Kovda

Kovda 

(also Sofianga, Kundozerka, Kuma, Iova, or Rugozerka), a river in the Karelian ASSR and in Murmansk Oblast. It originates from Lake Topozero and empties into Kandalaksha Guba (Bay) of the White Sea. The river measures 233 km long and drains an area of 26,100 sq km, of which 14 percent is occupied by lakes (approximately 11,000). The river is actually a cascade of lakes connected by short channels, which constitute only 34 percent of the Kovda’s length. A fixed dam was built in 1955 where the Kovda emerges from Lake Kovdozero, as a result of which all of the Kovda’s runoff is released into the White Sea through the Kniazhaia Guba Hydroelectric Power Plant by way of a 3.8-km long canal. The Kuma and Iova hydroelectric power plants are also located on the river.