Ponoi is a river in the European part of Russia, flowing through the territory of the Murmansk region. This is the largest waterway of the Kola Peninsula. Its length is 391 or 426 km (depending on the point considered by the source), and the catchment area is 15.5 thousand km², which corresponds to the 66th position in Russia. Within the Murmansk region, the Ponoi River is the fourth largest basin.
The name of the water artery goes back to the Sami word "Pienneoy", which means "dog river".
Source and mouth
The source of the Ponoi River is located on the western spurs of the Cave Upland, which is located in the central zone of the Kola Peninsula. There are 2 versions, where exactly does this water artery originate from:
- from the junction of the rivers Pessaryjoki and Koyniyoki;
- from the source of Pessaryjoki.
According to the second option, the length of Ponoy is 426 km. In this case, the section of the channel prior to the confluence with Koyniyoka is not considered another river (Pessaryokoy). Thus, the exact location of the source is interpreted depending on whether to take the confluence node as the beginning of a new water artery or just as the place where one of the tributaries flows into. The mouth of Ponoy is Lakhta Bay, where the river flows into the White Sea.
Channel characteristics
Geomorphologically, the Ponoi River is divided into 3 sections:
- upper - from the source to the mouth of Losingi (211 km);
- middle - a section of the channel between the mouths of the tributaries of Losingi and Kolmak (about 100 km);
- the lower - from Kolmak to the confluence of Ponoy in the White Sea (100 km).
In these sections, the nature of the channel and landscape changes. The width of the river varies from 15 to 400 meters. Being narrow at the beginning, the channel in some places spreads strongly in the lower section. This stretch is the most picturesque, rapids and is characterized by a high fall (116 m). The value of this parameter for the entire river is 292 m.
Upstream
In the upper reaches, the Ponoi River passes through the swampy flat terrain of the forest-tundra. In some places, the general nature of the landscape is disturbed by individual ridges and hills. The width of the Upper Ponoy channel is small (15–20 m), and the depth reaches 1.5–2 m, the flow is quite calm. This site is characterized by the presence of a large number of shallow lakes occupying saucer-shaped depressions. The river passes through one of them (Vuli) on a section of 235–243 km from the mouth. This is a fairly large lake (length - 8 km, width - 4 km).
The Ponoy channel in the upper reaches is very winding, has a large number of branches and ducts. The shores are low, covered with dense forest and closely approach the water. In some places they are steeper and are represented by sandy slopes.
There are many rifts along the course, but the rapids are very rare and low. The bottom is mostly sandy. The widest and deepest section of the upper Ponoy is the area of the village of Krasnoshchelye. Here the river spills 100 m, and the water level reaches 3 m.
Middle course
The general nature of the landscape in the middle reaches of the Ponoy is similar to the headwaters (afforested taiga forests). However, the nature of the channel and the shores here is changing. The river becomes less winding and slightly branched, and its banks - drier and higher. They are represented by pine forest terraces, as well as ridges and hills (20–30 m).
In the middle section of the channel, Ponoi enters the crystalline plateau. Here the river valley begins to form. The channel becomes much wider (from 50 to 200 m, the average value is 75–80 m). The river forms:
- rapids and rifts - depth from 0.3 to 1.5 m, the bottom is rocky, with boulders;
- reaches - depth from 2 to 4 m, sandy bottom.
The current remains calm, with the exception of the rapids that form at the confluence of the tributaries. In some places, the riverbed forms fossils.
Downstream
In the lower reaches, the coastal landscape is replaced by forest-covered tundra. In this section, Ponoy passes through a crystalline plateau. The bed lies in the canyon, the width of which varies from 500 to 800 meters.
The lower reaches of the river are characterized by high banks formed by steep or steep slopes, most of which are rocks. In this section, Ponoi is moderately winding and has no branches at all. However, the number and height of thresholds increase significantly. The largest are:
- Dry.
- Big Log.
- First Platoon.
- Kolmaksky.
- Ponoysky.
- Dry-curve.
