Arkhangelsk Oblast eventually spread well beyond the Arkhangelsk Region. The Mezen horses, bred in the Mezen River valley, are rather small but suitable for difficult work and easily survive cold winters. The area of current Arkhangelsk Oblast has always been located on the trading routes connecting central Russia to the White Sea, and, in fact, in the 17th century the White Sea was the main sea export route for Russia. The whole course of the Northern Dvina is navigable, as well as the lower course of some of its tributaries, most notably the Vychegda, the Vaga, and the Pinega. The Mezen is
Salinas of the English Port loggerhead sea turtle ("Caretta caretta"). It hosts characteristic sand dune and wetland birds, including the greater hoopoe-lark ("Alaemon alaudipes"), the black-crowned sparrow lark ("Eremopterix nigriceps"), bar-tailed lark ("Ammomanes cinctura"), the sanderling ("Calidris alba") and the bar-tailed godwit ("Limosa lapponica"). It also has an important population of the Kentish plover: 50% of the total population of Cape Verde (150-300 individuals). Salinas of the English Port Salinas of the English Port () is a saline wetland in the southwestern part of the island of Maio, Cape Verde, northwest of the city Porto Inglês. It is a protected area ("Paisagem Protegida das Salinas