Photos

  • Озеро Ильмень. Photo 1
  • Озеро Ильмень. Photo 2
  • Озеро Ильмень. Photo 3

Description

Ilmen (Old Russian name Ilmer) is a large lake in the western part of the Novgorod region. It is part of the drainage basin of the Baltic Sea and is a post-glacial reservoir with picturesque shores and a rich history.

The area of the lake is 982 km², but depending on the water level it can vary from 733 to 2090 km². The lake is about 45 km long and up to 35 km wide, and its depth reaches 10 meters. The shores of the lake are mostly low-lying, swampy, with many floodplain islands and channels. The drainage area is 67,200 km².

Lake Ilmen is fed by about 50 rivers, among which the largest are Msta, Pola, Lovat with Polistu, Shelon with Mshaga, Veronda and Veryazha. The only river flowing from the lake is the Volkhov, which flows into Lake Ladoga.

The lake is rich in fish, including bream, smelt, burbot and pike. Whitefish also lived here in the past.

Scientific research points to the importance of Lake Ilmen and its surroundings as indicators of geological processes in northwestern Russia. The lake was formed during the era of ice sheets and belongs to the third group of lakes of this era - periglacial lakes.

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