerries reaches 220 meters.

In the southern part of Ladoga, the bottom topography is smoothed. No deep depressions and sudden changes. Depths fluctuate between 25–50 meters. But this is not particularly noticeable, because bottom relief smooth, without rocks or holes. Closer to the center of the lake, the depth averages 50 meters.

Climate and weather on Lake Ladoga

The climate on Ladoga is humid and mild, close to the sea. Winter, although cold, passes without severe frosts, summer is cool. Ice covers the lake at the end of October and lasts until the beginning of May, and the central part of Ladoga does not freeze over every winter. The greatest thickness of ice is observed in the bays - 30–60 cm.

The average annual water temperature in Lake Ladoga is 3.5 °C. This reservoir is characterized by the spring and autumn presence of a thermal front with warmer water, gradually moving from the coastal shallow areas to the center of the lake. On the warmer southern coast, the water in Lake Ladoga warms up to +20 °C, although at the same time at depths the thermometer does not show temperatures above +4 °C. A thermal front is detected by the formation of a strip of foam with floating debris and flocks of seagulls that hunt small fish.

The weather is fickle - complete calm can be replaced by a real storm in just half an hour. On Ladoga at strong winds waves reach a height of 4 meters, and a wave with a height of 7.5 m was recorded near the island of Valaam. The alternation of groups of waves of different heights, characteristic of Ladoga, creates the impression of sailing on a bumpy road, and the excitement in the southern shallow part of the lake, due to numerous protruding banks and ridges , takes on the character of a chaotic crowd. Instability weather conditions associated with a sudden invasion of cold weather from the Arctic air masses. The insidious nature of the waves on Lake Ladoga caused the death of a huge number of ships and small boats.

In 2002, they launched the expeditionary research project “Secrets of Sunken Ships”, whose experts identified more than 10 thousand objects that sank in Ladoga and the Gulf of Finland. Most of the finds at the bottom of Lake Ladoga, thanks to fresh water and low temperatures, have been preserved in surprisingly good condition and are of great interest to scientists and treasure hunters.

Unusual natural phenomena on Ladoga

Some local places are characterized by unusual natural phenomena, which have given rise to many legends of Lake Ladoga. In clear, warm weather, mirages may suddenly appear over the water surface - the imaginary outlines of distant islands, coastal buildings, or sailing ships.

Another unique phenomenon is brontids. A distinct hum is heard from underground on the shore or directly from the lake, accompanied by a slight vibration of the earth or the turbulence of the waters. More often this phenomenon is observed near the island. Balaam. Scientists explain this interesting phenomenon by tectonic movements occurring at the bottom of the lake.

Nature of Lake Ladoga: animals, plants and fish

Many areas near Lake Ladoga have been preserved in their pristine beauty. In the picturesque faults of harsh rocks, one can see ancient history this region. Islands, rocky shoals, mountain slopes covered with pine wilds were once covered by the waters of a prehistoric sea that stretched in the north to the ocean.

Rare species of flora and fauna are found in the protected areas of Lake Ladoga. On the picturesque slopes of the reef mountains, facing south, southern plant species unusual for these latitudes grow (linear onion, sand clove). The northern areas on the shores of Lake Ladoga are favored by tundra plants: snow saxifrage and alpine saxifrage. At the foot of the mountains, representatives of broad-leaved forests feel good: Norway maple and elm (mountain elm). Numerous fir forest edges are decorated with purple aconites with their blooms in June.

On Ladoga there are animals common to the taiga zone: foxes, moose, hares, wolves, bears, etc. The sloping rocks in the north are a rookery for very rare species- Ladoga seal. This marine mammal has adapted to the conditions of a freshwater lake. The Ladoga seal reaches 130 cm in length and 50–70 kg in weight. The skin of this animal is decorated with a pattern of pale rings (ringed is another name for seal). In February-March, they prepare burrows in snow hummocks, where the female gives birth to one 4-kilogram cub. When the lake is freed from the ice cover, flocks of seals come to the shores of the Valaam archipelago.

Fish living in the lake

The ichthyofauna of Lake Ladoga is represented by more than 50 species of fish, including whitefish and salmon. About half of the commercial catch on Ladoga comes from pike perch, whitefish and smelt. Also of commercial importance are: carp (roach, bream, ide), perch, vendace, pike, trout, ruff. Lamprey (brook and river), silver bream, and blue bream are found in these waters. The main commercial fish is pike perch, which lives on Ladoga in the shallower southern half of the lake. It often reaches 8 kg of weight here. Ladoga salmon prefers the northern depths of Ladoga, and for spawning it goes along the rivers flowing into Lake Ladoga (Burnaya, Vidlitsa, Svir). The northern regions of the lake are also inhabited by Baltic sturgeon, palia, and occasionally sterlet.

Fishing on Lake Ladoga - winter from ice and open water

You can return from Ladoga with significant catches all year round. The content of dissolved oxygen in Ladoga water is close to 100%, so the period of “dead winter” is not observed here, and this makes Lake Ladoga compare favorably with most inland reservoirs.

Winter ice fishing on Ladoga

Winter on this lake is a fishing season, but also quite dangerous. Strong winds can cause fast ice to break off. Sometimes huge fields of ice during squally winds crumble into small ice floes within a short time.

The distances here are long, so good fishing is impossible without a snowmobile or car. Ladoga is completely covered with ice very rarely, and usually strong ice forms along the perimeter of the shores no further than 10–15 km. But this distance is quite enough for effective fishing. Perch and roach prefer to stay at a depth of 3–6 m in winter, and this most often requires cutting holes at a short distance from the shore. Many anglers find pike on Ladoga in winter in shallow water overgrown with reeds, where the depth under the ice does not exceed 50 cm.

But the most interesting fishing on Ladoga in winter is catching perch with a vertical spoon. Perch here lives both small (up to 200 g) and quite decent sizes (up to 800 g). Fishermen usually use spinners with a soldered hook or spinners with jig hooks suspended on a chain.

Fishing on Lake Ladoga in open water

Trolling on Ladoga

Lake Ladoga is rich in fish. She gets caught different ways: both on a float and on a spinning rod from the shore. But the most exciting thing is trolling fishing. Most often, large pike and pike perch are caught on bait, but if you are lucky, you can also catch Ladoga salmon. If we talk about trolling, this type of fishing is not only the most sporting, but also the most effective. This is because it is possible to move a wobbler or other bait along large area reservoir You can change the depth of the bait and thereby fish at different depths. And the most important thing is that you have the opportunity to visit, in search of a worthy trophy, those parts of the lake where there is a regular bite, but there is no possibility of approaching from the shore. You can troll on Ladoga day and night.

In the north of Ladoga in Karelia, salmon are caught at various depths, from 10 to 70 meters. It depends on the area of ​​the reservoir. The main thing is to constantly monitor the nature of the bottom and the bait, since here the depth can change from 40 to 4 meters in a matter of minutes. Fishing is also complicated by the regular need to change the depth of the wobbler, which is not required when fishing in the southern part of the lake.

When trolling for pike or pike perch, from two to twelve spinning rods are used. The more baits, the better the bite. This is explained by the fact that wobblers imitate the movement of a small flock. And this will undoubtedly arouse the interest of the predator. A trolling rod is different from a standard spinning rod. Firstly, it must have a long and strong handle. Secondly, it is desirable to have a slightly larger number of guides, from 12 to 14. This will help distribute the load on the rod more evenly. Thirdly, the length of the spinning rod is important. It is best to give preference to a rod with a length of 2.1 or 2.4 meters, this will be quite enough.

