Ponoy is a river in the European part of Russia, flowing through the territory of the Murmansk region. This is the largest water artery of the Kola Peninsula. Its length is 391 or 426 km (depending on the point considered as the source), and the catchment area is 15.5 thousand km², which corresponds to the 66th position in Russia. Within the Murmansk region, the Ponoi River is the fourth largest basin.
The name of the waterway goes back to the Sami word "Pyenneoy", which means "dog river".
Source and mouth
The source of the Ponoi River is located on the western spurs of the Keivy Upland, which is located in the central zone of the Kola Peninsula. There are 2 versions of where exactly this water artery originates from:
- from the junction of the Pessarjoki and Koinijoki rivers;
- from the source of Pessarjoki.
According to the second option, the length of Ponoy is 426 km. In this case, the section of the channel before the confluence with the Koinijoka is not considered another river (Pessarjoka). Thus, the exact location of the source is interpreted depending on whether the confluence node is taken as the beginning of a new water artery or just as the confluence of one of the tributaries. The mouth of Ponoi is the bay of Popov Lakhta, where the river flows into the White Sea.
Characteristics of the channel
Geomorphologically, the Ponoi River is divided into 3 sections:
- upper - from the source to the mouth of Losinga (211 km);
- middle section of the channel between the mouths of the Losinga and Kolmak tributaries (about 100 km);
- lower - from Kolmak to the confluence of Ponoy into the White Sea (100 km).
On these stretches, the nature of the channel and the landscape changes. The width of the river varies from 15 to 400 meters. Being narrow at the beginning, the channel in some places overflows strongly in the lower section. This segment is the most picturesque, rapids and is characterized by a high fall (116 m). The value of this parameter for the entire river is 292 m.
Upstream
In its upper reaches, the Ponoi River passes through the swampy flat terrain of the forest-tundra. In some places the general character of the landscape is disturbed by isolated ridges and hills. The width of the channel of the upper Ponoy is small (15–20 m), and the depth reaches 1.5–2 m, the current is quite calm. This area is characterized by the presence of a large number of shallow lakes occupying saucer-shaped depressions. The river passes through one of them (Vuli) at a distance of 235–243 km from the mouth. This is a fairly large lake (length - 8 km, width - 4 km).
The Ponoi bed in the upper reaches is stronglysinuous, has a large number of sleeves and ducts. The shores are low, covered with dense forest and come close to the water. In some places they are steeper and are represented by sandy slopes.
There are many rifts along the current, but the rapids are very rare and low. The bottom is mostly sandy. The widest and deepest section of the upper reaches of the Ponoi is the area of the village of Krasnoshchelye. Here the river spills 100 m, and the water level reaches 3 m.
Middle Current
The general nature of the landscape in the middle reaches of the Ponoi is similar to the upper reaches (afforested taiga forests). However, the nature of the channel and banks is changing here. The river becomes less winding and slightly branched, and its banks become drier and higher. They are represented by forest terraces, as well as ridges and hills (20–30 m).
On the middle section of the Ponoy riverbed, it enters the crystalline plateau. Here the river valley begins to form. The channel becomes much wider (from 50 to 200 m, the average value is 75–80 m). River shapes:
- rapids and rifts - depth from 0.3 to 1.5 m, rocky bottom, with boulders;
- pools - depth from 2 to 4 m, sandy bottom.
The current remains calm, with the exception of rapids that form at the confluence of tributaries. In some places the channel forms rapids.
Downstream
Downstream, the coastal landscape gives way to forested tundra. In this section Ponoy passes through a crystalline plateau. The bed lies in the canyon,whose width varies from 500 to 800 meters.
The lower reaches of the river are characterized by high banks formed by steep or steep slopes, most of which are rocks. In this section, the Ponoy is moderately winding and has no forks at all. However, the number and height of thresholds increase significantly. The largest are:
- Dry.
- Big Log.
- First Platoon.
- Kolmaksky.
