Kola Peninsula
The Kola Peninsula is located in the extreme northwest of the European part of Russia, it is one of the harshest and at the same time picturesque regions of the country. Administratively, it belongs to the Murmansk Oblast, occupying about 70% of its territory: the peninsula covers an area of about 100,000 km².
Video: Kola Peninsula
% Contents- General information
- Natural landscape
- History of the Kola Peninsula
- Climate and weather
- Flora and fauna
Sights of the Kola Peninsula - Recreation and entertainment
- Local cuisine
- Where to stay
- How to get there
General Information
Washed by the Barents and White Seas, the Kola Peninsula is a real kingdom of the Russian North, a reserve with picturesque and unspoiled nature. In the south, it is separated from the mainland by the narrow, but at the same time long Kandalaksha Bay. Tundras and irregular, jagged-shaped lakes are replaced by mountains and plateaus, numerous water bodies are inhabited by up to a hundred species of fish.
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Natural landscape
To the south of the mountainous regions of the Kola Peninsula spreads the lake lowland, occupying the territory from the Russian border with Finland to the middle course of the Umba River. The lowland is quite spacious, containing numerous lakes and extensive bogs. Its considerable part belongs to the Pirenga River basin and includes the lakes Upper and Lower Pirenga, Kalozhnoye, Yena, Chalma and Kokh connected by short channels. There are also elevations in this area, reaching heights of up to 500 meters.
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History of the Kola Peninsula
The first settlements on the territory of the Kola Peninsula appeared in the VI millennium BC, that is about 10 thousand years ago. The traces of ancient civilizations discovered by archaeologists belong to the Mesolithic era. Here lived a mysterious disappeared people – the Protosaamians. Evidence of their life and daily life, scenes of hunting, religious rituals on the occasion of birth and death, pictures depicting weapons and tools of labor, were forever cut into rock drawings by unknown artists of antiquity. Thanks to their work, many mysteries have been revealed. But exactly the same number of new questions have arisen, and the most important of them: the Protosaamians – who are they, where did they come from, how many were there, how did they live?
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In the Middle Ages, the Moscow principality established itself in these lands. The first permanent Russian settlements were Kandalaksha, Varzuga and Umba, which emerged on the southern coast of the Kola Peninsula in the 14th century. The Russian inhabitants of the coasts of the White and Barents Seas were called Pomors. They became the progenitors of a distinctive culture, preserved today only in remote villages of the southern (also called Tersky) coast. At the end of the XIX century Komi-Izhemians moved here, “taking” reindeer herds with them. Nowadays they together with the Saami and Russians form the basis of the local population.
.The modern history of the Kola Peninsula, the formation of its economy is closely connected with fishing and salt-making, the center of which it became. What is interesting, salt production was practiced in local monasteries. Then came silver and copper mines, and even later, numerous sawmills.
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Climate and weather
It is often said about the Kola Peninsula that north and south have switched places here. And this is not someone’s metaphor, the peninsula looks like this in reality: the Barents Sea, which washes its northern shores, does not freeze all year round, but the White Sea, whose waves crash against the southern coast, is covered with ice in winter. This is due to the fact that the region is “invaded” from the north-west by the Nordkap branch of the Gulf Stream current. It brings warmth, thanks to which winters on the northern coast of the peninsula are milder than even in the middle zone of the European part of Russia. This circumstance brings significant differences in the local climate, making it different from the climate of other northern regions of our country, including those located in the Arctic Circle.
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In the central part, the climate becomes continental, characterized by relatively warm summers and stable winters. As the Kola Peninsula moves inland from the coast, the average annual temperatures become lower and lower. The most pronounced continental climate is observed in the settlements of Krasnoshchel’ye (-13.7 °C) and Yena (-14.3 °C). Especially low winter temperatures, up to -50 degrees, are observed in the upper reaches of the Ponoy River. But in the mountainous areas winter is relatively mild, with plenty of precipitation, and summer is colder. The average temperature minimum in January reaches -13 ° C, and the maximum average monthly temperature in July does not exceed +10 ° C.
.At the same time, the Kola Peninsula experiences frequent temperature fluctuations. In December-February, thaws are possible, and in June-August – frosts. There is an explanation for such contrasts: cold air masses coming from the northeast collide with warm air currents over the peninsula.
