Lake Ladoga is one of the largest freshwater reservoirs in Europe. In our article, we want to talk about where Lake Ladoga is located, what kind of nature and climate is on its coast. It has some interesting features. The nature here is especially beautiful.
Location of the lake
Where is Lake Ladoga? It is partly located in Karelia (eastern and northern coast) and in the Leningrad region (southern, southeastern, western). On its banks there are cities such as Novaya Ladoga, Priozersk, Shlisselburg, Sortavala, Lakhdenpokhya, Pitkyaranta.
Lake Ladoga on the map is located both in the Leningrad region and in Karelia. It is large enough. In addition, it also has islands. The area of Lake Ladoga is 17.9 square kilometers, excluding island areas. It stretches from north to south for two hundred and nineteen kilometers. Its widest point is one hundred and thirty-eight kilometers. Agree, the size is impressive. These parameters can be used to estimate the area of Lake Ladoga.
The depth of the reservoir inthe northern region ranges from seventy to two hundred and thirty meters, and in the southern part from twenty to seventy meters. As you can see, the depth of Lake Ladoga is very heterogeneous, and is of the greatest importance in the northern part of the reservoir. And the volume of the mass of water is nine hundred and eight cubic meters.
Rivers of Lake Ladoga and islands
Thirty-five rivers flow into the reservoir. But only one originates from it - the Neva. There are three large bays on the southern coast of the lake: Volkhovskaya, Svirskaya and Shlisselburgskaya bays.
The largest river flowing into Ladoga is the Svir. She brings the waters of Lake Onega into it. Other rivers flow into the reservoir, such as Avloga, Morie, Burnaya, Airajoki, Vidlitsa, Obzhanka, Syas, Olonka and others.
I must say that the water level in Lake Ladoga is not a constant value. It constantly oscillates, and this can be clearly seen from the white stripes on the rocks that go under the water.
The islands of Lake Ladoga are quite numerous. There are about 660 of them. Their total area is four hundred and thirty-five square kilometers. I must say that more than five hundred islands are located in the northern part of the reservoir. This is the Skerry District.
Largest islands:
- Riekkalansari - 55, 3 km. sq.
- Mantsinsaari – 39.4 km. sq.
- Kilpola - 32, 1 km. sq.
- Tulolansari – 30.3 km. sq.
- Vaalaam – 27.8 km. sq.
The most famous on the lake are the Valaam Islands. They are an archipelago offifty islands with a total area of about thirty-six square kilometers. They became famous thanks to the Valaam Monastery, located on the main island, and the Nativity of the Theotokos Monastery on the island of Konevets.
The story of the lake
Lake Ladoga is located in a basin, which has a glacial tectonic origin. Three hundred to four hundred million years ago, the entire territory of the lake and its basin was covered by the sea.
The modern relief was formed as a result of the activity of the glacier. The main factor was a change in the level of the ocean, there was a rise in land. After the glacier retreated, the B altic fresh glacial lake was formed. Later, the waters of this reservoir went to the territory of modern Switzerland. And there the Yoldian Sea was formed.
Nine and a half thousand years ago, due to the rise of the land, Lake Ancylus appeared. On the Karelian Isthmus, it was connected by a strait to Lake Ladoga. And eight and a half thousand years ago, ongoing tectonic processes opened the Danish straits, and the Litorin Sea was formed. This, in turn, led to the emergence of the Karelian Isthmus and, in fact, the formation of Lake Ladoga. Over the past two and a half thousand years, the relief in these places has not changed much.
The northern part of the lake is located on the B altic Shield, the southern part is on the East European Platform. It is at the junction of these surfaces that the greatest depth of Lake Ladoga is observed.
Climatic conditions
Lake Ladoga has a moderateclimate, as if a transitional form from temperate maritime to temperate continental. Such climatic conditions are explained very simply. The geographical position of Lake Ladoga and the atmospheric circulation of this region determined such a climate.
I must say that in these places there are not many sunny days a year. This means that the amount of solar heat entering the earth is not so great. Therefore, moisture evaporates extremely slowly. In 12 months there can be only sixty-two sunny days here. Most of the year in this region days with overcast, cloudy weather, diffused lighting prevail.
Recreation on Lake Ladoga is better to plan from the twenty-fifth of May to the seventeenth of July, then you can watch the white nights here. On these days, the sun does not fall below the horizon, morning and evening twilight merge into a single whole. In general, white nights last about fifty days.
It should be noted that Lake Ladoga itself also has an impact on the local climate, smoothing out extreme characteristics. Throughout the year, southwestern and western winds dominate here. Quiet and calm weather is extremely rare. Sometimes the winds have storm indicators.
There are breezes throughout the coast during summer days and nights. They start around 9 am and continue until 8 pm. The breezes penetrate inland for fifteen kilometers. Fogs are observed here most often in spring, autumn and summer.
Lake coastline
The coastline of Ladoga is more than a thousandkilometers. The northern shores are rocks, strongly indented, forming many peninsulas and narrow bays, as well as small islands separated by straits.
The southern coastline is low. It is less indented and is often flooded by waters. The coast is entirely rocky reefs, banks, shallows. Volkhovskaya, Svirskaya and Shlisselburgskaya bays are the largest bays of Lake Ladoga.
The eastern shores are very little indented. There are two bays here: Uksunlahti and Lunkulanlahti. It is in this part that wide beautiful beaches of sand are found.