Accordingly, it is no less important to choose the right bait. Predators of Ladoga are very capricious. So you never know what they will prefer. The supply of all kinds of wobblers, silicone twisters and vibrating tails should not be small. But we can say with confidence that the most catchy lures are from 8 to 12 cm in length. The true skill of a fisherman lies not in choosing a wobbler that most closely resembles a fish, but in teaching it correctly.

Fishing on Ladoga in spring

On Ladoga, however, as on other bodies of water, fish come en masse to the shore to spawn. Large roach begin to be caught when blocks of ice are still floating on the water surface. The fishermen's catch of the “first move” of roach contains specimens of 0.8-1.2 kg. Over time, there are more fish, but small things begin to dominate the catch. Catching roaches float rod for maggots or chopped worms at the edge of reed thickets at the shallowest depths. There is no point in feeding the fish - the fish is busy looking for a place to spawn and forgets about hunger. It is much more important to actively search for fish.

Following the roach, silver bream and bream go to spawn, but their size and quantity are not of particular interest for fishing. The pike meal that follows is very promising interesting fishing. During this period, the spotted predator is successfully caught by casting off the southern shore of Lake Ladoga, in reed thickets. During this period, sometimes 3–6 kg specimens are caught. Pike can be caught not only near the shore in reeds, but also on open water, within 30–40 meters from coastal vegetation. Large spinners or spinners are most often used for catching pike on Lake Ladoga.

Fishing on Lake Ladoga during the white nights

The greatest interest during this period is night fishing for pike perch. On Ladoga, trolling enthusiasts ply along rocky ridges 3–10 km from the shore. Pike perch actively moves in all layers of water, so they catch it simultaneously with several spinning rods, equipping them with wobblers with different depths. Driven wobblers for Ladoga are favorites for hunting pike perch. The most universal colors are “acid” and “blue back”. The main catch is pike perch 1.5-5 kg, but 10 kg trophies can be found.

Large pike live on the same rocky ridges, but you can catch them with larger baits (an 8-11 centimeter Shad is suitable).

Fishing on Ladoga in summer

At this time, the perch begins to hunt for grown-up fry. Fans of cast-cast fishing arm themselves with a light spinning rod and go in search of schooling perch. The easiest way to spot fattening perches is by looking for seagulls. If a school is detected, then the size of the catch can only be affected by the speed of fishing. The school may go deeper, but usually it soon appears somewhere nearby, and fishing can be resumed. Perches weighing up to 700 g are caught in this way. Larger trophies can be taken by trolling.

When fishing from the shore, you can only count on catching “laces”. Larger fish prefer not to come closer to the shore than 2–5 km in summer.

Trophy pike is better caught not on ridges, where the bottom of Lake Ladoga has complex terrain, but on “runs”. Therefore, in the summer, many fishermen simply plow the expanses of Ladoga, equipping their fishing rods with large spoons or wobblers.

Autumn fishing on Ladoga

As the weather gets colder, large fish begin to move closer and closer to the shores. At this time, you can “treasure” at 2-meter depths. And before the freeze-up they fish effectively, as in the spring, near the reeds. Good results are demonstrated by large, oscillating, ultra-light spoons or large-sized white rubber with minimal loading and a pair of tees. In reed windows, various non-hooking hooks are more suitable for catching pike.

Relaxation on the shores of Lake Ladoga

A distinctive feature of staying on Ladoga is its fairly developed tourist infrastructure. There are many bases around Ladoga offering their services. Here fishermen can find not only a place to stay for the night, but also rent a boat, some gear, get expert advice, as well as have a delicious dinner and a steam bath. In addition to fishing, here you can do organized excursions along the historical sights of Lake Ladoga, go on a cruise on Lake Ladoga or take a walk to pick mushrooms and berries, ride horses or bike.

Recreation centers

The recreation center “13th Cordon” is located in the village of Salmi. Seven two-story comfortable cottages are available for vacationers (from 5,500 rubles per room). On the territory of the “13th Cordon” there are: a swimming pool, a cafe, two baths. 5-hour rental

A Grizli boat will cost 4 thousand rubles, a three-seater motor boat - 2 thousand rubles. Trolling on a boat accompanied by a ranger – 3 thousand rubles/hour.

The Mikli-Olgino farm belongs to the village of Miynala, Lakhdenpokhsky district, in close proximity to the skerries of Ladoga. On the farm there were built 2 wooden comfortable cottage(from 900 rubles per person) and a separate eight-bed house on the shores of Lake Ladoga (8 thousand rubles for the whole house). The base has a bathhouse, a summer cafe, a billiards room, a pier, and free parking. You can rent equipment, a boat, an ATV, a bicycle. Holidays on the farm will especially appeal to lovers of secluded places.

“Burnaya Ladoga” belongs to the Priozersky region, located at the mouth of the Burnaya River. Here tourists are provided with rooms in guest house(from 1 thousand rubles per person). The base has a bathhouse, a shooting range, a children's playground, and a sports ground. You can rent a rowing boat for 500 rubles/day; going to Ladoga by motor will cost 900 rubles/day or 300 rubles/hour. Many vacationers visit this base specifically to play paintball among real bunkers and pillboxes on the Mannerheim Line. In winter, exciting snowmobile safaris take place here.

How to get to Lake Ladoga

It is more convenient for Muscovites to get to Lake Ladoga through St. Petersburg. You can choose the most suitable method of transportation.

By train:

From St. Petersburg to the Ladoga Lake station, trains run from Finlyandsky station(in summer there are 8 flights). The trip will take 1 hour 20 minutes. Electric trains depart from the Baltic Station to the same station.

By car:

• Route 1: we leave St. Petersburg along Kola M-18 and head towards A120, drive along A 120 to A-128.
• Route 2: we leave St. Petersburg along the Ryabovskoye Highway, then continue along Borisov Griva until the turn near the village. Vaganova we leave on A-128.

Minibuses regularly go to Lake Ladoga from the Dybenko metro station.

By train:

From St. Petersburg you can get to the northern regions of Lake Ladoga from Ladozhsky Station by direct trains. Destination: Sortavala or Ilya Uuksu.

Photos of Lake Ladoga

The blue surface of the lake extending far beyond the horizon... Bizarre boulders guarding the approaches to the forest... Forested placer picturesque islands... The walls of an ancient monastery, approaching the water itself... Winding bays, shrouded in the haze of fogs. All this is majestic and unique Ladoga.

Europe is famous for its beauty and attractiveness. Its nature has more than once become the property of songs and legends, fairy tales and poems, essays and stories. Among all the diversity, water spaces stand out. Lake Ladoga is a bright representative. Its main difference from other water bodies is the rich flora and fauna.

general characteristics

Lake Ladoga is called the largest in all of Europe. Its area exceeds 18 thousand square kilometers. It is interesting that 457 kilometers of water area are occupied by the islands of Lake Ladoga, which in themselves are not so large. For example, the area of ​​the largest land areas located in the middle of the lake surface does not exceed one hectare. And in total there are more than 650 of them. Nature has placed the islands so that over 500 of them are located in the northwestern part of the lake.

The rocky islands have a bizarre shape and unusual outlines. Their height is 60-70 meters. It is especially interesting to observe the harmonious combination of coastline and island lines. The islands are separated from each other by numerous bays that cut into land areas.

