Lake Valdayskoye

Valdai Lake
Aerial view of Lake Valdayskoye
Valdai Lake is located in Novgorod Oblast
Valdai Lake
Valdai Lake
Valdai Lake is located in European Russia
Valdai Lake
Valdai Lake
LocationValdai Hills, Novgorod Oblast
Coordinates57°59′15″N 33°17′42″E / 57.98750°N 33.29500°E / 57.98750; 33.29500
Catchment area97.2 km2 (37.5 sq mi)[1]
Basin countriesRussia
Surface area19.7 km2 (7.6 sq mi)[1]
Average depth12 m (39 ft)[2]
Max. depth60 m (200 ft)[2]
SettlementsValday

Lake Valdayskoye, or Lake Valdai (Russian: Валдайское озеро, озеро Валдай, romanized: ozero Valdai) is a freshwater lake located in the center of Valdaysky District of Novgorod Oblast in Russia in the middle of the Valdai Hills. One of the largest lakes in Novgorod Oblast, it has a surface area (without islands) of 19.7 km2 (7.6 sq mi),[3] and the area of its basin is 97.2 km2 (37.5 sq mi). The average depth of Lake Valdayskoye is 12 m (39 ft) (the deepest point reaches 60 m (200 ft)). The lake freezes up in early December and stays icebound until early May. The lake is located in the center of Valdaysky National Park.

The town of Valday stands on the southwestern shore of the lake along the M10 Moscow - St. Petersburg highway. One of the islands, Selvitsky Island (Russian: Остров Сельвицкий), is occupied by the Valday Iversky Monastery. Besides Valday, there are also several villages around the lake. An anabranch connects Lake Valdai to a smaller lake, Lake Uzhin (Russian: озеро Ужин). Lake Uzhin, the source of the Valdayka River, belongs to the river basin of the Msta River and thus to the Baltic Sea basin.

The lake has almost a round shape with a large bay appended to it on the northwest end. There are several islands on the lake, the biggest of which is the 119 ha (290-acre) Ryabinovy Island (Russian: Остров Рябиновый).[4] It is connected to the lake coast in the south and to Iversky Monastery in the north.

Lake Valdayskoye is located in the center of the Valdai Hills, and is surrounded by many other lakes. Many of these lakes drain into Lake Valdayskoye or into the Valdayka. The basin of the lake comprises all of the northeastern part of Valdaysky District.

The lake has become[when?] a popular tourist-destination, with many recreation facilities on its shores. The first meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club took place on the lake in 2004.

The lake is navigable, and the Zarya-211 (Russian: «Заря-211») cruiser ship sailed between the town of Valday and the Iversky Monastery until 2016.[5]

Since 2004, a road connects Valday along the shore of Lake Valdai over a 140 m (460 ft) bridge to Ryabinovy Island and then over a 30 m (98 ft) bridge to the 11 ha (27-acre) Selvitsky Island to the monastery over which buses, taxis, and cars travel, or, during the winter when the lake is frozen, it is only a 3 km (1.9 mi) walk between Valday and the monastery over the frozen Lake Valdayskoye.[6][7]

  1. ^ a b Водохранилище Валдайское (Валдай, вдхр Валдайское) (in Russian). State Water Register of Russia. Archived from the original on 26 September 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  2. ^ a b Валдайское озеро. Great Soviet Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 2018-05-25. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  3. ^ Darby; Richard Brookes; William Darby (1827). Darby's Universal Gazetteer: Or, A New Geographical Dictionary ... Original from the New York Public Library: Bennett & Walton. p. 837. Archived from the original on 2022-07-17. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
  4. ^ "Туристические маршруты: обзорная статья" [Tourist routes: overview article]. Valday.com (in Russian). Archived from the original on 30 June 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Расписание движения теплохода "Заря-211"" [Timetable of the motor ship "Zarya-211"]. Valday.com (in Russian). Archived from the original on 26 September 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  6. ^ "ОСТРОВНОЙ ВАЛДАЙСКИЙ МОНАСТЫРЬ 17 ВЕКА СВЯЖУТ С МАТЕРИКОМ ДВА МОСТА" [VALDAI ISLAND MONASTERY OF THE 17TH CENTURY WILL BE CONNECTED TO THE MAINLAND BY TWO BRIDGES]. «Правосла́вие.Ru» (Pravoslavie.Ru) (in Russian). 15 January 2004. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Валдайский Иверский Святоозёрский Богородицкий мужской монастырь" [Valdai Iversky Holy Lake Bogoroditsky Monastery]. Valday.com (in Russian). Archived from the original on 26 September 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2021.