Lake Onega - Basin and Islands

Basin and Islands

The catchment area of 51,540 km² drains into the lake via 58 rivers and more than 110 tributaries, including the Shuya, Suna, Vodla, Vytegra and Andoma. The only outgoing River Svir, which marks the southern boundary of Karelia, runs from the southwestern shore of Lake Onega to Lake Ladoga and continues as the Neva River to the Gulf of Finland.

The White Sea – Baltic Canal runs through the lake from the White Sea to the Baltic Sea. The Volga–Baltic Waterway connects Onega Lake with the Volga River, Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The Onega Canal, which follows the southern banks of the lake, was built in 1818–1820 and 1845–1852 between Vytegra River in the east and Svir River in the west. The canal was part of the Mariinsk Canal System, a forerunner of the Volga-Baltic Waterway, and aimed to create a quiet pass for boats avoiding the stormy waters of the lake. It is around 50 meters wide, and lies between 10 meters and 2 km from the shores of the lake. The canal is not used for active navigation at present.

There are about 1650 islands in the lake with the total area of about 250 km². Whereas the most famous is Kizhi, which contains historical wooden churches of the 18th century, the largest island is Big Klimenetsky with the area of 147 km². It contains a few settlements, a school and an 82-meter tall hill. Other large islands are Big Lelikovsky and Suysari.