Mother Nature has worked for thousands of years on the artistic and aesthetic design of this corner of the globe. Lake Ladoga is one of the oldest water bodies. In its lifetime, it has seen a lot and experienced amazing events, which can be judged by the numerous remnants and remains on its banks and bottom.

New research has made it possible to find out more accurate parameters of the water body. Lake Ladoga stretches 83 kilometers wide and 219 kilometers long. Without the island territory, it occupies a total of 17,578 square kilometers, which allows it to be called the largest European lake.

The length of the coastline exceeds one and a half thousand kilometers. Scientists were able to calculate the coefficient of its ruggedness. It is 2.1, which suggests the presence of multiple bays. The bowl of the lake is distinguished by its impressive capacity, which is 908 cubic kilometers.

Lake depth

The average depth of Lake Ladoga is 51 meters. However, if we talk about the largest, the figure already grows to 230 meters. The depth map of Lake Ladoga also shows impressive indicators. It usually marks the areas that are considered the deepest.

The bottom topography is heterogeneous. Therefore, it is not surprising that the depth of Lake Ladoga varies throughout its entire water area. For example, in the southern part the bottom is flat and smooth. This helps reduce the depth. The decrease is observed from north to south. In the northern part, the depth reaches 10-100 meters, and in the southern part this value is an order of magnitude lower and varies in the range from 3 to 7 meters. The bottom is distinguished by rocky spits and shallows, and you can even find clusters of boulders.

Bottom relief

In general, such differences in depth are explained by the peculiarities of the geological structure of the bottom. Which, in turn, is due to its impressive length. Geological structure also leaves its mark on the lake basin and its appearance. Interestingly, the bottom topography seems to resemble islands. He copies them exactly. Thus, at the bottom of the lake you can observe mountains and plains, depressions and potholes, hills and slopes.

Depressions up to 100 meters deep most often predominate. There are more than 500 of them in the northwestern part of the lake. Interestingly, such formations are concentrated in groups. And they, in turn, create a kind of labyrinth of bays. This phenomenon is called skerry. The depth map of Lake Ladoga allows you to verify this.

The slope of the lake has an average of 0.0105, and the angle averages 0.35 degrees. This value near the northern coast is already 1.52 degrees, and near the eastern coast it is 0.03. This is also considered a fairly important indicator.

Animal world

In a country like Russia, Lake Ladoga plays a huge role. He is called the supplier drinking water For Northern capital state - St. Petersburg. However, in addition to this, Ladoga is home to a huge number of different animals. The main place among them, of course, is occupied by fish.

Today, more than 58 varieties and species of fish are known to exist in the waves of Lake Ladoga. It is interesting that there are also those who are “guests” in Ladoga. These include conger eel, Baltic salmon and sturgeon. They only occasionally swim into the waters of the lake. Their permanent habitat is The Gulf of Finland and Baltic.

Unfortunately, due to the massive fishing of fish today, not all of its former inhabitants remain alive in Ladoga. Sometimes representatives of the fish kingdom disappear for no apparent reason. For example, sterlet. It no longer occurs in Ladoga waters, and researchers have never discovered the reason for this.

New species

But new inhabitants appeared in the lake. They are represented by peled and carp. The latter appeared in Ladoga relatively recently - in 1952-1953. The reason for this was that it was bred in the nearby Lake Ilmen. The fate of the peled was similar. It “wandered” to Ladoga from the Karelian Isthmus, where they began actively breeding it in the late 50s of the last century.

In addition, in the waters you can also find such fish as palia, salmon, pike perch, whitefish, bream, trout, ripus and vendace. They are distinguished by their value in the field of industry. These species are called commercial. There are also less valuable inhabitants of the lake. Among them are roach, smelt, pike, ruffe, blue bream, bleak and silver bream. They are considered no less tasty, but their use in food is represented in smaller quantities.

It is probably impossible to really name all the fish that are found in the waters of Lake Ladoga. There are so many inhabitants there that work to discover and study them continues to this day.

On the verge of extinction

Some fish of Lake Ladoga are now on the verge of extinction. Among them there are those that are considered valuable in the industrial field. The clearest example is salmon. In Ladoga there are individuals whose weight exceeds 10 kilograms. They are real giants. Interestingly, the fish go to spawn in late spring and summer. The young live there for no more than a couple of years, and then return to the lake.

The rivers are now clogged with lumber, making it difficult for salmon to spawn. In this regard, it was decided to suspend mass fishing. The corresponding law was passed back in 1960.

Another valuable fish is palia. She lives in the northern part of the lake. In winter it can be found at a depth of more than 70 meters, and in the warm months it rises to 20-30. Reproduction occurs in mid-autumn.

Whitefish also live in Ladoga. Now there are seven varieties of them in the lake. Four of them, namely lake Ladoga, Ludog, black and Valaam, are considered exclusively riverine, and the other three - Svir, Vuoksa and Volkhov - can live both in the lake and in the river. On average, during the breeding season, each individual lays about nine thousand eggs in October and November.

Just recently, people were massively engaged in catching whitefish, but now this species is on the verge of extinction. A peculiar reason for this can be called the construction of the Volkhov hydroelectric power station dam. Pisces were unable to overcome such an obstacle, and the measures people took to achieve this did not save the situation.

Rivers of Lake Ladoga

Now let's talk about waterways.

The rivers of Lake Ladoga are very numerous. This allows us to talk about its wide drainage basin. Its area exceeds 250 thousand square kilometers. Not every lake can boast such figures.

Finland and Karelia, located nearby, share water resources with Ladoga; rivers also carry their waves from the Novgorod, Pskov and Vologda lands. The water bodies of the Arkhangelsk and Leningrad regions make their contribution.

In total, about 45 thousand streams and rivers flow into Lake Ladoga. It is interesting that before becoming part of Ladoga, river waters accumulate in nearby lakes, including Saimaa, Onega and Ilmen. They, in turn, allow the formation of such tributaries of the main Ladoga as the Volkhova, Vuokse and Svir. In total, they bring more than 57 cubic kilometers of water into the lake per year. This represents approximately 85 percent of the total water mass that accumulates in the area we are considering. geographical object in a year.

All other tributaries are called small. There is no explanation for this, because among them there are such impressive deep rivers as Janisjoki, Syas and Tulemajoki.

It should be understood that the tributaries of the Ladoga are quite young - by the standards of rivers - in age. They are only 10-12 thousand years old. That is why most of them have not yet formed wide valleys. They flow among rocky areas and steep banks.

The Baltic crystalline shield lies in the northeastern part of the lake. That is why the deepest and loudest tributaries flow into Ladoga from that side. Very often they turn into full-flowing stormy streams, encountering rocks on their way that are quite difficult to erode.

Tributary Svir

Lake Ladoga is located in Russia, and its deepest stream is called the Svir. This river flows from the Svirskaya Bay of Lake Onega, and flows into Ladoga from the southeast.

Its length is about 224 kilometers. The river includes two large tributaries, which are named Pasha and Oyat. It is interesting that the origin of this object is still covered in secrets and mysteries.

The Svir River itself and its banks are not distinguished by the picturesqueness inherent in Ladoga. The description of Lake Ladoga tells about the amazing beauty of its shores, which Svir cannot boast of. Its coastline is covered with alder bushes and marshy plants, and there are coniferous forests. Basically, the banks of the Svir River are accumulations of stones and boulders.

