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 in its center. Thawing starts in April in the tributaries and reaches the lake in May. Water in the deep parts is clear, with the visibility up to . In the bays, the visibility may decrease to about a meter. The water is fresh, with a salinity of 35 mg/L. This is relatively low for a lake and is about times lower than in the other large lake of the area, Lake Ladoga. The maximum surface water temperature is on the open lake and in the bays. The deep waters are much colder, from in winter to in summer. Weather