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 The oblast is administratively divided into six cities and towns under the oblast's jurisdiction (Arkhangelsk, Koryazhma, Kotlas, Novodvinsk, Onega, and Severodvinsk), one city under the federal jurisdiction (Mirny), twenty-one districts (one of which is Novaya Zemlya), and two island territories (Franz Josef Land and Victoria Island). Another six towns (Kargopol, Mezen, Nyandoma, Shenkursk, Solvychegodsk, and Velsk) have the status of the towns of district significance. Nenets Autonomous Okrug, which is administratively subordinated to the oblast, is administratively divided into one district (Zapolyarny District) and one town of okrug significance (Naryan-Mar). Huge areas within the limits of the oblast are included