The White Sea is a vast bay of Arctic Ocean. Man appeared on its shores soon after the retreat of the last glacier. Ancestors of modern saami, later - natives of Karelian tribes settled here. In 11-13th centuries Novgorodian settlers appeared on the coastline of the White Sea and gave their names to the shores of the sea. The western shore is called "Karelian", the sea near its rocks is deep; the eastern - "Pomorian" - is low-lying, there are lots of islands near it; the southern and northern ones are called "Summer" and "Winter" correspondingly.
Waters of the sea are cold, though during a short summer they heat up to +16-18 C on the surface. The sea is subjected to ebbs and flows, which differ from a few centimeters to tens of meters. As a consequence ebbs and flows streams sometimes appear in narrow inlets. They are especially dangerous during shallow water. The sea steps on and back twice a day.
Inspite of its severe character, the sea is inhabited by various species of fauna. A huge herd of white whales lives here; seals and walruses can be seen among ice-floes, the shores of the sea are the place of nesting for northern birds. These are mainly eider, merganser, gull, polar tern, atlantic sandpiper, ring dotterel and others. It is especially animated on the sea during a migration. Numerous schools of scoter, geese and brand-geese stay here for rest.
Food kelp grows in the White Sea, it is inhabited by starfish, cod, navaga, herring and some valuable species - bulltrout and salmon.
"Summer" and "Karelian" shores of the White Sea, indented with rocks, bays, capes, are very picturesque. In the north part of the republic Chupinskaja inlet - the most southern fiord of Barents region - is located. Here are situated state reserves "Polar circle", hunting reserve "Keretskiy", islands of Kandalaksha reserve. Nature and animal world of the northen coastline are studied by research assistants of three scientific biostations of Moscow and Saint-Petersburg Universities and of Zoological University of Russian Science Academy.
Cultural potential of the White Sea region is huge. Solovetsky monastery, petroglyphs, Kuzova archipelago - all of these attract fans of history and tourists, who are not seeking for comfortable rest.
