Lake Onega
| Lake Onega | ||
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| View of Lake Onega from the waterfront in Petrozavodsk | ||
| Geographical location | Republic of Karelia , Vologda Oblast , Leningrad Oblast ( Russia ) | |
| Tributaries | Suna , Wodla , Schuja , Wytegra , Andoma | |
| Drain | Swir | |
| Islands | Kizhi | |
| Places on the shore | Petrozavodsk , Kondopoga , Medvezhjegorsk | |
| Data | ||
| Coordinates | 61 ° 40 ′ N , 35 ° 29 ′ E | |
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| Altitude above sea level | 33 m | |
| surface | 9 720 km² | |
| length | 250 km | |
| width | 91.6 km | |
| volume | 292 km³ | |
| Maximum depth | 120 m | |
| Middle deep | 30 m | |
| Catchment area | 62,800 km² | |
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particularities |
second largest lake in Europe |
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The Onega ( Russian Онежское озеро , Oneschskoje Ozero , Karelian Oniegu , Vepsian Änine or Änižjärv , Finnish Ääninen or Äänisjärvi ) is after Lake Ladoga the second largest lake in Europe . It is located in northwestern Russia , mostly in the Republic of Karelia .
Area, depth, islands, UNESCO World Heritage Site
Its area is 9720 km² (the area data vary depending on the source between 9616 and 9950 km²), it is 250 km long and 91.6 km wide. While its surface is at a height of 33 m , its maximum depth is 127 m. There are numerous islands in the lake, including the island of Kizhi with its famous churches recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites .
The lake is geologically very young. Like almost all lakes in northern Europe, it was created by the excavation activity of the Ice Age inland ice. It was only at the end of the most recent Ice Age - the Vistula Ice Age around 11,000 years ago - that the excavated lake basin filled with water when the ice masses melted back.
Drain, shipping traffic
Its only outflow, the short river Svir , connects it with Lake Ladoga and further over the Neva and Saint Petersburg with the Baltic Sea . Via canals and rivers, such as the White Sea-Baltic Sea Canal or the Volga-Baltic Sea Canal , which partly runs through the lake, Lake Onega is with the White Sea , over the Volga with the Caspian Sea and over the Volga-Don Canal as well connected to the Black Sea . Similar to Lake Ladoga with the Ladoga Canal , Lake Onega is bypassed by a navigable canal, the Onega Canal, completed in 1852 , which runs parallel to the lake shore between the mouth of the Wytegra and the outflow of the Swir. Unlike the Ladoga Canal, the Onega Canal is no longer used by regular shipping today.
Hydropower plants
The water level of the lake is controlled by two hydropower plants: Nizhnesvirskaya (Lower Svir) and Verkhnesvirskaya (Upper Svir). The first was built from 1927 to 1938 and has a peak output of 99 MW, construction of the second began in 1938, rested until 1947 and was finally completed in 1952. It has an electrical output of 160 MW. The reservoir, which corresponds almost exactly to Lake Onega, has a volume of approx. 260 km³ (this figure varies between 260 and 292 km³ depending on the source). The lake was only dammed by 0.5 m. H. the additional storage volume is up to approx. 9,950 km² × 0.5 m = 4.975 km³. (You can also find information about 13.76 and 17.50 km³.)
The shores of Lake Onega were already settled in the Neolithic . The mining of iron ore gained economic importance in the 18th century . The pulp industry , favored by the abundance of forests, is still an ecological problem for the lake today.
Cities
The largest city on Lake Onega is Petrozavodsk (Russian Петрозаводск, Karelian and Finnish Petroskoi, Swedish Petroskoj or old Onegaborg), the capital of the Republic of Karelia; in addition, Kondopoga and Medweschjegorsk lie on its bank.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Lake Onega in the State Water Directory of the Russian Federation (Russian)
- ↑ a b c d e f g Article Onega Lake in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia (BSE) , 3rd edition 1969–1978 (Russian)