- Tambovsky.
Thresholds are found throughout. The bottom in these places is cluttered with large boulders. In non-empty areas, it has a sand-pebble or rocky character.
The width of the channel in the lower reaches varies from 80 to 400 m. The twelve-kilometer section of the mouth is affected by tidal phenomena of the White Sea.
Hydrographic network and tributaries of the Ponoi River
The hydrographic network of Ponoy includes:
- watercourses (712);
- tributaries (244).
The lacustrine basin is only 2.1%, which is quite small compared to other rivers of the Kola Peninsula.
The main tributaries of Ponoy (length over 50 km)| rights | left |
| Purnach | Acherok (Acha) |
| Coevake | Elreka |
| Kuksha | Pyatchema |
| Losinga |
| Kuksha |
The river basin includes 7816 lakes with a total area of 324 km². The largest among them is Pesochnoe (26.3 km²).
Hydrology
The food of the Ponoi River has a predominantly snow-rain character; the hydrological regime corresponds to the Eastern European type. The annual mean water discharge is 170 m³ per second and 5365 km³ per year. Moreover, the maximum value of this parameter falls on the period from the last decade of May to mid-June (2.8 km³ / s).
During the year, the Ponoy River undergoes significant changes in water level (3.3 meters in the middle of the channel and 9.4 in the mouth) associated with spring floods and two low-water periods:
- summer-fall (from mid-July to September – October) - lasts 2-3 months and ends with small floods;
- winter.
Freeze-up starts in late October or in the first ten days of November and lasts for 170–200 days. On the rapids of the channel, the formation of the ice crust occurs much later (in December).
The water in the river is soft, characterized by low turbidity. The maximum level of mineralization is 100 mg / l. Such a low indicator is due to the prevailing contribution of snow nutrition. In water, increased concentrations of organic compounds, as well as copper and iron ions. The amount of the latter is maximum during low-water periods. Organic content increases during floods.
Natural conditions
The channel of the Ponoi River passes through the territory of the Lovozero Tundra. Despite the fact that this is a northern area, the conditions are not severe. The climate is characterized by:
- relatively warm winters (average temperature - from -13 ˚ to -20 ˚);
- cool summer (+12 ˚ to +28 ˚).
Due to the influence of sea currents, the weather is quite changeable and unpredictable.
Precipitation in the Ponoy basin is uneven. Most of them (60%) occur in the summer. The total rainfall is 550 mm / year.
Flora and fauna
The plants of the Ponoi River are represented by the typical flora of the northern marshes, as well as by the forested taiga and tundra of the Kola Peninsula. The latter distinguish 3 types of communities:
- spruce trees;
- pine trees;
- mixed stands.
Ponoy River animals include:
- inhabitants of coastal biocenoses (forests and swamps);
- directly hydrobionts.
In the forest area of the basin, you can find taiga mammals, which include:
- bear;
- fox;
- wolf;
- reindeer;
- Arctic fox
- marten;
- squirrel.
In the lower reaches lemmings live.
The ichthyofauna of Ponoy is characterized by high species diversity. The main representatives are:
- smelt;
- trout;
- Atlantic salmon;
- minnow;
- ide;
- roach;
- 2 types of stickleback;
- whitefish;
- grayling;
- burbot;
- perch;
- pike.
At certain times of the year, pink salmon, nelma and char go into the river basin.
The distribution area of Atlantic salmon in Ponoy occupies a section from the mouth to the confluence of Sakharnaya and Elyok. In a small amount, this fish is present in the upper reaches. Salmon spawning grounds are located in some tributaries of the Ponoi, as well as in the main river bed below the mouth of Kolmak.
Practical use
Currently, there are 2 directions for using the Ponoi River:
- alloy (on the upper part of the channel);
- fishing.
At the same time, only salmon fishing, which has been established since the 16th century, is of commercial importance. However, the species diversity of ichthyofauna entailed the development of recreational fishing. This direction is being actively implemented on the territory of special bases organized along the channel.