Onega Canal Onega Canal The Onega Canal () is a canal that runs along the southern banks of Lake Onega in Vytegorsky District of Vologda Oblast and Podporozhsky District of Leningrad Oblasts in Russia. It was built 1818 - 1820 and 1845 - 1852 as a part of Mariinsk Canal System, to allow small riverboats to avoid Lake Onega, where storms are frequent and where many boats had perished through the centuries. The canal is long and runs between the Vytegra River in the east and Svir River in the west. It is around wide, and lies between and from the shores
Lake Onega a total area of about . Whereas the most famous is Kizhi, which contains historical wooden churches of the 18th century, the largest island is Big Klimenetsky with an area of . It contains a few settlements, a school and an hill. Other large islands are Big Lelikovsky and Suysari. The lake banks are low and are flooded with raising water level. They are therefore swampy and are rich in reed, hosting ducks, geese and swans. The coastal region is covered with dense virgin forests. Major tree types are coniferous, but also common are lime (linden), elm and European alder.