In ancient times, Svir was famous for its numerous rapids. They could not be called high, but the piles of boulders presented a serious obstacle to navigation. Locals very often they rescued sailors, helping them cope with crossings. Very often, residents of coastal villages and towns themselves served as sailors, pilots and even captains. The proximity to a deep river left its mark on the character and way of life of the people.

But if we talk about the animal world, it is quite large. It is in the waters of this river that salmon spawning is often observed. In spring you can find schools of these fish heading to the mouth of the Svir. The tributaries Oyat and Pasha play the main role in spawning. Ichthyologists believe that it is these rivers that can contribute to the revival of salmon in Lake Ladoga.

When to visit

Over its centuries-old history, Lake Ladoga has been shrouded in secrets, riddles and legends. All this, of course, attracts numerous tourists. People also travel to Ladoga to admire the amazing beauty of nature and see with their own eyes one of the largest lakes in the world.

In order not to make a mistake, you should know when it is better to go and what time to give preference.

A trip here in May and June will be foggy in the truest sense of the word. At the end of May and beginning of June, thick fogs descend on Ladoga, in which it is quite easy to get lost. In such cases, it is very important to take experienced guides with you who will help you get on the right path and see all the surrounding beauty.

This time is considered quite cold for those places. In the evening, the skerries can be covered with a thin crust of ice, and the wind brings dampness. Of particular interest are the few hours after sunny weather. At such moments, the lake shines with calm and attractiveness. However, the very next moment a breeze blows in. It causes meter-long waves in the bays, although the lake off the coast continues to be peaceful.

One of the most striking advantages of this time, of course, after the attractive appearance of the coastal area, is the complete absence of mosquitoes. The extraordinary cleanliness of the lake is also considered a virtue. The bottom, even at a depth of several meters, can be seen extremely clearly. It is believed that if you drink water at such a moment, happiness will not take long to arrive. The water itself is clean and tasty.

Those people who value comfort and coziness should visit Ladoga in the last two months of summer. This period is considered the best for proper rest. In this case, the air and water temperatures exceed the optimal mark, allowing you to swim in the waves of the lake and sunbathe on the shore. On the islands you can pick berries and mushrooms, which are abundant there.

Those people who travel to Ladoga with the aim of admiring the local beauty should choose the autumn months, when literally the entire coast shimmers with gold and bronze. In October, the weather worsens, accompanied by fog and storms. At such times you can meet many artists and landscape painters here. They try to capture the lush beauty of Ladoga.

Lake Ladoga in winter also presents an interesting sight. However, it is quite cold here at this time of year. But the middle of the lake does not freeze even in severe frosts due to its impressive depth.

Those people who want to visit this corner of our vast Motherland should look for Lake Ladoga on the map. Many travel companies offer entire routes. If you wish, you can choose one of the proposed ones or create your own.

A trip to the coast of Lake Ladoga will surely be memorable for everyone. What distinguishes this area Amazing beauty nature at any time of the year, a variety of flora and fauna, as well as the opportunity to have a great rest.

Lake Ladoga is the most large lake Europe. The area of ​​Lake Ladoga is 18,400 square meters. km. It is an inexhaustible source of drinking water for the second largest city in Russia - St. Petersburg.

The lake is slightly elongated in the meridional direction. The maximum length is about 200 km, width - 130 km. The greatest depth is 230 m. Nature itself made sure that there was no monotony on the Ladoga shores. Lake Ladoga is rich in islands (up to 500 islands with an area of ​​about 300 sq. km), almost all of them are located in the north of the lake. Among them, the Valaam Islands stand out in size, with coastal slopes steeply descending into the water. The other largest islands are Konevets, Vossinansaari, Heinäsensaari, Mantinsaari, Lunkulansaari. In the southern half of the lake there are very few islands and their sizes are small: Zelentsy (in Shlisselburg Bay), Ptinov (in Volkhov Bay).

Nature has been working on the artistic frame of Lake Ladoga for millions of years. Its northern part lies on the Baltic crystalline shield, the formation of which dates back to the most ancient eras of the history of the Earth's development. The rocks that make up the shield are represented mainly by granites, gneisses, and crystalline schists of the so-called Archean age. These rocks emerge on the surface and are only covered in places by a thin layer of sediments from a later time.

The Ladoga skerries, a necklace of islands separated from each other by a labyrinth of straits, are located off the northern coast. Some of them bristled with granite cliffs, plunging almost vertically into the cold depths of the waters. Others expose their sloping stone backs to the waves. In the depths of the bays there are small green islands covered with trees. The western shore greets us with a scattering of rounded boulders. Rocky ridges, called “fences” here, extend far into the lake. Sandbanks and dunes covered with red-trunked pines open to the gaze of the traveler along the eastern shore.

An integral part of the Ladoga skerries is the Valaam archipelago, on which the ancient Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery is located. At one time, it was his monks who were sent by the Russian Orthodox Church to spread the Christian faith among the peoples of distant Russian Alaska. Now Valaam is one of the most popular centers of international tourism.

Thirty-two rivers carry their waters to Ladoga, this is the full-flowing Svir, which contains a huge supply of energy, and small rivers on the northern shore, lost among the forests and meadows, and the straightforward Volkhov, and Vuoksa flowing through many lakes. There are short rivers, the sources of which lie 20 - 40 kilometers from Ladoga. Others stretch for hundreds of kilometers, and their waters travel a long way before flowing into the lake. No matter how different the rivers of the Ladoga basin are from each other in size, together they serve as the main source of nutrition for the lake. Every year the rivers bring here about 68 cubic kilometers of water. In high-water years, this figure can increase to 100. The share of rain and snow involved in replenishing water reserves in the lake accounts for 15 percent, groundwater - only 2 percent of the total influx.

Many rivers connect Ladoga with lakes: the Volkhov river - with Ilmen, the Svir river - with Onega, the Vidlitsa river - with Vedlozero, the Tulema river - with Tulmozer, the Lyaskelya or Yanisyeki river - with Lake Yanisyarvi, the Vuoksa river - with large lakes of Finland (Saima lake system), the Taipale river - with Lake Sukhodolsky (Suvantojärvi).

Without exaggeration, Lake Ladoga can be called a storehouse of solar energy. Solar energy penetrating into the water column sets the water masses of the lake in motion. Even during short periods of calm, when the surface of Ladoga is mirror-immobile, at depth there is a movement of water masses both horizontally and vertically. This phenomenon contributes to the redistribution of heat in Ladoga, gradually enriching deeper layers with it. The accumulation of solar heat and its distribution in water during the day, season, and year determines the temperature regime of the lake. Ladoga has its own spring, summer, autumn and winter.

The water reserve in Ladoga is 908 cubic kilometers. This value does not remain constant - in some periods it grows, in others it falls. True, such fluctuations in relation to the total mass of water in the lake did not exceed 6 percent, at least over the last 100 years. They manifest themselves in changes in water level and are sometimes so significant that they even cause low and high water periods in the Ladoga regime.

In the old days, prolonged low levels were often explained by the influence of supernatural forces. Among the inhabitants of the villages scattered along the banks, there were various legends. Maybe because the number 7 was considered lucky in Rus', there was a belief that the water level on Ladoga rises for 7 years and falls for 7 years. The onset of low-water years in the life of the lake has always been considered an unkind phenomenon. In the 18th and 19th centuries it especially affected the life of St. Petersburg, economic development which was closely connected with shipping. In low-water years, due to the strong shallowing of the Ladoga canals and the source of the Neva, navigation was difficult and incurred heavy losses. The supply of goods to the city was reduced, food prices began to rise, which is why the poor suffered the most.

