Lake Ladoga
The largest freshwater lake in Europe is located on the territory of Karelia and the Leningrad region and is called Ladoga Lake.
Its area without islands is about 17,700 km2, with islands – 18,135 km2.
The length from north to south is 219 km.
The average width is 83 km.
The maximum width is 125 km.
The average depth is 46.9 m.
The maximum depth is 230 m (northern part).
The volume of water is about 838 km3
and the length of the coastline is 1,670 km.
However, it was not immediately named Ladoga. In the 12th century, Nestor named it the "great lake Nebo" (neva translates from Finnish as "swamp" or "quagmire"). And the Scandinavians gave him the nickname Aldoga (Finnish aalto means "wave"). It was only in the 13th century that the lake became known as Ladoga Lake, after the city of Ladoga and the eponymous tributary of the Volkhov (alodejoki from Finnish means "river in a low area").
It is rarely sunny in the Ladoga region, low clouds hang over its waters almost all year round. In addition, the surface of the lake does not remain smooth for a minute: on a clear day, a breeze will certainly blow, and in a storm the water will "boil" with white foam. But no matter how gloomy Ladoga may seem, no matter how heavy and cloudy its days may be, it will be May again and the amazing thing will happen again: the night will disappear as if it had never existed. A light twilight will come only for a few hours, so that early in the morning it will again become a gloomy day in these parts.
Everything will return to its place closer to August – the pitch-black night will begin to replace the white day again, as it should.
Ladoga, like any large lake, is diverse. From the north, its coast is very uneven: there are continuous fjords (narrow, winding bays with high rocky shores cut deep into the land) and skerries (archipelagos of small rock islands separated from each other by narrow straits). And in the south, the shores of the lake are low and solid with wide sandy beaches.
About 40 rivers and streams flow into Ladoga, and only the Neva River flows out of it. There are approximately 660 islands on the lake, with a total area of 435 km2. The most famous islands of Lake Ladoga are the Valaam Islands. There are approximately 50 of them, with a total area of 36 km2, and the largest island of the archipelago is Valaam, with an area of 27.8 km2. It is composed of diabases and basalts (black, dark gray and greenish-black rocks of volcanic origin) and is covered with dense coniferous forest.
According to the monastic legend, Andrew the First-Called went from Kiev to Novgorod, and then along the Volkhov to Ladoga, where he reached the island of Valaam and blessed it with his cross. This is how the Valaam Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery was founded.
Ladoga is incredibly rich in fish. Whitefish, the so-called "red fish" (salmon, trout, palia), and even the Red-listed Volkhov whitefish and Atlantic sturgeon are found here. In the south of the lake, perch, catfish, walleye, pike, roach, bream and other fish are well fished, which is why the main fishery is concentrated here.
The lake attracts not only fishermen, but also thrill seekers. In June and July, extreme athletes invariably conquer the fjords and skerries in the north of Ladoga on catamarans and kayaks. And for those who are literally not afraid to get dirty, the Ladoga Trophy has been starting annually for 20 years now - motorists in their jeeps, more like tanks, arrange a rally around the perimeter of the lake.
There are places on Lake Ladoga for those who prefer a calm and measured rest. If you're lucky with the weather, you can have a picnic on the yellow sandy beaches. In addition, the organizers of various "retreats" have recently chosen these places. People gather together for field workshops or, for example, for yoga classes.
Cities and towns have been rebuilt along the shores of Ladoga for a long time, and these are about a thousand industrial and agricultural enterprises that, without sewage treatment plants, have been slowly polluting the lake for several decades. And if in the 70s of the last century Lake Ladoga was considered one of the cleanest reservoirs, now it is recognized as moderately polluted. By becoming a member of the Association of Lake Regions, Karelia and the Leningrad Region will have at their disposal all modern tools to improve the environmental situation on Ladoga.