The basin of the lake includes parts of Belozersky, Vashkinsky, Babayevsky, and Vytegorsky Districts of Vologda Oblast, as well as minor areas in Kargopolsky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast. Most of the basin lies north of the lake, in the Andoma Hills, and includes smaller lakes, many of them being of glacial origin. These lakes include Lake Kovzhskoye, Lake Kemskoye, Lake Kushtozero, Lake Sholskoye, Lake Druzhinnoye, and, south of Lake Beloye, Lake Lozskoye.