Since ancient times, swimming on the lake was associated with great risk. Thousands of ships perished in its waves. It got to the point that not a single insurance company in Russia insured ships traveling with cargo along Ladoga. Not only the poor equipment of the ships and the lack of good navigation charts affected, but also natural features Ladoga. “The lake is stormy and filled with stones,” wrote the famous researcher A.P. Andreev.

The reason for the harsh nature of Ladoga lies in the peculiarities of the structure of its basin, the distribution of depths and the outlines of the lake. A sharp change in the bottom profile during the transition from the great depths of the northern part to the shallow depths of the southern part prevents the formation of a “correct” wave - along the entire length of the lake.

Such a wave can only occur in the northern part. When the winds drive it south, it retains its shape only over great depths. As soon as it gets into an area with depths of 15 - 20 meters, the wave breaks. She becomes tall, but short. Its crest tips over. A complex system of waves traveling in different directions, the so-called "crush". It is especially dangerous for small ships that experience sudden, fairly strong shocks. There is a known case when a research vessel, operating at a sea level of 3 - 4 and a wave height of 0.8 meters, experienced a shock, as a result of which the doors of the closet were torn off their hinges, and the dishes that flew out onto the floor of the wardroom were smashed to pieces. In the old days, apparently, during such unexpected impacts, the steering failed or damage was caused to the ship's hull, which led to its inevitable death.

Another feature of the excitement on the lake was also noticed. During a storm, waves alternate: a group of 4 - 5 high and long waves is replaced by a group of lower and shorter ones. Such waves are perceived by the ship as a bumpy road. It causes roll, which negatively affects the condition of the ship's hull. Studying waves on a lake is associated with great difficulties. The highest wave that was measured on Ladoga was 5.8 meters. According to theoretical calculations, the wave height during a storm here may be higher.

A relatively calm area of ​​Ladoga is the southern lips, where waves of 2.5 meters occur only with very strong winds. The quietest month on Ladoga is July. At this time, the lake is mostly calm.

The ichthyofauna of Lake Ladoga is represented by 14 families: lamprey, sturgeon, salmon, grayling, smelt, pike, carp, loach, catfish, eel, cod, stickleback, perch and sculpin. There are 53 species and varieties of fish in Ladoga. In the lake, its canals and lower sections of tributaries, the following fish are found and found in the order of the ichthyological system according to Berg: river lamprey, brook lamprey, sterlet, Baltic sturgeon (occasionally), sea salmon (as a rarity ), lake salmon, lake trout, brook trout (in Ladoga rivers), Ludoga palia, Yamnaya palia, vendace, Ladoga rhipus, Vuoksinsky whitefish, black whitefish, Yamny or Valaam whitefish, Ludoga whitefish, Volkhov whitefish, Svirsky whitefish, lake whitefish , grayling, smelt, smelt, pike, roach, dace, chub, ide, minnow, rudd, asp, tench, gudgeon, bleak, silver bream, bream, white-eye, blue, raw, sabrefish, crucian carp, mustached loach, loach, spined loach, catfish, eel, burbot, nine-spined stickleback, three-spined stickleback, pike perch, perch, ruffe, four-horned goby and sculpin.

Only 9 - 10 species are of primary commercial importance: whitefish, smelt, perch, roach, pike perch, vendace (together with ripus), bream, pike, salmon (together with trout), ruff. Based on the species composition of fish, Lake Ladoga is rightly called a predominantly salmon reservoir. Salmon, trout, pali, vendace, several breeds of whitefish, grayling and smelt, close to salmon fish, that is, a third of the species and varieties of fish represent a group of inhabitants of large, cool and clean waters. Another large group - carp fish, which also make up a third of the Ladoga fish species, is common in water bodies that are warmer than Ladoga, but these fish have also adapted to living in Ladoga, and some of them have large numbers (roach, ide, bleak, bream, somewhat damp).

The most interesting tourist site On the lake is the Ladoga seal, listed in the Red Book of Russia.

Lake Ladoga - the largest freshwater lake in Europe - is located in the north-west of Russia, in a harsh region with majestic nature and rich history. It was here that Russian statehood was born and the first Russian cities appeared.

The history of the lake, the unique and rich nature - all this makes Lake Ladoga a most valuable cultural object and a beautiful corner of Russia.

Origin of the lake

The lake was formed by the melting of a glacier, and this process lasted several thousand years. Several times the giant lake either merged with the waters of the ancient ocean, or again found itself surrounded by the firmament. Finally, about three thousand years ago, the pond, crowded by its banks, broke through to the Baltic Sea by the Neva River.

The gradual formation of the lake was reflected in the unique bottom topography: if in the northern part of the lake the depth reaches 230 m, then in the “shallow” southern part it is 20-70 m. The difference in landscape is also explained by the fact that the reservoir belongs to different natural areas. The Karelian (northern) coast lies on the Baltic crystalline shield, it is steep and rocky. The southern coast, located in the Leningrad region, consists of sedimentary rocks. The coast gently goes under water, forming sandbanks and beaches.

Lake Ladoga on the map looks like the footprint of some giant beast. The length of the reservoir from north to south is 219 km, and from west to east – 138 km. The huge area of ​​the lake is over 18,000 square meters. km – holds about 900 cubic meters. km of water. More than 40 rivers and streams fill it with their waters, and only one - the deep Neva - flows out. Some rivers connect Lake Ladoga with other lakes - Onega, Ilmen, Saimaa.

There are many islands on the lake - more than 660. In the north of the lake are the famous Ladoga skerries - a magnificent necklace of a series of rocky islands separated by narrow straits. The main diamond of this natural phenomenon, stunning with its unique beauty, is the holy island of Valaam with the famous Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery.

History of the lake

Lake Ladoga occupies a special place in the history of our country. The name of the reservoir comes from the name of the ancient Russian city of Ladoga, but there is another version: on the contrary, the city is named after the lake. Until the 13th century, the lake was called “Great Lake Nevo.” In Finnish, the word “nevo” means “swamp”, “quagmire”.

Fateful events reflected in culture and history are associated with Lake Ladoga:

• the famous route from the Varangians to the Greeks passed through Ladoga;
• in the 14th century, Oreshek, the oldest Russian fortress, was built at the sources of the Neva;
• at the end of the 14th century, the largest Orthodox monasteries were built on the islands - Valaam and Konevsky, famous for their missionary activities;
• Novgorodians kept a navy here;
• battles of the Northern War of 1701-1721 took place on the lake and its shores;
• The road of life during the Second World War.

Since 1721, the coast of Lake Ladoga became completely Russian. Even then, Peter I appreciated the harsh nature of the lake, its treachery: complete calm in a few tens of minutes can give way to a real storm, and the waves rise to a height of 4-5 meters. Such inconstancy of the lake forced the Russian emperor to say the famous words that only the one who walked on Ladoga can be considered a real sailor.

The road of life

The history of the lake has tragic pages that evoke tears of joy and grief at the same time - this is a heroic chronicle of the salvation of hundreds of thousands of human lives from besieged Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War.

