The Kandalaksha Gulf (, sms, Käddluhtt), fi, Kantalahti) is located in the

Republic of Karelia The Republic of Karelia (russian: Респу́блика Каре́лия, Respublika Kareliya; ; krl, Karjalan tašavalta; ; fi, Karjalan tasavalta; vep, Karjalan Tazovaldkund, Ludic: ''Kard’alan tazavald''), also known as just Karelia (rus ...

, and

Murmansk Oblast Murmansk Oblast (russian: Му́рманская о́бласть, p=ˈmurmənskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, r=Murmanskaya oblast, ''Murmanskaya oblast''; Kildin Sami: Мурман е̄ммьне, ''Murman jemm'ne'') is a federal subject (an oblast) of ...

in northwestern

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. Forming the north-western corner of the

White Sea The White Sea (russian: Белое море, ''Béloye móre''; Karelian and fi, Vienanmeri, lit. Dvina Sea; yrk, Сэрако ямʼ, ''Serako yam'') is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is su ...

, it is one of four large bays and gulfs of this sea, the others being the

Onega Bay The Onega Bay (russian: Онежская губа, Онежский залив) is located in the Republic of Karelia and Arkhangelsk Oblast in Northwestern Russia, west of the city of Arkhangelsk. It is the southernmost of four large bays and ...

(south-west), the

Dvina Bay The Dvina Bay (russian: Двинская Губа) is located in Arkhangelsk Oblast in Northwestern Russia. It is one of four large bays and gulfs of the White Sea, the others being the Mezen Bay, the Onega Bay, and the Kandalaksha Gulf. The tw ...

(south), and the

Mezen Bay The Mezen Bay (russian: Мезенская губа) is located in Arkhangelsk Oblast and Nenets Autonomous Okrug in Northwestern Russia. It is one of four large bays and gulfs of the White Sea, the others being the Dvina Bay, the Onega Bay, and ...

(south east). The

Kola Peninsula sjd, Куэлнэгк нёа̄ррк , image_name= Kola peninsula.png , image_caption= Kola Peninsula as a part of Murmansk Oblast , image_size= 300px , image_alt= , map_image= Murmansk in Russia.svg , map_caption = Location of Murmansk Oblas ...

lies north of the Kandalaksha Gulf. The city of

Kandalaksha Kandalaksha (russian: Кандала́кша; fi, Kantalahti, also ''Kandalax'' or ''Candalax'' in the old maps; krl, Kannanlakši; sms, Käddluhtt) is a town in Kandalakshsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located at the head of Kandal ...

is located at the northern tip of the gulf; the new oil port

Vitino Vitino (russian: Витино) is an oil port on the White Sea in Russia. It is located near Beloye More railway station, a few kilometers south of Kandalaksha, Murmansk Oblast, on the western shore of Kandalaksha Gulf. The port started operati ...

, some 10 km to the south. There are hundreds of skerries in the gulf. The gulf is shallow, reaching 300 meters on its western side. In 1976, the upper reaches of the gulf were designated a

Ramsar wetland of international importance This is the list of Wetlands of International Importance as defined by the Ramsar Convention for the conservation movement, conservation and sustainable use of wetlands, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their econom ...

, notably as a breeding ground for migratory waterfowl such as the

sea duck The sea ducks (''Mergini'') are a tribe of the duck subfamily of birds, the Anatinae. The taxonomy of this group is incomplete. Some authorities separate the group as a subfamily, while others remove some genera. Most species within the group sp ...

Kandalaksha Nature Reserve Kandalaksha Nature Reserve (russian: Кандалакшский заповедник) (also Kandalakshsky) is a Russian 'zapovednik' (strict ecological reserve) on the south shore of Kandalaksha Bay in the Murmansk and Karelia regions on the open ...

( Кандалакшский заповедник) includes parts of the coastline and many of the islands in the gulf. It is one of Russia's oldest nature reserves, established in 1932. USSR map NQ 35-8 Lesnoy

Since deglaciation the rate of

post-glacial rebound Post-glacial rebound (also called isostatic rebound or crustal rebound) is the rise of land masses after the removal of the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, which had caused isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound a ...

in the Kandalaksha Gulf has varied. Since the

connected to the World's oceans uplift along southern coast of the gulf has totaled 90 m. In the interval 9,500–5,000 years ago uplift rate was of 9–13 mm/ yr. Prior to the

Atlantic period The Atlantic in palaeoclimatology was the warmest and moistest Blytt–Sernander period, pollen zone and chronozone of Holocene northern Europe. The climate was generally warmer than today. It was preceded by the Boreal, with a climate similar ...

uplift rate had decreased to 5–5.5 mm/yr, to then rise briefly before arriving at the present uplift rate is of 4 mm/yr.

References

External links

Kandalaksha Nature Reserve (English Summary), and some practical travel information on the City of Kandalaksha, also in English.

{{Authority control Gulfs of the Arctic Ocean Gulfs of Russia Bodies of water of the Republic of Karelia Ramsar sites in Russia Bays of the White Sea Bays of Murmansk Oblast

See also

References

External links