White Sea small. The main island group is the Solovetsky Islands, located almost in the middle of the sea, near the entrance to Onega Bay. Kiy Island in Onega Bay is significant due to a historic monastery. Velikiy Island, located close to the shore, is the largest island in the Kandalaksha Gulf. The White Sea is a water-filled depression in the block of a continental shelf known as the Baltic Shield. Its bottom is very uneven and contains the Kandalaksha Hollow in the northwest and the Solovetsky Islands in the south. Also, the Onega Bay has many small underwater elevations. The opening
Arkhangelsk Oblast of the Northern Dvina and the Onega. The railroad construction gave the momentum to the population and exploitation of these areas. A branch from Konosha eastwards to Kotlas and further to Vorkuta was constructed in the 1940s to facilitate the transport of coal from the Komi Republic. From Kotlas, another branch continues south to Kirov. A branch from Obozersky to the west, to Onega and further to Belomorsk, was built during World War II to secure the transport of goods from the harbour of Murmansk to central Russia. A piece of railroad between Arkhangelsk and Karpogory was also built in