Lake Sterzh
lake in Tver Oblast, Russia

Lake Sterzh (Стерж) is the third largest among the Valdai Lakes in Tver Oblast of Russia. It is the first lake through which the Volga flows.
Geography
The lake's length is 12 kilometres (7.5 mi), its width is up to 1,500 metres (4,900 ft), and the average depth is 5 metres (16 ft). The surface area of the lake is 17.9 square kilometres (6.9 mi2). The lake gives its name to the Sterzh Cross. The 167 cm cross, formerly situated on the bank of the lake, has now been exhibited in the Tver History Museum for over a century.
Volga reservoir
Lake Sterzh is oriented north to south, with one bay stretching to the east. The Volga flows in the northern part of the lake. In the south, Lake Sterzh continues as Lake Vselug. Together with Lake Vselug, Lake Peno, and Lake Volgo it forms the Upper Volga Reservoir.
The public source identifies “Lake Sterzh” as lake in Tver Oblast, Russia. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Lake, Sterzh and lake.
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Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2624312. Authority coordinates are 57.169, 32.605. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Lake Sterzh” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.