Lake Imandra

The largest lake in the Murmansk region is Imandra, located in the south-west of the Kola Peninsula. It frames the western Khibiny Mountains and is part of the European Subarctic. Its area is 815.5 square meters. m, taking into account the islands — 876 sq. m, the lake occupies the 14th place in the world by area Of Russia.

The first mention was found in 1539 in the maps of Olai Magnus. In them, the reservoir had the name Lacus alba, which was considered the second name of the White Sea. In 1594, Levin Algut published a map with a lake that has access to the Gulf of Finland. In the same year, Mercator's map showed the flow connecting the reservoir with the White Sea and the mouth of the river coming out of the lake with the city of Kandalaksha on the shore.

In 1880, as a result of a geological expedition through the Russian Geographical Community led by scientist Nikolai Kudryavtsev: the names of bays, capes and islands of the Imandrovsky basin, collected together with local Sami guides, were recorded on 30 pages of the diary of a geologist researcher.

The length of the lake is 109 kilometers, the width is from several hundred meters to several kilometers. This is due to the fact that Imandra is located in a tectonic fault of the Earth's crust, passing along the meridian. Therefore, a hollow with a complex shape and surrounding terrain. The average depth of the lake is 16 meters. The deepest point is 66 meters. On the territory of 144 islands: Erm is the largest (26 sq. m.).

Lake Imandra is divided into three reservoirs: Bolshaya Imandra (328 sq. m. m), Ekostrovskaya Imandra (361.9 sq. m.m) and Babinskaya Imandra (133 sq. m). They are connected by two straits: Ekostrovsky and Zayachya Salma.

Imandra is rich in fish: fishing lasts all year round. The lake is inhabited by whitefish, salmon, grouse, char and pike.

The shores of the reservoir are covered with pine forests, which are inhabited by wild animals: martens, hares, wolverines, wolves, brown bears, moose, reindeer. In the autumn period, berries grow.

In summer and winter, the annual hundred-kilometer sailing regatta takes place on Lake Imandra near Monchegorsk. To the west of the lake is the Lapland Nature Reserve.

There is a Sami legend about the origin and name of Lake Imandra about a girl in love named Imandra.

Photo: Valentin Zhiganov