People call the Volga the Mother of Russia. The first mention of it can be found in the works of the ancient historian Herodotus. The river flows throughout the European part of the country. The river's path begins in the forest zone and ends in desert areas, flowing into the Caspian Sea. From a small stream at an altitude of 227 meters above sea level, the Volga turns into a huge freshwater massif at the mouth, reaching a width between the banks of 20-30 kilometers.
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The Volga is the longest river in Europe and the largest in the world.
- Its length from source to mouth is 3,550 kilometers, and the area along the length of the water basin is approximately 1,350 thousand square kilometers and occupies a third of the central part of Russia;
- More than two hundred tributaries and a huge number of drains flow into the river; there are approximately 150 thousand of them.
More complete information about this great river of Russia can be found in Wikipedia, where all the encyclopedic data about the reservoir is dryly described. The Volga originates in the outback of the Tver region, and if not for a small chapel with an indicative inscription, it would be impossible to guess that this is the source of the mighty Russian river.
Spring at the beginning of the river
The source of the Volga River is marked on the map as an area in the outback of the Valdai Upland. A small spring is the beginning of the most beautiful river in the world. IN Ostashkovsky district In the Tver region, on the outskirts of the small village of Volgoverkhovye, there is a small swamp with several springs gushing out. One of them is considered the source of a mighty reservoir.
Above the spring, a small chapel is installed on stilts. After crossing the bridge, you can get inside and see through a window in the floor the beginning of a huge river located above the spring. In 1995 His Holiness Patriarch Alexy the Second of Moscow and All Rus' consecrated the water of the source and the chapel. The rite of blessing the water has since taken place annually on May 29. Since then, the water that gives life to the beginning of the Volga has been considered holy. There is a font in the chapel from which you can scoop up water for washing or you can take it with you.
Not far from the source there is a stone with a carved reminder of the significance of the place, saying that: “The purity and greatness of the Russian land is born here.” A small stream flowing from the chapel about thirty centimeters deep and no more than 60 centimeters wide. You can step over it or stop and take a photo, standing on both banks of the Volga at the same time. In hot weather, the narrow channel sometimes dries up, but this does not affect the fullness of the water. big river. The Volga is fed melt water and numerous rivers, lakes, springs, making it possible for the mouth to spill over many kilometers in width.
Interesting to know: Standing on the river under Prince Ivan III.
Traveling to beautiful, and most importantly, environmentally friendly places is a great luxury these days. The source area of the Volga is one of such territories. You can truly enjoy nature and the echo of Orthodox Russian antiquity.
Okovetsky spring
Not far from the source of the Volga there is a source with very ancient history And healing properties. According to an old legend, in 1539, an icon of the Holy Cross of the Lord appeared next to the key. After this event, the stream acquired wonderful healing properties. At the site where the icon was found, by order of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, a chapel was erected, which was destroyed and rebuilt several times. The last revival of the consecrated structure took place in 1991. Based on historical documents, an exact copy was built according to the model of 1870.
Healing water, according to legend, brought health to many people. After visiting the spring, you can plunge into the holy waters of the legendary spring. Special fonts were built for this purpose. The water temperature at any time of the year is +4 degrees. Rising from a depth of 800 meters, the Okovetsky Spring flows into the Volga as a stream, feeding it with holy water.
Holguin Convent
The monastery was founded in 1649 and was originally for male monks. In 1727 a fire destroyed the monastery. The temple was revived with donations from Orthodox believers only at the beginning of the twentieth century. A community was formed nearby and nuns settled. The monastery became a women's monastery and was named in honor of Princess Equal to the Apostles Olga, Olginsky. During the Great Patriotic War A stable was equipped in the monastery church, and later a warehouse. It was restored and brought into proper shape only in 1999 through the efforts of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Lake Sterzh
Fifteen kilometers from its source, the Volga flows into the picturesque Lake Sterzh, before flowing through two smaller bodies of water: Malye Verkhity and Bolshiye Verkhity. There are a lot of fish in the lake and excellent scenery along the banks middle zone Russia. People living on the shore say that in sunny weather you can see how the waters of the Volga, without mixing, cross the Sterzh. This powerful through current can be distinguished by the color of the water. It differs from the color of the waters of the main reservoir.
Just beyond the lake is the first operating dam, from where the flow in the upper reaches of the Volga is controlled. Then the river begins to gain strength, fullness and grandeur. In the village of Volgoverkhovye, guides suggest walking along several ecological trails, no more than a kilometer long. While walking, you can listen to a story about the significant events of this territory, see numerous monuments along the way and simply relax your soul.
Interesting to know: How many exist on planet Earth?
How to get there on your own
Bus excursions are offered to the source of the Volga at a fairly affordable price, but it’s also easy to get there on your own. Regular public transport does not go there.