- Ponoisky.
- Dry-curve.
- Tambovskiy.
Thresholds are found throughout. The bottom in these places is cluttered with large boulders. In non-rapid areas, it has a sandy-pebble or rocky character.
The width of the channel in the lower reaches varies from 80 to 400 m.
Hydrographic network and tributaries of the Ponoy River
The hydrographic network of Ponoi includes:
- watercourses (712);
- tributaries (244).
Lake in the basin is only 2.1%, which is quite small compared to other rivers of the Kola Peninsula.
| right | left |
| Purnach | Acherok (Acha) |
| Koevika | Elreka |
| Kuksha | Pyatchema |
| Losinga | |
| Kuksha |
The river basin includes 7816 lakes in totalwith an area of 324 km². The largest among them is Pesochnoe (26.3 km²).
Hydrology
The Ponoi River is fed mainly by snow and rain, the hydrological regime corresponds to the Eastern European type. The average long-term water discharge is 170 m³ per second and 5365 km³ per year. At the same time, the maximum value of this parameter falls on the period from the last ten days of May to mid-June (2.8 km³/s).
During the year, the Ponoi River undergoes significant changes in water level (3.3 meters in the middle part of the channel and 9.4 meters at the mouth) associated with spring floods and two periods of low water:
- summer-autumn (from mid-July to September-October) - lasts 2-3 months and ends with small floods;
- winter.
Freezing begins at the end of October or in the first decade of November and persists for 170–200 days. In the rapids of the channel, the formation of an ice crust occurs much later (in December).
The water in the river is soft, characterized by low turbidity. The maximum level of mineralization is 100 mg/l. Such a low figure is due to the predominant contribution of snow nutrition. The concentrations of organic compounds, as well as copper and iron ions, are increased in water. The amount of the latter is maximum during low water periods. Organic content increases during floods.
Natural conditions
The bed of the Ponoi River passes through the territory of the Lovozero tundra. Despite the fact that this is a northern area, the conditions here are not harsh. The climate is characterized by:
- comparatively warm winter (average temperature - from -13 ˚С to -20 ˚С);
- cool summer (+12 ˚С to +28 ˚С).
Due to the influence of sea currents, the weather is quite changeable and unpredictable.
Precipitation in the Ponoi basin is uneven. Most of them (60%) fall on the summer period. The total rainfall is 550 mm/year.
Flora and fauna
The plants of the Ponoi River are represented by the typical flora of the northern swamps, as well as forested taiga and tundra of the Kola Peninsula. In the latter, 3 types of communities are distinguished:
- spruce forests;
- pine forests;
- mixed stands.
Animals of the Ponoi River include:
- inhabitants of coastal biocenoses (forests and swamps);
- directly hydrobionts.
In the forest area of the basin you can meet taiga mammals, which include:
- bear;
- fox;
- wolf;
- reindeer;
- Arctic fox;
- marten;
- squirrel.
Lemmings live in the lower reaches.
The ichthyofauna of Ponoi is characterized by high species diversity. The main representatives are:
- smelt;
- trout;
- Atlantic salmon;
- minnow;
- ide;
- roach;
- 2 types of stickleback;
- sig;
- grayling;
- burbot;
- perch;
- pike.
In certain periods of the year, pink salmon, nelma and char enter the river basin.
Distribution area of Atlantic salmon in Ponoyoccupies the area from the mouth to the confluence of the Sakharnaya and El'yok. In small numbers, this fish is also present in the upper reaches. Salmon spawning grounds are located in some tributaries of the Ponoi, as well as in the main riverbed below the mouth of the Kolmak.
Practical use
Currently there are 2 ways to use the Ponoi River:
- rafting (along the upper part of the channel);
- fishing.
At the same time, only salmon fishing, which has been established since the 16th century, is of commercial importance. However, the species diversity of the ichthyofauna led to the development of recreational fishing. This direction is being actively implemented on the territory of special bases organized along the course of the channel.
