The second-largest lake in Europe, scattered with over a thousand islands.
Surface area
9,700 km²
Maximum depth
about 127 m
Elevation
33 m
Continent
Europe
Countries
Russia
Did you know?
On Kizhi Island in Lake Onega stands a wooden church built entirely without nails, now a World Heritage Site.
Little-known fact
Its shores carry some of the oldest rock carvings in northern Europe, thousands of years old.
Highlights
- Second-largest lake in Europe
- Home to a nail-free wooden church
- Lined with ancient rock carvings
Life in the Lake Onega
The fish and animals, waterbirds and water plants — including some of the rarest — that this water supports.
Animals & fish
Northern pike
A long, torpedo-shaped ambush predator that lurks among weeds across the cool rivers and lakes of the north.
Eurasian otter
A sleek, playful hunter whose return to a river is a sign the water has run clean again.
Waterbirds
Mallard
The familiar green-headed dabbling duck — ancestor of most domestic ducks — found on waters worldwide.
Water plants & reeds
Common reed
The tall, feathery grass that forms the vast reedbeds fringing rivers and lakes, sheltering countless birds.
Interactive · 3D dive
How deep does a lake go?
A lake is layered from the sunlit, weed-filled shallows down to a cold, dark bed. Tap a zone to dive the submersible through the water column — and meet the life that belongs at each depth.
Tip: hover the column to tilt it · tap a layer to dive
Littoral Zone
The warm, bright band close to shore where sunlight reaches the bottom. Reeds, water lilies and rooted plants grow thickly here, making it the busiest, most crowded part of the whole lake.
Who lives here