Murmansk region is famous for the number of rivers. There are more than 100 of them, big and small. All of them belong to three basins: the B altic, White and Barents Seas.
Physical characteristics
It has been established that the Murmansk region was previously completely covered by a glacier, which, in the process of melting, "cut" the earth and left deep scratches, which later became rivers. There are about 110 thousand lakes in the region, which occupy more than 10 hectares. There are 18,209 rivers in the Murmansk region, some of which are more than 100 kilometers long, and there are those that barely reach 100 meters. But the water supply of the region does not end there, there is a lot of water in the underground layers. All these factors provide practically unlimited possibilities for the generation of electrical energy.
Barents Sea Basin
This is a marginal sea in the Arctic Ocean, washing the shores of the Russian Federation and Norway. The total occupied area is 1424 sq. km, with a depth of up to 600 meters.
Rivers flowing into the Barents Sea and flowing through the territory of the Murmansk region:
| Name | Length, km | Short description |
| Lotta | 235 | Food of the reservoir is mainly snow, Svetly settlement. |
| Oriental Faces | 220 | There is a waterfall on the river, salmon comes here. |
| Yokanga | 203 | The third longest in the region, the lower course is canyon-like, with waterfalls. It is planned to build a hydroelectric power station on these waters. |
| Crow | 155 | Forms a bay that flows into the mainland for 7 km. There are 2 reservoirs on this river of the Murmansk region. The shores of the reservoir are rich in jasper reserves. |
| Teriberka | 127 | A cascade of 2 HPPs has been created on the reservoir. |
| Note | 120 | Partially flowing in northeastern Finland. Mostly flat river with steep rapids. |
| Pechenega | 101 | As a result of the mining of heavy metals, the reservoir is heavily polluted. |
| Western Faces | 101 | There is a bridge across the river (railway and road) on the Kola highway. There are many graves from the times of the Great Patriotic War on the banks, due to the fact that the front line passed here. |
| Tuloma | 64 | On the Tuloma River in the Murmansk regionwood alloy, from April to June there are 2 hydroelectric power stations: Verkhnetulomskaya and Nizhnetulomskaya. |
White Sea Basin
This is the inland sea of the Russian Federation, in Scandinavian mythology it appears as "Gandvik". Until the 17th century, it had other names - Northern, White Bay, Studenoe and Calm.
Main rivers in this basin:
| Name | Length, km | Short description |
| Ponoi | 426 | Has a different name - "dog river", ice drift begins in May. Back in the 18th century, the Finns had copper smelters on the shores. It was here that the first archaeological excavations were carried out on the Kola Peninsula. |
| Varzuga | 254 | The reservoir has rapids, the largest is Padun, with 3 waterfalls. Salmon come here to spawn, and on the shore there is the Varzugsky reserve, protected at the level of legislation. |
| Kovda | 233 | There are 3 HPPs on the river. |
| Arrow | 213 | The direction of the channel is predominantly south, and the beginning of the source is in the swampy area. |
| Umba | 123 | The source is located at the exit of Umbozero, hence the name of the river. The shores of the reservoir are rocky and wooded. |
| Chapoma | 113 | On the banks there is only 1 settlement with the same name. Fish tourism is developed on the river. |
| White | 24 | The Belaya River in the Murmansk region is heavily exposed to anthropogenic impact. On the banks there are numerous mining and processing plants and other industrial facilities. During the construction of nepheline sedimentation tanks, the channel was changed, as a result of which the river receives polluted waters of the Zhemchuzhnaya and Takhtaryok rivers. The characteristic color of the river is light gray and muddy. |
B altic Sea Basin
The B altic or Varangian Sea is inland, partially washing the shores of Eastern and Western Europe.
There are only 12 rivers in the Murmansk region of the B altic basin, some of them:
| Name | Length, km | Short description |
| Nurmiyoki | 34 | The river originates at an altitude of 357 meters above sea level. |
| Kuolaiki | 58 | It flows through the territory of Russia and Finland. |
| Tennieoki | 73 | The source is in a swampy area, on the border between the Russian Federation and Finland. |
Lakes
Rivers and lakes of the Murmansk region areactually the property of the region. Only lakes of natural origin are more than 100 thousand, there are also 20 artificial reservoirs.
The largest natural lake is Imandra. Its area is 876 sq. km. The average depth is 16 meters, located at an altitude of 127 meters above sea level. There are about 140 islands here, the largest is Erm, with an area of 26 sq. km.
The reservoir has more than 20 tributaries. The lake flows into the Neva River. There are many settlements on the shores and fishing is developed here. Every year, a traditional super marathon race under winter sails is held on the icy lake in April. The length of the water route is 100 kilometers.
The deepest lake of the administrative unit, Umbozero - 115 meters. The total water surface area is 422 sq. km. This body of water is on the Kola Peninsula, with several islands (Sarvansky, Moroshkin, Elovy and Bolshoi). The lake flows into the Umbra River.
Poponyms of the region
In any area, toponyms reflect the history of the settlement of the territory. The Saami, Komi-Izhma, and Nenets previously lived in the Murmansk region. Under their influence, the names of the rivers of the Murmansk region were formed. Naturally, over time, the Sami names began to be replaced by Slavic and Pomeranian ones, when the Russians came here, in the 12th-19th centuries.
As a rule, the names of reservoirs and settlements in the Murmansk region consist of a combination of Pomeranian and Sami words. The first part of the word is the so-called pure name, which was selected according tothe name of an animal or fish living in the vicinity, and the second part is a clarification whether it is a river, a stream or a mountain. For example, "varench" is Sami, and "varaka" is Pomeranian. The prefix "-yok" was added to the names of the rivers - which means a river or "-uai" - a stream. For example, the Poachyok River literally translates as the Deer River.
