Vuoksi River
River Vuoksi (Vuoksa) | |
---|---|
Origin |
Lake Saimaa 61°13′00″N 28°47′22″E / 61.21667°N 28.78944°ECoordinates: 61°13′00″N 28°47′22″E / 61.21667°N 28.78944°E |
Mouth | Lake Ladoga |
Basin countries | Finland, Russia |
Length | 162 kilometres (101 mi) |
Source elevation | 74 metres (243 ft) |
Avg. discharge | 540 cubic metres per second (19,000 cu ft/s) |
Basin area | Greater than 52,400 square kilometres (20,200 sq mi) |
The Vuoksi River (Russian: Вуокса; Finnish: Vuoksi; Swedish: Vuoksen) runs in the northernmost part of the Karelian Isthmus from Lake Saimaa in southeastern Finland to Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia. The river enters Lake Ladoga in three branches, an older main northern branch at Priozersk (Käkisalmi), a smaller branch a few kilometres to the north of it, and a new southern branch entering fifty kilometers further southeast as Burnaya River (Finnish: Taipaleenjoki), which has become the main stream in terms of water discharge. Since 1857, the old northern distributaries drain only the lower reaches of the Vuoksi basin and are not fed by Lake Saimaa. The northern and southern branches actually belong to two separate river systems, which at times get isolated from each other in dry seasons.
The descent between Lake Saimaa and Lake Ladoga is 69 metres (226 ft). The entire run of the river is 162 kilometres (101 mi) via the Priozersk branch, or 150 kilometres (93 mi) via the Taipale branch. For most of its length, the river broadens out to a series of lakes bound together by shorter riverlike connections. One of these lakes, Uusijärvi close to Priozersk, was renamed Ozero Vuoksa ("Lake Vuoksa") by the Soviets.
During both the Winter and Continuation Wars the river Vuoksi was a major Finnish defensive line against the Soviet advance. The Mannerheim Line and VKT-line were located along the northern shore of its southern armlet.
From the Industrial Revolution, power generated from Vuoksi's rapids made the Vuoksi region Finland's industrial center in the late 19th century. Since the Winter War (1940), the Karelian Isthmus has belonged to Russia and only 13 kilometers of the river's length remains in Finland. The major power stations at Tainionkoski and Imatra are on the Finnish side in the city of Imatra.
The river's surroundings, including the Korela Fortress (formerly: Käkisalmi), is a popular resort for Saint Petersburg's residents.
The river is famous for its rapids, for instance at Imatra and the village of Losevo (Kiviniemi). The rapid junction of the Vuoksi and Suvanto/Lake Sukhodolskoye at Losevo is a popular area for kayak, canoe and catamaran competitions.
A project is currently being discussed in Russia to destroy the rapids at Losevo and turn the River Burnaya, Lake Sukhodolskoye and lower portions of Vuoksi into a navigable canal, which would connect Lake Ladoga to the Gulf of Finland and allow oil tankers to bypass River Neva and the city of Saint Petersburg.[1]
Geological history
In 1818, a canal was dug to drain spring flood waters from Lake Suvanto (now Lake Sukhodolskoye, a 40-km long narrow lake in the eastern part of the Karelian Isthmus) into Lake Ladoga; the canal unexpectedly eroded and turned into Taipaleenjoki (now Burnaya River). Taipaleenjoki started draining Suvanto and decreased its level by 7 m. Originally Lake Suvanto flowed into the Vuoksi River through a waterway at Kiviniemi (now Losevo), but as a result of the change, the waterway dried out. In 1857 a channel was dug there, but the stream reversed direction, creating rapids and rendering navigation at Kiviniemi impossible. Since 1857 Suvanto and Taipaleenjoki have constituted the southern branch of the Vuoksi River, which has decreased the level of the original northern branch emptying into Ladoga near Kexholm (now Priozersk) by 4 m and has become the main stream.
References
- ↑ "Canal instead of Losevo rapids" (in Russian). ECOM. 2 December 2008. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
- ↑ Davydova, Natalia N. et al. (1996). Late- and postglacial history of lakes of the Karelian Isthmus. Hydrobiologia 322.1-3, 199-204.
- ↑ Saarnisto, Matti & Tuulikki Grönlund (1996). Shoreline displacement of Lake Ladoga - new data from Kilpolansaari. Hydrobiologia 322.1-3, 205-215.
- ↑ Saarnisto, Matti (1970). The Late Weichselian and Flandrian history of the Saimaa Lake complex. Societas Scientiarium Fennicae. Commentationes Physico-Mathematicae 37.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vuoksa. |
- Vuoksa web-site and photo gallery
- Aerial photos from the River Vuoksi in Russia
- History of Vuoksi (in Russian)