The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

THE REGION OF LAKES. 323outflow. From the south-west comes the Sbelon ; from the south the Lovat,Polist, and Polomet ; from the north-east the Msta, rising in a marshy district onthe eastern slopes of the Valdai plateau, near the source of the Volga. All theserivers uniting inone basin, andcarrying down the detritus of thet1 misurrounding hills,• 11rapidly•raiseScale 1 :300,nnn.the bed of the lake, and continuallymodify its outlines.Itswaters are always muddy, varyingin depth from 7 to 30 feet ; hence,though much larger, it containsa relatively smaller volume thanthe great lakes of Switzerland.Its outlet, the Volkhov, formerlythe Mutniy, or " Muddy," retainsthis character throughoutits course of 120 miles to LakeLadoga, of which it is the chiefinfluent.It has a total incline ofabout 60 feet, descending, likethe Narova, through a series offalls and rapids over its last rockybarrier. The Gostniopol rapidsdescend 30 feet altogether, and arenavigable only for rafts or craftspecially built for the purpose.Fig. 172.—The Lvga and Narova Biyebs.Lakes Ladoga axd Onega.The Svir, the largest feeder ofLadoga from the east, bringsdown the outflow of Lake Onega,which itself receives the superfluouswaters of several otherlacustrine reservoirs. Many ofthese would elsewhere in Europebe regarded as little inland seas;but here they become comparativelyinsignificant by the side ofthe mighty Ladoga and Onega,which are often tossed by the storm, and whose perils mariners are warned againstby beacons like those of the high seas. The navigation of Onega especially ismuch endangered by the numerous rocks and reefs skirting its shores, and abouteighty sailors are said to have yearly perished here before 1874, when buoys were