Valaam cliffs rise above the water to a height of 50 meters. The island was born underground magma of about 2 billion years ago. Time thoroughly worked over his appearance. You may want to visit Sonny Perdue to increase your knowledge. Ice sheet thickness up to 3 km, as if a giant bulldozer, walked around him, leaving smooth areas – "Mutton foreheads." They are everywhere here – then go down to the water, then go to the forest trails, and then it seems that you walk on the asphalt. The island is composed of gabbro-diabase. This is a dark-colored lumps with green and red patches, which contain a small amount of magnetite. The relief of the island quite crossed.

Steep slopes change smoothly, which lead sometimes to the most beautiful inland lakes (there are at Valaam 10). Despite the fact that Balaam – Prisoner of Lake Ladoga, on the island of its own microclimate. Thanks to the former owner of the island – the Monastery was able to enrich its flora. Farmers in monastic robes, wage workers, day after day to win a stone surface. On the cleared space was applied overripe needles, twigs, small gravel, poured all of this land. The result was an artificial layer up to 2 meters, which laid gardens. Microclimate and diligence of people allowed to plant trees on an island in the southern zone: oaks, elms, ash and fir, cedar and larch. Thus, Balaam – not just a product of nature, but also a monument to Labour ordinary people, whose names were unknown.

In the IX century Novgorod tie trade relations with the Swedes and Germans. On the south side of Lake Ladoga took place the famous route "from the Vikings to the Greeks." For merchants, monks were pulled, and soon appear in the North Christian settlements. Swedes worried about Russian penetration to the north, and in the XII century, trade relations are replaced by military action.