Imandra ( sms, Âʹvverjäuʹrr,

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: Имандра, Finnish: ''Imantero'') is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

in the south-western part of 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

, slightly beyond the

Arctic circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...

. 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 The Kandalaksha Gulf (, sms, Käddluhtt), fi, Kantalahti) is located in the Republic of Karelia, and Murmansk Oblast in northwestern Russia. Forming the north-western corner of the White Sea, it is one of four large bays and gulfs of this sea, ...

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 ...

by the

Niva River The Niva (, ) is a river in the Murmansk Oblast in Russia. It is long, and has a drainage basin of . The Niva flows out of the Lake Imandra and into the Kandalaksha Gulf of the White Sea. The town of Kandalaksha is located in the estuary An ...

. The lake is known for the transparency of its water and its abundance of

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

Towns on or near the lake

The town of

Monchegorsk Monchegorsk (russian: Мончего́рск) is a town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located on the Kola Peninsula, south of Murmansk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 52,242 ( 2002 Census); 68,652 ( 1989 Census). Name Th ...

, 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 ski Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

ers.

Apatity Apatity ( rus, Апатиты, p=əpɐˈtʲitɨ, lit. apatites) is a town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located along the Murman Railway, west of Kirovsk and south of Murmansk, the administrative center of the oblast. The town is named after one ...

is located near the eastern shore of the lake, and

Polyarnye Zori Polyarnye Zori (russian: Поля́рные Зо́ри, lit. ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located on the Niva River, Lake Imandra, and Lake Pinozero, south of Murmansk. The nearest settlements ...

are on the

a few kilometers below its outflow from the lake. File:Chibini_massif_and_lake_imandra.jpg, View on lake Imandra from the Khibiny Mountains File:Мончегорск с высоты.jpg, A section of the Monche Guba in

(running across the photo from right to left) File:Lake Imandra NASA.jpg, Satellite image

Navigation

Presently, Lake Imandra is only used by local residents for recreational boating. However, for several years in the 1930s, before the railway branch between

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

), on the main rail line.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

Notes

{{Authority control

Imandra Imandra (russian: Имандра) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a ''village#Russia, Selo'') in Olenegorsk, Murmansk Oblast, Olenegorsk municipality of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. The village is located on the eastern sh ...

Niva basin