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Another climatic feature of this region is high humidity, reaching 80%. The most precipitation, up to 1000 mm per year, falls in the mountainous regions, the least, up to 400 mm, in the northern regions. Spring enters its rights with a delay, the snow begins to melt only at the end of May – beginning of June. During the same period, lakes are released from ice fetters. Summer, on the contrary, comes quickly, as its beginning coincides with the beginning of the polar day. At the end of June night frosts stop, flowers blossom, trees are covered with young foliage. Frosts, of course, sometimes return, but only for a few nights during the summer.
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Flora and fauna
The plant world of the Kola Peninsula is divided into three zones: tundra, forest-tundra and forest. The first is located in the north and northeast of the region, occupies the coastal strip, which varies from 30 to 60 kilometers wide. As is typical for classical tundra, the basis of the flora here consists of lichens, mosses, stilted varieties of willow and dwarf birch. Woody shrubs can be found in the valleys of large rivers.
.The southern neighbor of the tundra is the forest-tundra zone, stretching in a strip from 10 to 60 km. It is characterized by birch curvilinear forest, combined with spruces and stunted pines. Various species of mosses and shrubs are abundant here. A thick layer of jagel has settled on relatively dry areas and rocks. The peculiarity of the local forest tundra is also extensive berry fields. If you are going on a hike, take several baskets with you – for cowberries, blueberries, cloudberries and crowberries. Fans of quiet hunting will not be disappointed: avid mushroom hunters will be pleasantly surprised by the numerous birch boles, cheeseberries, blisters, and aspenberries.
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Moving on to the south of the Kola Peninsula, which belongs to the forest zone. Pine and spruce forests are spread here, within which birch, alder, rowan, willow, aspen are also found. The peculiarity of the local forests is their pronounced swampiness. For this reason herbaceous moss vegetation and shrubs are widespread here.
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Taking into account such a richness and diversity of local nature, it would be surprising if there were no reserves on the Kola Peninsula. And there are. Let’s focus on two: Kandalaksha and Lapland. Both protected areas contain unique samples of nature of the North, protected from human impact; here conditions are created for the life of rare birds and animals, preservation and increase of their number.
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The Kandalaksha Reserve, formed in 1939, spreads over a large part of the Kandalaksha skerries, it also occupies the Kem-Lud archipelago and Veliky Island located in the Kandalaksha Bay of the White Sea. The Ainovy Islands and the archipelago of the Seven Islands, located in the Barents Sea, also belong to this reserve. The vast territory occupied by the reserve includes various corners of the Kola Peninsula in terms of natural conditions and peculiarities of flora and fauna. There are tundra and northern taiga, sandy and rocky shores of islands, forest-tundra vegetation and high cliffs located on the sea coast, on which there are huge bird markets.
.To the west of Monchegorsk is the Laplandsky Reserve, designed to protect the pristine nature of mountain tundra and northern taiga from the influence of civilization. It has absorbed the natural landscapes characteristic of these regions, except for the flat tundra and the sea coast. In the 60s of the last century there were up to 1400 reindeer in the Lapland Reserve. The protection and study of these animals remains one of the priority tasks even today.
.Sights of the Kola Peninsula
In the vicinity of Murmansk, the largest settlement of the Kola Peninsula, the administrative center of the region of the same name and the world’s largest city located above the Arctic Circle, one can find many objects whose names include the word “Abram”. According to an old legend, in the XVI century, during the reign of Ivan IV the Terrible, there lived here a priest Varlaam, or Araamiy, whose name was later changed into Abram. On the picturesque rocky shore, steeply sloping into the waters of the Kola Bay, at that time the devil himself ruled, who would not let anyone near the sea. He left his place only when he tempted the priest, who read prayers, and then penetrated under the guise of a lover into the house of his wife. And one day the unfaithful wife of Barlaam died. To bring the body to the place of burial, the widower had to pass by the “demon” rock, and the devil had no choice but to let the man pass – for the first time! When Varlaam returned back after the funeral, the unclean man was gone. Since then he never appeared again, and the way to the ocean was free. Subsequently, the place where the devil lived was called Abram-pahta.
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On the Kola Peninsula, in the Lovozorsky district of the Murmansk region, a deposit of amazonite, a valuable bluish-green mineral, was discovered in 1920. In the 80s its mining was stopped, and the deposit received the status of the state geological monument of nature under the name “Amazonites of Parusnaya Mountain”. Parusnaya Mountain is a part of the Western Keivy massif, which can hardly be called a popular tourist destination, as the road to it runs through the difficult Lovozero tundras. However, such obstacles do not stop either experienced explorers or desperate lovers of extreme hikes. Every year they head to the field to see with their own eyes one of the biggest and most famous local attractions.