The road of life across Lake Ladoga connected the dying city with the country and saved it from death. Between September 1941 and March 1944, 1,600 thousand tons were transported across the water and ice of the lake various cargoes and more than 1,300 thousand people were evacuated.

In winter, goods and people were transported on the famous “one and a half trucks” - GAZ-AA. With the melting of the ice, navigation by water began. In addition to 15 barges, metal ships took part in navigation, the construction of which was carried out in Leningrad.

The road of life passed near the front line and needed protection. It was defended by anti-aircraft artillery divisions and fighter regiments, but thin ice and bombing destroyed about a thousand trucks.

In memory of the feat of the Soviet people on the Road of Life, 7 monuments, 112 memorial pillars along the highway and railway. The most famous of the monuments is “The Broken Ring” by architect V. G. Filippov.

Why you need to visit Lake Ladoga

Ladoga is one of the many water bodies in our country, visiting which will bring great pleasure. From year to year, in any season, thousands of fishermen, pilgrims and simply vacationers flock to the shores of the lake. Each of them has their own interests, but no one is left indifferent by the stunning beauty of the water surface, quaint islands, majestic shores and, of course, the harsh character of the lake. You need to make friends with him, and then your relationship with the lake will last for many years, bringing a lot of impressions.

So why is it worth visiting the shores of a wonderful lake? Here are probably the main reasons:

1. . The lake is home to over 50 species of fish, the most famous of which are salmon, whitefish, Ladoga smelt, and pike perch. You can fish at any time of the year with consistently excellent results.
2. Rich flora and fauna. The nature of Lake Ladoga is unique and diverse: here you can find southern plant species and tundra flora; Hares, wolves, bears, moose and other species of animals live in the forests, and the Ladoga seal lives in the north of the lake.
3. Diving. Thanks to the fresh and clean water and its low temperature, the artifacts of bygone times lying on the bottom are perfectly preserved and are of scientific and research interest.
4. Curious natural phenomena: mirages, brontides (underground rumble).
5. Visiting holy places.
6. Developed tourist infrastructure.
7. Relax on sandy beaches.
8. Complete absence of mosquitoes.

Lake Ladoga - mysterious, majestic and beautiful, will always attract thousands of tourists eager to experience its harsh beauty. The wealth of waters and shores, the bizarre landscape and history of the lake stuns the imagination and fills hearts with love for Russia, its nature and culture.

Vegetable and animal world

Lake Ladoga is full of life. However, harsh Ladoga does not pamper its inhabitants. Great depth, low water temperature, a small amount of dissolved nutrient salts, as well as coarse bottom sediments inhibit the development of flowering aquatic plants - macrophytes. But the real scourge for them is the dynamism of the water mass. Frequent and strong waves often do not allow macrophytes to colonize the shallow coastal zone.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the most diverse vegetation is found in the northern - skerry - region of Ladoga, where the intricately indented shores are protected from storms by a scattering of countless islands and reefs.

Menacing waves rush with furious force onto the rocky shores of these islands facing open Ladoga. Here macrophytes do not grow, and in the water only long green tufts of filamentous algae, ulothrix, attached to the rocks, sway, but deeper, in the skerries, where the destructive force of the waves weakens, the first flowering plants appear in the water.

The pioneers of overgrowth are reed, bogwort, and marsh horsetail. At some distance from the shore, single clumps of water buttercup and pierced-leaved pondweed can be seen. But plants rarely grow alone. To make it easier to endure unfavorable conditions, they form groups built according to certain laws, consisting of several types of macrophytes.

On the leeward side of the islands, among the chaotic piles of stones and fragments of rocks, small patches of aquatic plants loom with bright emerald reflections. And a little further a narrow, but denser strip of reeds ran into the depths of the bay. It’s as if a patterned border is framed by white flowers of water buttercup, sitting on thin branched stems, strewn with leaves cut into thin slices.

And in the reed thickets, oblong, slightly reddish leaves with an inflorescence of pink flowers float on the surface of the water. This is an amphibious buckwheat. Here, spikelets of various types of pondweeds peek out of the water, and the plants themselves are immersed in water.

But we find the real abundance and diversity of aquatic plants in the upper reaches of the bays of the skerry part of Ladoga, which protrude deeply into the mainland. Sloping shores, shallows, silty soils rich in mineral nutrition and, finally, protection from waves - what could be better for the growth of macrophytes! Here you can find sedge thickets, in which you can count several dozen species of moisture-loving plants, and communities of marsh horsetail, which enter the water to a depth of 2 meters.

And at greater depths, plants with leaves floating on the surface of the water dominate. The shiny brownish leaves of a regular oval shape leave a great impression. This is a floating pondweed. Leaves like arrowheads sway next to him. For this similarity, the plant itself received the name arrowhead. A little further on the water stretched bright green cords of leaves of the hedgehog, so named because of the appearance of its fruits, reminiscent of a bristling hedgehog. There are also small islands of large leathery green leaves of the egg capsule, among which its flowers turn yellow.

Behind the strip of plants with floating leaves, which in most Ladoga bays is narrow and may be completely absent, submerged plants begin. Pierced-leaved and multi-leaved pondweeds are more common here. On silty soils, groups of uruti and hornwort - plants with heavily dissected leaves - develop well. At the bottom there are dense tufts of Elodea canadiana, which is well known to us from our home aquarium, or water plague, which comes from North America. It is believed that Elodea owes its appearance in Europe to aquarists. In 1836, it was brought to Ireland, from where its victorious march through the waters of Europe began.

This picture of coastal overgrowth can be observed while slowly sailing along the shore in a boat. But in order to imagine the degree of overgrowth of the reservoir as a whole, especially such a huge one as Lake Ladoga, aerial reconnaissance is carried out. Aerial observations of aquatic vegetation on Ladoga showed that a narrow green border of reed thickets 5-10 meters wide stretches along the shores of numerous islands and the mainland.

Adjacent to it is an even narrower strip. Only at the tops of bays deeply cut into the land do diverse groups of macrophytes develop. The width of the overgrowth strip in these places reaches 70-100 meters. The total area of ​​aquatic vegetation in the northern part of Ladoga is about 1,500 hectares.

There is almost complete absence of aquatic vegetation along the eastern and western shores lakes. From the plane you can see how the waves wash the sand of the huge beaches of the east coast and crash on the boulders of the west coast. And only behind the ridges of stones at the mouth of the Vuoksa (Burnaya) River, flowing in from the west, as well as in the strait between the island of Mantsinsari and east coast Ladoga and in the Uksunlahti Bay dense islands of reed thickets have strengthened.

In the shallow southern bays, Ladoga receives two large tributaries - the Svir and the Volkhov. Rivers bring nutrients to the lake for living organisms. Here in the lips there are the largest communities of aquatic plants, occupying over 8,000 hectares. Branching, cord-like stems of lushly developed pierced-leaved pondweed are visible in the water. Closer to the shore, thickets of pondweed give way to a green carpet with patterns of various shades. The grayish tint belonging to the sedge prevails near the island of Ptinov. Along the entire southern coast there are dark green islands of reeds interspersed with fairly large tracts of light green reed thickets.

