Imandra (, Russian: Имандра, Finnish: ''Imantero'') is a

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

in the south-western part of the

Kola Peninsula The Kola Peninsula (; ) is a peninsula in the extreme northwest of Russia, and one of the largest peninsulas of Europe. Constituting the bulk of the territory of Murmansk Oblast, it lies almost completely inside the Arctic Circle and is border ...

Murmansk Oblast Murmansk Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia, located in the northwestern part of the country, with a total land area of . Its only internal border is the Republic of Karelia to the south, and it is bor ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, slightly beyond the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

. 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 (, , ) 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, the others being the Onega Bay ( ...

of the

White Sea The White Sea (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; ) is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the nort ...

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

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

Towns on or near the lake

The town of

Monchegorsk Monchegorsk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located on the Kola Peninsula, south of Murmansk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 52,242 (Russian Census (2002), 2002 Census); ...

, 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 whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

ers. Apatity is located near the eastern shore of the lake, and

Polyarnye Zori Polyarnye Zori (, 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 to Polyarnye Zory are: Zasheek (3&nbs ...

are on the Niva River a few kilometers below its outflow from the lake. File:Chibini_massif_and_lake_imandra.jpg, View on lake Imandra from the

Khibiny Mountains The Khibiny Mountains ( ; ) is one of the two main mountain ranges of the Kola Peninsula, Russia, within the Arctic Circle, located between Imandra Lake, Imandra and Umbozero Lake, Umbozero lakes. The range is also known as Khibiny Massif, Khibin ...

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 Apatity), 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 Niva basin