The Ponoy (russian: Поно́й) is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

on 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 ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. It is 426 km in length. The area of its basin is 15,500 km².

Geography

The Ponoy's source lies in the western end of the Keivy Uplands, 50 km east of Lake Lovozero, in the middle of the

. The river then flows towards the east, threading a winding path through a landscape of hilly and marshy

taiga Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruc ...

for most of its course. The Ponoy receives several tributaries from the north, the largest being the Acheryok. Like the Ponoy itself, these also has their sources in the Keivy Uplands. Below its confluence with the Purnach, 77 km from the sea, the river changes character and flows down a steep-sided, canyon-like valley with many rapids. It finally flows into 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 s ...

at Cape Korabelny, at the eastern end of the Kola Peninsula. The river freezes over in late October to early November, and stays frozen until the first half of May. It is located entirely within the Arctic Circle.

Wildlife and fish

The river is very rich in Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar''). It has become very popular among European fishing tourists, and there are fishing camps along the river.

References

Rivers of Murmansk Oblast Drainage basins of the White Sea {{Russia-river-stub