The Svir River flows along the northeastern part of the Leningrad Region nearby the border of Karelia. It is part of the Volga-Baltic Way.
Description of the water body
The Svir River of the Leningrad Region carries its waters from Lake Onega (near the village of Ascension) from east to southwest. After 33 km, it flows into the Ivinsky spill, and then past the city of Svirstroy and the village of Sviritsa to Lake Ladoga. Two hydrological distribution nodes were built on the river - Lower Svirsky and Verhnesvirsky. They divide the water body into three sections: Upper Svir (its length is 95 km), Middle Svir (45 km) and Lower Svir (80 km).
Settlements
The Svir River flows through three administrative districts; on its banks there are many cities, towns, villages. So, in the Podporozhsky district, Ascension, Yannavalok, Nimpelda, Krasny Bor, Vyazostrov, Gakruchei, Rovskoye, Plotichno, Ostrechino, Pidma, Myatusovo, Upper Mandrogi, Podporozhye, Uslanka and Hevronino are adjacent to it; in Lodeynopolsky district - Svirstroy, Kharevschina, Streams, Gorka, Lodeynoye Pole, Rotten, Konevo and Lower Shotuksa; in the Volkhov district - Sviritsa and Bird Island.
Main tributaries
More than 30 rivers flow into the channel of the water body; the most important and largest are Pasha, Vazhinka, Oyat, Ivina and Yandeba. Some of them are navigable. Left tributaries - Yanruchi, Kuzra, Toyba, Meldus, Svyatukh, Kiselevka, Pogra, Yandeb, Pekhteg, Yaneg, Mungal, Pudanka, Kanomka, Shamoksha, Zaostrovka, Shakshozerka, Shotkusa, Oyat and Pasha. The right tributaries are Chavreka, Muromlya, Pidemka, Pidma, Ivina, Uslanka, Mandrog, Segezha, Tenzeya, Negegma, Rudeya, Vazhinka, Irvinka, Syarba, Ostrechinka, Korelka and Lissya.
Relief, soil and vegetation
The Svir River (the photos in this article will help the reader understand its beauty) flows mainly in the lowlands, in which glacial reservoirs were located in the deep past. The lower reaches of this water body are located on the Ladoga lowland. The riverbed is asymmetric: its left tributaries substantially prevail over the right. The soils of the adjacent territories are mostly clayey and marshy, sometimes sandy and partly rocky. The riverbanks are almost everywhere overgrown with forests and shrubs; sometimes meadow vegetation is also found.
Hydrological regime
The Svir River has a length of 224 km. Its height at the source is 35 m, at the mouth - 4.84 m. Water consumption - 785 m 3 / s. The width along the entire length varies from 100 m to 10-12 km (Ivinsky flood). The water regime of the river is uniform throughout the year. About 80 percent of the catchment falls on Lake Onega. Soil mainly consists of stones and clay, in some places - from sand and silt. Many places on the Svir with a predominance of rocky bottom. In the middle part of this body of water there were rapids before, but after the construction of a cascade of power plants they were flooded. Now, a deep-sea route has been created throughout the channel.
Ice on Svir rises depending on weather conditions for a period of 3-6 months. The stages of its formation and opening in different areas due to individual characteristics proceed variously. The first ice is formed in November-December, and melts in April-May. In warm years, as well as in places with a strong current, a continuous cover may not form.
Svir River: fishing
This water body is a haven for fishing enthusiasts. Salmon, bream, asp, grayling, pike, minnow, ide, pike perch, roach, catfish, burbot and many other species are found here. Whitefish are prohibited on the river all year round, while other species are allowed to be caught only near settlements. Fans of hunting for salmon species of fish should know that fishing is allowed:
- From the mouth to the five hundred meter exclusion zone of the Lower Hydroelectric Power Station. Bottom and float tackle - no time limit. Spinning is prohibited from October to November and mid-May to mid-June.
- Throughout the Svir, except for the forbidden zones of dams and bridges - ice fishing is burbot with two single-necked measures (length should not exceed two meters, and the diameter of the hoop - half a meter).
- Above the dam of the Lower Hydroelectric Power Station and further along the whole channel. Fishing only with float gear with no more than ten hooks with no time limit.
- From the mouth to the village of Alekhovschina. Fishing is allowed on float tackle without time and place restrictions. Zherlitsy - no more than five units for each fisherman from the beginning of ice melting until the first of June.
Tourism and rest
The Svir River (a map of the Leningrad Region will help anyone who decides on a route) is interesting not only for fishing, but also for its sights. For example, the Lower Svirsky Nature Reserve is located in the lower reaches of this water body. In addition, the Svir River is famous for its Storozhensky lighthouse. In the summer-autumn period there is a very active shipping: passenger and freight traffic. On the tributaries of the Pasha and Oyat there is an alloy of the forest.
Svir River: history
Svir is the third most famous river after the Neva and Volkhov in the northwestern part of Russia. All cruises to Kizhi and to the village of Mandrogi pass through it. In pre-Petrine times, Svir was not the main trade and transport artery, but its role increased markedly with the outbreak of the Northern War. One of the most important and famous settlements of that era was the village of Sunday. It is located near the source of the river, where it flows from Lake Onega. The village owes its beautiful name to the Ascension Monastery, built here in the fifteenth century. He existed for three hundred years. Not far from the monastery was a small fishing village - Svirsky Ustye. In 1810, the Mariinsky Canal System was launched, as a result of which the village grew to the level of a large village and was renamed Ascension. Large ships came here from the lake, from them in the port the goods were redistributed to medium and small floating facilities, which transported them to the cities of this river. Both shores were built up with moorings, dumping areas, rows of warehouses and barns. By the end of the nineteenth century, as shipping developed, ship repair yards appeared here. With the outbreak of the Civil War, the village, then known as Namoyny Sands, was able to accept a division of patrol ships, as well as provide them with a preventive check of the technical condition and carry out the necessary repairs. Today, this settlement can no longer be called an important and large port. However, the repair base is still here. With the beginning of the construction of the Verkhne-Svirskoye reservoir, small and large villages from Sunday to Podporozhye were moved away from the coast, since they fell into the flood zone. Only those located on the top of the ridge were not touched.
