Our country is rich in beautiful corners of nature, where its strength and beauty are most clearly revealed. The Kola Peninsula is one of them. This is the land of the widest stone plateaus and snow-capped mountains, fast rivers and clear lakes. The nature is amazing here - harsh, ascetic, majestic in its beauty.
Kola Peninsula
The Kola Peninsula is located beyond the Arctic Circle, in the northwestern part of Russia. Its territory covers an area of almost 100 thousand square meters. km (70% of the Murmansk region) and is washed from the north by the White, and in the southeast by the Barents Seas. The complex relief of the region is formed by hollows, mountains, terraces and numerous plateaus. The originality was added to it by the Quaternary glaciers, which had a powerful effect and left glacial “scars”, flattened mountain peaks, and trough valleys.
The area is indented with numerous lakes and rivers. They divided the territory into separate massifs, the inhabitants of the peninsula call them “tundra”. There are more than 18 thousand rivers. Many of them cross countless lakes on their way, stringing them like blue beads on a string. It is not in vain that the Arctic is called the Lake District - there are more than 100 thousand reservoirs on the peninsula, mostly shallow, of glacial origin, but there are also large ones.
Characteristics of the Kola River
The Murmansk river Kola originates from the northern bay of Kolozero. Now in steep shores strewn with boulders, then among the plain reaches where trees approach the water, it tends to the Barents Sea and, having overcome 83 km over very hilly terrain, it flows into the Kola Bay.
The nature of the river is quite diverse, there are small rocky rifts, flat areas are replaced by rapids. The width of the channel varies from 5 to 15 km. The Kola River does not dry out, but the water level , depending on the season, either becomes smaller or rises significantly after rains. In places, close to the coastline, majestic pines, birches, and mountain ash approach; in places - steep slopes dotted with large blocks.
Main tributaries
The Kola River in the Murmansk Region has numerous tributaries. The main, largest of them: Bolshaya Kitsa, Medvezhya, Tyukhta, Voronya, Orlovka, Kildinsky brook. Cola on its way passes a chain of lakes, three are quite large reservoirs (Kolozero, Pulozero, Murdozero). As a result, the basin area along with tributaries and lakes is 3850 sq. Km.
In the notes of Fleet Lieutenant Reineke M., published in St. Petersburg in 1830, a description of the river can be found. Kola, as it became known, previously flowed north of the city of Kola, but then changed its course, cutting off a lowland cape from the eastern shore of the bay and forming a small island.
origin of name
The Kola River gave its name to the city of the same name, the bay, and the entire peninsula. There are different versions of the origin of this name. Perhaps it came from the Sami word "kolyok", that is, the "golden river". Its origin from the Finno-Ugric "Kuljoki" - the "fish river" is not excluded.
One way or another, but over time, the name was successfully transformed into the modern and familiar to the Russian rumor - the Kola River.
Fishing without borders
"Fish" place names in some cases convey to us information about how our ancestors hunted. And in our time, the Kola Peninsula is a very attractive place for true connoisseurs of fishing from a noble family of salmon: trout, trout, brown trout, grayling, whitefish. But most of all, fishermen are attracted by the queen of Kola waters - salmon.
Cola is a salmon river with a large number of large fish. Every year, in the hope of a record catch, thousands of anglers come here. The season from May 15 to the end of June is the best time for fishing, because a new strong fish comes from the sea, and sometimes specimens weighing up to 20 kg come across. By the size of individuals, the Kola River is considered the most outstanding in the world. It is not surprising that in search of special impressions from catching this beautiful, powerful and very tasty fish, professionals and amateurs come here not only from all over Russia, but also from Europe.
The uniqueness of Cola lies in its accessibility. It flows literally near the regional center, and you can get to the fishing spot very quickly.
Active rest on the river
The Kola River and its tributaries are a great place to relax in nature. The flat areas are ideal for a leisurely family rafting, during which you can enjoy the surrounding landscape. There are equipped parking lots on the gentle shores for organizing a picnic. There are many places on the river where sports lovers can go rafting, and in its lower reaches, which are many kilometers long rapids, organized routes of varying difficulty for kayaking.
The Kola Peninsula attracts people who are looking for adventure and love new experiences, those who like to relax away from civilization, surrounded by the beauties of northern nature. Many, having visited this mysterious and enchanting land, seek to return to this paradise for esthete again.