If Finland is called the "country of thousands of lakes", then Russia can be called the "country of millions of lakes." Indeed, in our country there are over 2 million lakes, from tiny to those that are comparable in size to a small sea.

There will be a lot of water in this rating, because we will talk about the largest lake in Russia, as well as about its “younger brothers” from the top ten largest lakes in Russia.

10. White Lake, area - 1,290 km²

There are many white lakes in Russia, but the largest of them is located in the Vologda Oblast, near Cherepovets. It got its name because of the fine white clay, which in bad weather mixes with lake water and gives it a white color.

And intensive shipping also does not contribute to water transparency and causes severe pollution of White Lake with oil products. The shores of the lake are densely populated, which only increases the amount of waste and effluents entering the water. Because of this, fish often die en masse in White Lake.

9. Chany - 1 708-2 269 km²

Between Omsk and Novosibirsk is one of the largest lakes in Russia. If it seemed to you that its name is consonant with the word "chan", then in fact it is. Translated from the Turkic vat - a vessel of large sizes. The area of ​​the lake is variable, and is still not known exactly.

According to local legends, there is an entrance to Shambhala, a mystical country of spiritual harmony and enlightenment near Lake Chany. But local fishermen do not need to look for Shambhala to achieve harmony, because they still have rich (albeit depleting from year to year) fish stocks of the lake, including roach, perch, bream, pike, ide, crucian carp, carp zander.

8. Ubsu Nur - 3,350 km²

The largest lake in Mongolia, part of the northern coast and water area, touches the territory of the Republic of Tuva, so it can be considered the brainchild of two countries.

Ubsu-Nur water tastes bitter-salty, resembles seawater and roughly corresponds to the salinity of the Black Sea water.

Once upon a time, hunnu tribes, Mongols and Yenisei Kyrgyz wandered along the shores of the lake. After themselves, they left runic inscriptions, mounds and petroglyphs. But nowadays, the Ubsu-Nur coast is practically not populated, which saved the local ecosystem from human impact. The only fish species in Ubsu-Nur that has commercial value is Altai Ottoman.

7. Peipsi-Pskov Lake - 3,555 km²

A picturesque place, perfect for relaxing away from the noisy metropolis. It is located on the border between Estonia and the Pskov and Leningrad regions. And part of the name Chudsk-Pskov just came from the ethnonym “miracle”, which in Russia was used to designate ancient Estonians (because of their “wonderful” language).

Due to the beauty of the lake, numerous recreation centers with enticing names have grown on its shores: “Far Far Away Kingdom”, “Teremok”, “Lukomorye” and “Peipsi Compound”. The Estonian side does not lag behind the Russian side, and built on its side recreational establishments with names that are not so sweet for the Russian ear: “Kauksi”, “Uuskul” and “Suvi”.

6. Hanka - 4,070 km²

One of the largest lakes in Russia and the largest freshwater reservoir in the Far East generously shares its wealth with both the Russian and Chinese sides. Lake Khanka is very rich in fish, and even in the Middle Ages, the Chinese emperors feasted on fish caught in its waters.

It was in the vicinity of this lake that Akira Kurosawa made his famous film, Dersu Uzala. Indirectly, the Hanka is also present in the anime series "Steel Alarm", which features the eponymous state located within the boundaries of a real lake.

5. Taimyr - 4,560 km²

The northernmost lake in the world is located in the permafrost zone. Not surprisingly, most of the year it is covered with ice.

But harsh conditions are not an obstacle for many lake inhabitants, such as omul, burbot, grayling, char, muksun and whitefish. Red-throated geese, geese, ducks, peregrine falcons, and other migratory birds nest on the Taimyr Islands.

This region is also known for the largest reindeer population in Russia. In addition to them, in Taimyr you can meet wolves, arctic foxes and even musk ox, which were introduced to the region in the 70s of the last century.

4. Lake Onega - 9 720 km²

One of the largest freshwater reservoirs in Europe absorbs over 1000 watercourses, but only one can go out - the Svir River. And there are even more islands on Lake Onega than 1650 watercourses.

The most famous of them is the island of Kizhi, which contains the best examples of Russian wooden temple architecture. These buildings date from different centuries (the oldest of them dates back to the XIV century), and they were transported to the island in order to preserve and be accessible to the public.

3. Lake Ladoga - 17 870 km²

This Karelian beauty is a zealous mistress. Following the example of her brother, Lake Onega, she collects many rivers and streams (over 40 of them flow into the lake), and releases only one river from her embrace - the Neva. And in the Neva Delta is “northern Venice” - the magnificent St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad), which is the second largest and most populated city in Russia.

During World War II, the famous Road of Life ran along Lake Ladoga - the only transport artery connecting Leningrad besieged by Germans and Finns with the rest of the country. For deliveries to the city, trucks drove along a frozen lake in winter, and during periods of navigation, cargo was transported by water. During the existence of the Road of Life (from September 12, 1941 to March 1943), 1 million 615 thousand tons were transported along it and 1 million 376 thousand people were evacuated.

2. Baikal - 31,722 km²

One of the largest lakes in the world so far holds the title of the cleanest lake in Russia. At first, you can experience a shock by swimming to a depth and discovering that the boat seems to soar in the air. And if you visit Lake Baikal in winter, you will meet the most transparent ice, the thickness of which reaches 50 centimeters.

Some European countries, such as Malta (316 km²), Montenegro (13,812 km²) and Albania (28,748 km²), can be located entirely on Lake Baikal.

1. The Caspian Sea - 371,000 km²

The list of the largest lakes in Russia is crowned by the largest enclosed body of water on Earth. The ancient Romans called it the sea because of brackish water. In fact, the salinity of Caspian water is 1.2%, and this is about 1/3 of the salinity of most sea waters.

And the word "Caspian" appeared in the name in honor of the Caspian tribes who lived on the southwestern coast of the sea in the first millennium BC. e. However, different peoples gave the Caspian its name, and they gathered them at the sea-lake as much as 70.

Like the Aral, Azov and Black Seas, the Caspian is a relic of the ancient Sarmatian Sea, on the banks of which elephants, rhinos, giraffes and mastodons once roamed. It lost access to the sea about 5.5 million years ago due to tectonic rise and fall in sea level.

About 850 species of animals, more than 500 species of plants and 115 species of fish are represented in the Caspian. One of the most valuable species of commercial fish living in the Caspian are sturgeons, Caspian bream and Caspian salmon.

Several species of animals are named after the region, for example, the Caspian gull, the Caspian tern and the Caspian seal, which is endemic to the lake.

List of the largest lakes in Russia

Watch the video: Whats at the Bottom of the Deepest Lake in the World? (May 2025).