The western shore of the reservoir is even less indented. It is completely overgrown with dense mixed forests and shrubs that come close to the water. The coast is strewn with boulders. Stone ridges sometimes go deep into the lake from the cape, thus forming dangerous shoals.
Lake bottom topography
As we noted earlier, the topography of the lake bottom is heterogeneous and has a clear increase in depth from south to north. We can say that the average depth of the reservoir is about fifty meters, and the largest is two hundred and thirty-three meters (towards the north of the island of Valaam). Lake Ladoga in the northern part has a very uneven bottom. It is full of cavities. And in the southern region, the bottom is smoother and more even. Lake Ladoga is the eighth deepest lake in Russia.
The transparency of lake water is different for different shores. Its lowest indicators are observed in the Volkhov Bay, and the highest - in the western direction from the Valaam Islands.
During a strong storm, the water in the lake, as they say, boils and boils, it is completely covered with foam.
Only the central part of the reservoir can be covered with ice and only in a very severe winter. A long cold period leads to a strong cooling of the water, for this reason the water in the lake remains cold even in summer. It has time to warm up only in a thin upper layer and a narrow coastal strip. The maximum surface water temperature is in August, when it is twenty-four degrees. The water in the lake is fresh and, in principle, quite clean, except for those areas where there is runoff pollution from industrial waste.
Economic value of the lake
The place where Lake Ladoga is located determined its serious economic importance for the country. The fact is that the lake is navigable, which is important for the region. It is considered one of the parts of the waterway that is part of the Volga-B altic route, as well as the White Sea-B altic Canal.
The most navigable is the southern part of Ladoga from the Neva to the Svir. Since the reservoir has a serious size, there are often storms here, especially in autumn. During such periods, all shipping stops for the safety of passenger ships.
Since the founding of St. Petersburg, the lake has become part of the unified water transport system of northern Russia. For safe navigation along the southern coast, the Staraya Ladoga Canal was laid. As soon as it became insufficient, the Novoladozhsky Canal was also laid, one hundred and sixty-nine kilometers long.
The Staraya Ladoga Canal is now almost completely dried up and overgrown. And the second channel is navigable to this day. Up to eight million tons of cargo is transported across the lake per year. Oil products, chemical raw materials, building materials, timber are transported to the B altic from the Volga. In addition, tens of thousands of passengers are transported annually along Ladoga.
From Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities there are cruises (tourist) to the islands of Konevets and Valaam. Vessels enter the Valaam archipelago, pass through the central water area of the lake, where the shores are not visible. And in strong winds, you can feel a significant roll.
There are no regular passenger traffic on Ladoga. However, motor ships of a tourist destination run twice a day in certain directions during navigation periods.
A fish that lives in the waters of the lake
The fish of Lake Ladoga is of industrial importance. Ten species are caught, among which the most popular are vendace, smelt, ripus. Quite a lot of zander and whitefish are found in the lake.
Rest on Ladoga
Despite the fact that the water in Lake Ladoga remains cold even in summer, it attracts a large number of tourists. As we said earlier, there are beautiful sandy beaches on the coast. The northern islands are especially popular among tourists. The best period for kayaking on the lake is June and July. A little closer to autumn, storms begin, in which the excitement of the water is like in the sea.
Here on the lake there is the Nizhnesvirsky nature reserve. It is located on the right bank of the Svir River. Protected area - wetlands of international importance. They are interesting because they are a nesting place for water and migratory birds. 256 different species of birds have been recorded in this area.
The island of Valaam is of particular interest to tourists. It is completely covered with coniferous forest. There is an old monastery on the island, which was founded in the ninth-eleventh centuries.
Also, vacationers like to visit Konevsky Island, where there is a monastery. The island got its name from the Horse-Stone boulder located here. Until the end of the nineteenth century, this stone was a place of sacrifice. The main attraction is the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, located on the territory of the monastery.
Historical digression
Novgorodians for several centuries in a row had a military and merchant fleet on Lake Ladoga. Geographical information fell to Western cartographers in those days. Lake Ladoga appeared on the map of the Moscow State as early as 1544. It was made by the German scientist Sebastian Münster.
And in 1600 a drawing of Russia was drawn up by Fyodor Godunov. On it, the lake was plotted with fairly high accuracy. In the middle of the eighteenth century, a map was made not only of Lake Ladoga itself, but also of an artificial canal.
Novaya Ladoga
Novaya Ladoga is one of the towns on the banks of Ladoga. It is located on the left side of the Volkhov River in the place where it flows into the lake. The city was founded in 1704 by Emperor Peter the Great himself. It has been preserved herea large number of historical architectural monuments that may be of interest to guests and tourists.
Schlisselburg
The city is located on the banks of Ladoga. It was founded by Prince Yuri Danilovich of Novgorod in 1323, who laid a wooden fortress on Oreshek Island. Later it was captured by the Swedes, who renamed it Noteburg. And in 1702 the fortress was recaptured by Peter the Great. He then gave it its current name. The city also has its sights: the Staraya Ladoga Canal, the Oreshek fortress, the monument to Peter the Great, the Cathedral of the Annunciation, the St. Nicholas Church.
Priozersk
A Karelian settlement lived in this place already in the twelfth century. And in 1310, Novgorodians built a capital fortress called Korela at the mouth of the Vuoksa River. Later it was conquered by the Swedes. But in 1710 it again passed to the Russian Empire.
Lake Ladoga and its environs are quite interesting places for tourists. Here you can not only admire the beauties of nature, take boat trips, visit the islands, but also see historical monuments that have survived to our time.
