Where is the Kandalaksha Bay? It is located in the north-west of the White Sea, between the southern coast of the Kola Peninsula (Kandalaksha coast) and the coast of Karelia. The length of this water area is 185 km, and the width at the entrance is 67 km. The shores of the bay, formed 10 thousand years ago, after the retreat of the glacier, are heavily indented by small fiords (lips), in the water area there are hundreds of small islands-skerries and numerous underwater rocks.
Characteristic
The deepest part of the White Sea is located in the Kandalaksha Bay. A depression of 200 meters protrudes into the bottom from the side of the sea area. This place reaches almost to the middle of the bay. The deepest basin (343 m) is located in the western part of this depression. However, such depths are more the exception than the rule. The average value of this water area is about 20 m, it decreases slightly off the coastand reaches up to 10 m. Shallow littoral - this is how the Kandalaksha Bay can be characterized. Tides, as a rule, are 1.8-2 m, but there are also those that reach 3 m. The tidal wave comes from the White Sea Throat, spreading to the south and west. In summer, the water temperature reaches an average of 14-15 °C, in small sheltered bays the water can warm up to 25 °C.
Climatic features
The climate of the bay is very unstable, the weather changes dramatically due to the movement of cyclones and frequent changes in wind direction. The influence of the Gulf Stream affects this area to a lesser extent than on the Murmansk coast. The average temperature in July is 13-14 °С, in February - from -10 °С to -12 °С. The period without frost lasts 110-120 days. The Kandalaksha Bay is covered with ice in cold years already in mid-October, in warm years - in December and even in early January. Melting usually occurs in May.
Coastal Development
The area of the Kola Peninsula was inhabited by people soon after the melting of the glacier - in the 7th-6th millennium BC. e., during the Mesolithic era. On the coast of the bay, the oldest archaeological sites date back to the early Iron Age. Silver was mined on Bear Island in the 17th-18th centuries, but its reserves turned out to be small. Industrial development began after the construction of the Murmansk railway in 1915-1916. Active logging took place along the banks in 1910-1938. Nowadays, an important transport route passes through the Kandalaksha Bay, along which oil and other cargoes are transported. major portKandalaksha is located at the western end of the water area.
Neighbourhood
In 1932, in the waters of the bay and on the islands, the Kandalaksha Reserve was created to protect the mass nesting of the eider. In the future, the size of protected areas increased, reaching 70 thousand hectares by now. Hunting in the water area was banned in 1957. Among the natural monuments of the coast and islands are outcrops of the most ancient rocks, 3 billion years old.
Features
The shores of the bay are high and rocky, the average height of the rocks of the Karelian coast is 100-300 m, and the Kandalaksha coast is 175-600 m. The tides in the Kandalaksha Bay have a certain character. The tidal current comes from the White Sea. It moves north at a slow speed. If you follow its direction, it will lead to the eastern side of the Turiy Peninsula. The ebb current moves back to the tidal one.
Plant world
The coast of the water area is mostly covered with coniferous forests (mainly pine forests), at heights they are replaced by low shrubs. More than 630 species of higher plants grow on the shores and islands, which makes up 55% of the entire flora of the Murmansk region. Kandalaksha Bay is located at the junction of two floristic regions - North European and Arctic. 25 endemic plants have been identified in the reserve, including the arctic sunflower, five species of marsh orchids, two species of ferns, and peony marin root. In addition, in the forests there are places overgrown witha venus slipper (up to two or three thousand specimens in one area) and another rare species of orchid - a leafless chin.
Animal world
The fauna includes 170 mammal species, 240 bird species (including migratory birds), two reptile species and three amphibian species. Among large animals - elk, bear, lynx, wolverine, wolf. Several bears live on the islands, regularly swimming across the Kandalaksha Bay to the coast. Small predators: fox, ermine, pine marten, weasel, American mink acclimatized in the north. Fur-bearing animals are the hare living on the coast and wooded islands, and the muskrat living in lakes. Sea hares and ringed seals live in the waters of the bay. Among the species of birds listed in the Red Book, there are white-tailed eagle, golden eagle, gyrfalcon, osprey, kestrel, eagle owl, snowy owl, white-billed loon, crested cormorant, barnacle goose, whooper and mute swans, gray crane.
There are 30 species of fish in the Kandalaksha Bay, but their numbers are small. Most often, the White Sea cod is found, in the skerries there are spawning grounds for the White Sea herring. The river flounder lives in the mouths of the rivers, and the polar flounder lives on the seabed. Trout and brown trout live in lakes connected to the sea, the latter feeding in sea water for a long time.