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Another most important natural object of the Kola Peninsula is a rock massif on the shore of Lake Semyonovsky, which is called Baranyi Lob. Its age is estimated at 2.5 billion years. If it could speak, it would tell us a lot about the age of dinosaurs and three periods of glaciation: the Likhvin, Dnieper and Valdai. As a reminder of the last one there are deep furrows on the granite surface, similar to scars. By them it is possible to trace in what direction the glacier moved. In general, ram’s foreheads – so mountaineers and geologists call all granite rocks smoothed by glaciers – are quite widespread in the Polar Region. But only one of them, Mutton’s forehead near Lake Semyonovskoye, is accessible to tourists, you can walk to it. It is a part of the ecological trail around this water body with an opportunity to visit the observation platform, from which it is interesting to watch birds. Fans of winter swimming also “have fun” here, for them there is a specially equipped Walrus House. And there are also glades with red-listed plants, damage and tear which are strictly forbidden.
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One of the main attractions, which are proud of Murmansk citizens, is the Kola Bridge, which connects the two banks of the bay of the same name. This crossing stretches for 2.5 kilometers, it was built from 1992 to 2004 and until 2009 was considered the longest in the Arctic Circle. This record was broken with the construction of a longer bridge on the Yamal Peninsula, across the Yuribey River. However, the bridge across the Kola Bay retained the status of the longest automobile bridge in the Polar Region, as its Yamal “counterpart” is only a railroad bridge.
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Now let’s return to Murmansk, a city inextricably linked and literally living and breathing the sea. Unfortunately, its salty waters give people not only the romance of traveling and the opportunity to fish, but also take away the most valuable thing a person has – life. Sailors died here not only during wars – the elements took their lives in peace time as well. One of the most famous in the city memorials “Sailors who died in peace time”, located on the shore of Lake Semyonovsky, is dedicated to the memory of these innocent victims. This lighthouse-memorial designed by architects N. Kireeva and N. Bogdanova appeared in Murmansk only in 2002, but in a short time it managed to become a symbol of the city and entered the list of its main attractions. A fragment of the wheelhouse of the nuclear-powered submarine cruiser K-141 “Kursk”, which crashed on August 12, 2000 in the Barents Sea, became a part of the memorial complex.
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In the city of Kirovsk there is one of the most interesting museums of the Kola Peninsula and the whole of Russia – the museum and exhibition center of the Apatit mining enterprise, or simply the Museum of Stone. Among its exhibits are unique samples of rocks collected from all over the world, including an impressive collection of minerals from the Kola Peninsula itself. However, the collections of natural origin are not limited here: the numerous halls of the museum exhibit man-made artifacts – ancient telephone sets, BelAZ cars inlaid with stones, unique models of mines, equipped with interactive stuffing and beautifully illuminated to the delight of visitors.
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Local cuisine
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Accommodation in a four-star hotel in Murmansk costs approximately 4000 rubles per day. To save money, you can opt for a three-star hotel, also quite comfortable, but it will cost half the price. Almost for nothing, only 50 rubles per day per person, will cost accommodation in a hostel.
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Hotels in Kirovsk can not boast such an abundance of stars, and some do not have them at all. In the hotel category “luxury” tourists will settle for 4000 rubles, apartments in the hotel modestly will cost the guest in 2000 rubles, and for a day in the hostel will ask 350 rubles.
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It will not be difficult to rent an apartment from private individuals or a cabin if you find yourself in a secluded area. Experienced tourists who have already been to the Kola Peninsula, can easily plan their trip in such a way that not only do not overpay, but also save money. It is easier, simpler and cheaper for hiking enthusiasts to travel with backpacks: their “homes”, i.e. tents, are always with them.
.How to get there
There are even more flights from St. Petersburg to Murmansk, up to 10 per day. Staying in the air for residents and guests of the Northern Capital will be somewhat shorter, only 2 hours. Flights are carried out by the same airlines, as well as the air carrier “Russia”. In winter there are flights to the city of Apatity, they fly skiers heading to the slopes of the Khibiny Mountains.
. Those who are afraid to fly or just prefer to see the beautiful scenery outside the window, get to the Kola Peninsula by train with arrival at the railway station in Murmansk. However, from Moscow and St. Petersburg it will be longer than by airplane: you will have to spend about 30 and 25 hours on the way, respectively..
Another land way to get to Murmansk – by car on the federal highway M18. It can be used both from Moscow and St. Petersburg.
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