Lake Onega
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| Lake Onega | |
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| Coordinates | 61°30′N 35°45′E / 61.5°N 35.75°ECoordinates: 61°30′N 35°45′E / 61.5°N 35.75°E |
| Primary inflows | 58 rivers (Shuya, Suna, Vodla, Vytegra, Andoma) |
| Primary outflows | River Svir |
| Basin countries | Russia |
| Surface area | 9,894 km2 (3,820 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 70 m (230 ft) |
| Max. depth | 120 m (390 ft) |
| Water volume | 280 km3 (67 cu mi) |
| Surface elevation | 33 m (110 ft) |
| Islands | 1,369 (Kizhi Island) |
| Settlements | Kondopoga, Medvezhyegorsk, Petrozavodsk, Pindushi, Povenets |
Lake Onega (also known as Onego, Russian: Онежское озеро, Onezhskoe ozero, i.e., Onezhskoe lake; Finnish/Karelian: Ääninen or Äänisjärvi) is a lake in Russia.
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[edit] Geography
The lake has a surface area is 9,894 km², its volume is 280 km³, its maximum depth is 120 m. It is the second largest lake in Europe, and the 18th largest lake by area in the world.
It has 1,369 islands with a total area of 250 km². It has a catchment area of 51 540 km², which drains into the lake via 58 rivers, the main ones being Shuya, Suna, Vodla, Vytegra, Andoma. River Svir, which marks the southern boundary of Karelia, runs from the southwestern shore of Lake Onega to Lake Ladoga and continues in the Neva to the Gulf of Finland.
The lake is in geologic terms very young. As almost all lakes in northern Europe it was formed through the carving activity of the inland ice sheets during the Ice Ages. The Onega basin was formed late during the last Ice Age, when the glaciers withdrew some 15 000 years ago.
The largest settlement at Lake Onega is Petrozavodsk, the capital of the Republic of Karelia, which is situated on the western shore. The republic surrounds the lake in the west, north and east. In the south the lake borders Leningrad and Vologda Oblasts.
[edit] Waterways
Through the White Sea-Baltic Canal the Onega is connected to the White Sea, and through the Volga-Baltic Waterway to the Volga River and thereby to the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea. The Onega Canal, which follows the southern banks of the lake, was built in the 1800s as a part of the Mariinsk Canal System, a forerunner of the Volga-Baltic Waterway, to avoid the stormy waters out on Lake Onega itself.
[edit] History and culture
The area around the lake has been populated since the early Stone Age. Petroglyphs has been found along its banks.
The rich forests around Onega was the basis of a huge cellulose industry. Today, however, this represents an ecological problem for the lake.
The UNESCO World Heritage site of Kizhi Pogost lies on one of the islands in the Kizhi archipelago in the northern part of the lake. Two magnificent 18th century churches are the centerpieces of this open-air museum of Northern Russian wooden architecture. In the summer there are daily boatconnections to the island from Petrozavodsk.
Sailing is a popular activity on the lake. There is a sailing club located in Petrozavodsk. The open championship of Russia for sailing in the cruiser yacht class has the status of the International Onego Regatta in the Russian sailing community. The Regatta is held by the State committee of the Russian Federation on Physical Culture and Sports and by the Federation of Sailing of the Republic of Karelia.[1]
 Statue of fishermen on the Onega embankment, Petrozavodsk. |
 A wooden church on Kizhi Island, Lake Onega. |
 Onega at Petrozavodsk. |