Reed is the most widespread plant in the world. It is very unpretentious and can grow in various environmental conditions - in standing and flowing reservoirs up to 2.5 meters deep, on land, in places with high level groundwater, on various soils, preferring, however, silty ones. Reed has a variety of uses on the farm. Its stems are used in the pulp and paper industry to make paper and cardboard. In the early stage of the growing season, reed serves as food for domestic animals. Chemical analyzes showed that young shoots contain 16 percent carbohydrates, and they contain even more vitamin C than lemons. However, the exploitation of reed reserves on Ladoga is unprofitable, since their total area is slightly more than 100 square kilometers, and they are too scattered along the entire coast.

But higher aquatic plants, of which there are a total of 120 species, are not limited to vegetable world Lake Ladoga. The water in it is saturated with tiny organisms, the so-called plankton. The diversity and abundance of single-celled diatoms enclosed in shells with an amazingly thin lace pattern amazes. Here a few Asterionella cells formed an asterisk.

Right next to it there is a patterned necklace - this is a colony of the diatom melosira, a little further away you can see circles of stephanodiscus dotted with specks. It is difficult to describe all the diversity of these smallest creations of nature. After all, in the plankton of Ladoga alone, 154 species of diatoms, 126 species of green and 76 species of blue-green are known, not to mention representatives of other, more rarely found types of algae.

The phytoplankton of Ladoga is dominated by cosmopolitan algae, widespread in lakes of all latitudes. They are joined by a significant number of boreal species - inhabitants of water bodies in the temperate zone of the Earth and northern alpine algae living in northern and high-mountain cold water bodies. The combination of these groups of algae allows us to characterize the algae flora of Lake Ladoga as cold-loving.

The last of the groups of plant organisms living in the lake are microbes, which are destroyers of organic matter created by planktonic algae and higher aquatic plants (with the exception of a small group of microbes capable of synthesizing organic matter chemically). Latest research showed that the waters of Ladoga are poor in bacteria.

For comparison, let's take crystal as a standard clean water artesian wells. Here, in one cubic centimeter you can count up to 15 thousand bacterial cells. The deep Ladoga waters contain only 60-70 thousand microorganisms, and in the surface layer - from 180 to 300 thousand. Only near river mouths and in places where industrial wastewater is discharged, the number of bacteria is increased.

What explains the low number of bacteria in Ladoga? Low water temperature prevents intensive growth of bacteria. The consequence of the small number of microorganisms, which are the main “cleaners,” is the weak ability of Ladoga waters to self-purify. This means that we must very carefully protect Ladoga from pollution by industrial and domestic wastewater.

As a result of many years of research, 378 species and varieties of planktonic animals were identified in Lake Ladoga. More than half of the species are represented by extremely peculiar and very small organisms - rotifers. A quarter of the total number of species is made up of protozoa, and 23 percent falls jointly on Cladocera and Copepods.

Zooplankton, like all other living beings, is distributed unevenly across the waters of Lake Ladoga. For example, the highly rugged coastline in the skerry area of ​​Ladoga creates a system of bays and coves isolated from the main reach, in which forms of zooplankton characteristic of small reservoirs develop. These include the well-known species of Daphnia and Cyclops.

A large group of aquatic invertebrate animals lives at the bottom of the lake and is collectively called benthos. 385 species of them were found in Ladoga. Some of these organisms live in silt, cutting through it with channels of their passages, others attach themselves to stones and boulders, but the population of thickets of aquatic plants is most diverse.

Four-fifths of the total number of species of bottom organisms is confined to a narrow shallow-water zone, and in the vast deep-water and cold-water zone only 57 species of organisms live, but this number includes relict crustaceans - animals that inhabited the ancient lake that preceded Ladoga during the period of its connection with Baltic Sea. Now they have found favorable conditions for their existence here.

At the bottom of Lake Ladoga, elements of fauna are united, different in origin, species and geographical distribution. The first place in the benthofauna belongs to insect larvae, which account for more than half of all species of benthic animals - 202 species. Next come worms - 66 species, water mites, or hydrocarines, mollusks, crustaceans, etc.

Bottom animals play a very important role in the reservoir, being the main food for most fish. If you map the places of greatest development of benthos, and then mark accumulations of valuable species of commercial fish on the same map, it turns out that these areas coincide.

On Ladoga, together with its canals and the lower reaches of the flowing rivers, 58 species and varieties of fish are known, including 5 species introduced by humans. These include temporary newcomers, which include river lamprey, Baltic sturgeon, Baltic salmon and eel; overcoming the fast current of the Neva, they occasionally enter Lake Ladoga and its tributaries.

There is even information that the Baltic sturgeon, before the construction of the dams, passed through the entire Svir to the southern part of Onega. Sturgeon breed in the Ladoga rivers, then descend into the lake and can live here without going to sea. For these reasons, Baikal and Lena sturgeon were introduced into Ladoga to restore and replenish sturgeon stocks.

There are fish in Ladoga that are unique to it. These are the Ladoga lamprey, the Ladoga ripus, several breeds of whitefish, the Ladoga smelt, and the relict four-horned goby. But, of course, the bulk are made up of fish that live in many freshwater bodies. We will only talk about widespread, commercially important or otherwise remarkable fish.

Perhaps the most valuable fish of Ladoga are salmon, of which 7 species are known. In addition to sea salmon entering the lake, lake salmon and lake trout, or taimen, are common throughout Ladoga. These beautiful, strong fish are very similar to each other, but they still have differences. Outwardly, they are expressed in the fact that numerous black spots are visible on the salmon’s body, which are especially numerous near the pectoral fins.

Unlike salmon, trout have a lighter color and fewer dark spots on the head and body. Both trout and salmon can weigh up to 8 kilograms, but most fish weighing 2.5 kilograms are caught. These fish go to rivers to spawn. Not so long ago they could rise into almost all the rivers of the Ladoga region, but now dams have been built on most of them. In addition, some rivers are polluted by wastewater from pulp and paper mills and timber rafting, and salmon and taimen do not enter them. To spawn greatest number lake salmon goes to the rivers Burnaya, Vidlitsa, and Svir. Due to the sharp decline in stocks of this fish, salmon fishing has been prohibited since 1960.

Many tributaries of Lake Ladoga are inhabited by small-sized but beautifully colored brook trout.

In Lake Ladoga there are two more species of fish, whose general appearance resembles salmon. These are the common and yamnaya paliya, reaching a weight of 5-7 kilograms. The common palia is distinguished by its dark color and light spots on the sides. Pit palia is lighter in color and is therefore also called gray palia. Unlike the common one, the Yamnaya Palia prefers greater depths. Palia are lake fish and, as a rule, do not enter rivers.

In winter, they live in deep layers of water, and after the lake is opened, they go to the underwater shallows, where they hunt for smelt. As the water temperature rises, the fish go deeper again. Palia breeds only in the lake, and only in its northern part.

The next representatives of the salmon family that live in the waters of Ladoga are the common, or European, vendace - one of the most important commercial fish of the lake and the Ladoga ripus, or large vendace. These are very delicate fish. Their distinguishing feature is the color of their back. The vendace has a back with a greenish shiny tint or almost black. The back of the ripus has a purple or dark blue tint.

These fish differ in size and habitat. Vendace rarely reaches a length of 20 centimeters and a weight of 90 grams, while ripus is found up to 40 centimeters long and weighs up to 1 kilogram. Vendace is distributed in large quantities in the northern half of the lake, and ripus - in the southern half, where its breeding and feeding grounds are located.

There are 7 varieties of whitefish in Ladoga - Ludoga, Lake Ladoga, Black, Valaam, Volkhov, Vuoksa and Svir. The first four species are typically lacustrine, spending their entire lives in the lake, while the Vuoksa, Volkhov and Svir whitefish are lake-river whitefish: they breed in rivers and feed in the lake.

