Lake Imandra

Imandra (Russian: Имандра, Finnish: Imantero) is a lake in the south-western part of the Kola Peninsula in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, slightly beyond the Arctic circle. It is located 127 m above sea level; its area is about 876 km², maximum depth is 67 m. The shape of the shore line is complicated. There are a number of islands and the largest one, Erm Island measures 26 km². There are three principal parts of the lake connected by narrow straits: Greater Imandra (Большая Имандра) or Khibinskaya Imandra in the north (area 328 km², length about 55 km, width 3–5 km), Ekostrovskaya Imandra in the centre (area 351 km²), and Babinskaya Imandra in the west (area 133 km²). The lake drains into the Kandalaksha Gulf of the White Sea by the Niva River. The lake is known for the transparency of its water and its abundance of fish.

For the village on Kola Peninsula, see Imandra, Murmansk Oblast.
Lake Imandra
Lake Imandra
Lake Imandra
LocationKola Peninsula, Murmansk Oblast
Coordinates67°40′N 33°00′E
Primary outflowsNiva River
Basin countriesRussia
Surface area876 km2 (338 sq mi)
Max. depth67 m (220 ft)
Surface elevation127 m (417 ft)
FrozenWinter
IslandsErm Island

Towns on or near the lake

The town of Monchegorsk, located on the Monche-Guba inlet in the north-western part of the lake, is known as a centre of winter sports. During the summer, many residents enjoy boating on the lake, while in winter the frozen lake is popular with cross-country skiers.

Apatity is located near the eastern shore of the lake, and Polyarnye Zori are on the Niva River a few kilometers below its outflow from the lake.

  • View on lake Imandra from the Khibiny Mountains
  • A section of the Monche Guba in Monchegorsk (running across the photo from right to left)
  • Satellite image

Presently, Lake Imandra is only used by local residents for recreational boating.

However, for several years in the 1930s, before the railway branch between Monchegorsk and the Leningrad-Murmansk mainline was built, Monchegorsk was connected to the rest of the country in summer by boat across Lake Imandra. Ferries from Monchegorsk would dock in Tik-Guba (today's Apatity), on the main rail line.[1]

Notes
  1. M.P. Ilyina, "Этого забыть нельзя" (This cannot be forgotten), in "Спецпереселенцы в Хибинах : Спецпереселенцы и заключенные в истории освоения Хибин : (книга воспоминаний)" ('Special settlers' in the Khibins: Special settlers and convicts in the history of the developments of the Khibins). The Khibiny Branch of the Memorial Society, Apatity, 1997, p. 115
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