All whitefish reach a length of 50 centimeters or more and a weight of more than 2 kilograms. The commercial importance of different varieties of whitefish varies. Lake whitefish, with the exception of Valaam, are widely hunted in various parts of the lake, while lake-river whitefish are quite rare.

Whitefish got its name due to the fact that it stays mainly on underwater rocky places called luds. Ludoga lives in both the northern and southern parts of the lake. In summer it often gathers near the western, southern and east coast, and in winter migrates to the north. Ludoga approaches for spawning south coast Ladoga near Ptinov Island and into the Volkhov Bay. This whitefish provides the bulk of the commercial catch here. Lake Ladoga whitefish lives mainly in Petrokrepost Bay.

Black whitefish inhabit northern part lakes and is the main commercial species there. It adheres to mainland and island coasts with shallow depths.

Finally, the deepest of the whitefish is the Valaam whitefish, which lives only in the northern part of the lake at depths of up to 150 meters or more. This fish got its name in ancient times. Russian fishermen went to the Valaam archipelago, where in the fall deep-sea whitefish concentrate around the islands and between them and the northern skerries.

They caught him there until January. The fishermen returned to the mainland already on the ice. This whitefish is also known as goiter, since when pulled from the depths to the surface, due to a sharp change in pressure, the fish’s front part of the abdomen swells (crop).

The lake-river Vuoksa whitefish is distributed mainly in the northern part of Ladoga, from where it goes to spawn in the rivers of the northern and west coast. In the 18th - early 19th centuries, there was a large whitefish fishery on the Vuoksa River, but the construction of dams reduced the stocks of Vuoksa whitefish.

The same thing happened with the Volkhov and Svir whitefish; The Volkhov whitefish was especially hard hit, as the dam blocked its path to the Msta River, where it had previously spawned, putting it on the brink of extinction. Therefore, in order to restore the population of lake and river whitefish, work is being done to artificially reproduce these valuable fish, which have excellent taste, at fish hatcheries.

Considering geographical features Lake Ladoga and the valuable nutritional qualities of whitefish, the famous Baikal omul and peled were introduced into Ladoga.

Probably, many have heard about the cautious and swift fish with a large dorsal fin - grayling. Grayling lives both in the lake itself, preferring its northern part, and in the tributaries of Ladoga. In the lake, grayling sticks to the rocky shores of the mainland and islands, where it can be seen rising out of the water behind a flying insect. Grayling never gathers in schools, even during the spawning period, and therefore it is caught in Ladoga in small quantities. Catching grayling is always a dream for amateur fishermen.

The main commercial fish in Lake Ladoga is smelt, which accounts for up to half of all fish caught in the reservoir. There is hardly any need to characterize smelt - it is well known to residents of the north-west of our country.

Pike are found in all coastal thickets, but their numbers are small for such a huge body of water as Lake Ladoga.

The greatest variety of species is represented by the family of carp fish, which includes roach, dace, chub, ide, rudd, minnow, asp, tench, gudgeon, bleak, silver bream, bream, white-eye, blue bream, raw fish, sabrefish, crucian carp and carp introduced into the lake. Most of these fish have no commercial value.
Bream lives mainly in the Volkhov and Svirskaya bays and Petrokrepost Bay, where it spends its entire life without making long migrations. In the north of the lake, in the bays near Priozersk, near the island of Mantsinsari and in some other shallow bays, there are schools of bream. Bream prefers well-warmed bays with silty-sandy soils, rich in benthos and with well-developed aquatic vegetation. Like bream, raw fish are found in the southern part of Ladoga; in the northern half of the lake it is almost never found.

A lucky fisherman occasionally gets hooked great traveler- eel. It breeds off the coast of Central America - in the Sargasso Sea. Then its leaf-like larvae swim for three years with the waters of the warm Gulf Stream to the shores of Europe. Here the larvae develop into young eels, which usually enter rivers and lakes on spring nights. In freshwater continental reservoirs, fish live 9-12 years.

Then the eel begins to migrate to the ocean, and its appearance and blood composition. Having entered the Baltic Sea, the eel moves along the coast to the west, then disappears into the depths Atlantic Ocean so that in a few years his descendants would again make their way into European rivers and lakes on bright spring nights.

Burbot is widespread throughout Lake Ladoga, although here it does not reach large sizes. In autumn and winter, burbot goes to shallow waters at the mouths of rivers and islands, and in summer goes to deep places. Burbot is a voracious predator. It feeds on fish and invertebrates and greedily devours eggs, even its own.

A valuable commercial fish of Lake Ladoga is pike perch. It accounts for up to 10 percent of the total catch. Pike perch is a predatory fish, it feeds mainly on smelt, which it pursues throughout the lake, and places where smelt accumulate can serve as a sign that pike perch are also there. It is quite large on Ladoga - its average length is 50-60 centimeters, weight 3-4 kilograms, and sometimes fish up to a meter long and 10 kilograms in weight are caught.

Lake Ladoga abounds in perch. Smaller individuals stay near the shores, while larger ones live in the open areas on the luds. It can reach 40 centimeters in length and 2 kilograms in weight. In catches, perch accounts for over one tenth of the annual production of Ladoga fish.

The ruffe are found on sandy and shallow rocky shallows throughout the lake. It usually gathers in flocks. Previously, there was a ruff fishery here, especially in Petrokrepost Bay and on the shallows of northern Ladoga. Live ruff was delivered to St. Petersburg and was in great demand. Currently, ruffe mining is abandoned.

Travelers on excursions around Lake Ladoga often see seals (nerpas) peeking out of the water not far from the sides of the ship.

The seal is the only representative of mammals that permanently lives in Ladoga waters. More than 10 thousand years ago, its ancestors penetrated from the White Sea depression into the Karelian glacial sea, which later gave rise to Lake Ladoga. The animals have acclimatized to the new reservoir, and now there are quite a lot of them in Ladoga. On sunny days, the seal loves to bask in the hot rays, climbing onto coastal rocks or boulders. Rolling from side to side, it comically scratches itself with its flippers. You can often see it on a log floating on the waves.

The seal is a predator that eats fish. He often uses the “services” of fishermen, eating valuable fish from nets. During these raids, the animals often destroy fishing gear, causing harm to fishermen. In this regard, even notices appeared in the periodical press with a menacing headline: “The seal must be destroyed!”

Let's try to answer the question - is the seal really so dangerous that it needs to be fought? Unfortunately, to date, the lifestyle of this interesting animal has not been studied at all: its wintering places and breeding time, the nature and areas of distribution of the seal in the lake are unknown.

Meanwhile, if we turn to the research of the staff of the Limnological Institute of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, who are studying the life of the closest relative of our “Ladoga resident” - the Baikal seal, it turns out that the seal is a good orderly. Animals cannot keep up with healthy fish. Sick fish swim more slowly and become prey for seals, who thus protect the fish from the epidemic.

If we knew the biology of the Ladoga seal, we could properly and rationally conduct its fishing, especially since the skins of one-year-old seal pups are very highly valued in the fur market, and the meat of hunted animals could be used by the Ladoga fur farms to fatten valuable fur-bearing animals.

The last animal worth mentioning is the dolphin, which occasionally visits from the Baltic to the Neva and Lake Ladoga.

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