Distances to the source of the Volga from major Russian cities
- from Moscow - 440 km;
- from St. Petersburg - 440 km;
- from Tver - 260 km;
- from Veliky Novgorod - 260 km;
- from Yaroslavl - 585 km;
- from Smolensk - 406 km;
- from Vologda - 645.
A journey to the beginning of the Great Russian River is a fascinating and educational event for the whole family.
Volga - a river flowing in the European part of Russia on the territory of 11 regions and 4 republics. Refers to a swimming pool.
In the upper reaches, the Volga River flows from northwest to southeast, then from the city of Kazan the direction of the river changes to the south. Near Volgograd, the river bed turns to the southwest.
The Volga River begins on the Valdai Hills from a spring in the village of Volgoverkhovye, Ostashkovsky district, Tver region. The Volga Delta begins near the city of Volgograd, Vogograd Region. And 60 km from the city of Astrakhan, Astrakhan region, the Volga River flows into the Caspian Sea.
The Volga River is one of the most large rivers on Earth and the largest in Europe. It is in 16th place in length among the world's rivers and in 4th place. The Volga is also the largest river in the world that flows into an inland body of water.
The name of the Volga River comes from the Old Slavonic word - vologa, moisture.
Settlements.
The Volga River is the central water artery of Russia. The river is located in the European part of the country.
The Volga River flows through the territory of many constituent entities of the Russian Federation: in the Tver region, in the Moscow region, in Yaroslavl region, in the Kostroma region, in the Ivanovo region, in the Nizhny Novgorod region, in the Republic of Chuvashia, in the Republic of Mari El, in the Republic of Tatarstan, in the Ulyanovsk region, in the Samara region, in the Saratov region, in the Volgograd region, in the Astrakhan region, in the Republic of Kalmykia.
On the Volga River, from source to mouth, there are four millionaire cities:
- city Nizhny Novgorod— is the administrative center of the Nizhny Novgorod region of Russia and the largest city of the Volga Federal District. It is located in the middle of the East European Plain at the confluence of the Oka River and the Volga River. The Oka divides N. Novgorod into 2 parts: top part on the Dyatlov Mountains; the lower part is on the left bank of the Oka. Until 1990, the city was named Gorky in honor of the writer M. Gorky.
— the city of Kazan is the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, a large port on the left bank of the Volga River. It is the largest scientific, educational, economically developed, cultural and sports center in Russia. The Kazan Kremlin is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
— the city of Samara is a city located in the middle Volga region of Russia. It is the administrative center of the Samara region, forming the municipal entity “city district of Samara”. It is the sixth most populous city in Russia with a population of 1.17 million people as of 2012. Samara is a major transport, economic, scientific and educational center. The main industries are: oil refining, mechanical engineering and food industry.
— the city of Volgograd is a city located in the southeast of the European part of Russia, and is the administrative center of the Volgograd region. It is located on the western bank of the Volga River in its lower reaches. Together with the cities of Volzhsky and Krasnoslobodsk located on the eastern bank, it is part of the Volgograd agglomeration. The population of the city is 1,018,739 people. Volgograd was called Tsaritsyn from 1589 to 1925, and Stalingrad from 1925 to 1961.
Most big cities on the Volga: Rzhev, Tver, Dubna, Kimry, Kalyazin, Uglich, Myshkin, Rybinsk, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Kineshma, Yuryevets, Kozmodemyansk, Cheboksary, Zvenigovo, Volzhsk, Tetyushi, Ulyanovsk, Novoulyanovsk, Sengiley, Togliatti, Zhigulevsk, Syzran, Khvalynsk , Balakovo, Volsk, Marks, Saratov, Engelsk, Kamyshin, Nikolaevsk, Akhtubinsk, Kharabali, Narimanov, Astrakhan, Kamyzyak.
The rest of the settlements located on the banks of the Volga River from its source to its mouth can be viewed
Routes (access roads).
Due to the fact that the banks of the Volga River are dotted with many settlements, there are many railway and road access routes to the river, so travelers and tourists usually do not have a question about how to get to the river.
The Volga River is connected to the Baltic Sea by the Volga-Baltic waterway, as well as the Vyshnevolotsk and Tikhvin systems. The Volga River is connected to the White Sea through the White Sea-Baltic Canal and through the Severodvinsk system. With Black and Seas of Azov The Volga River is connected through the Volga-Don Canal.
There are also inland waterways along the Volga River: from the city of Rzhev to the Kolkhoznik pier (589 km); from the Kolkhoznik pier to the village of Krasnye Barrikady (2604 km), as well as a 40-kilometer section in the river delta.
There are 1,450 marinas and ports on the river. The largest of them are from the source of the Volga to its mouth - in Selizharovo, in Rzhev, in Zubtsovo, in Staritsa, Tver river port, in Konakovo, in Dubna, in Kimry, in Kalyazin, in Uglich, in Myshkin, in Rybinsk, in Tutaev , in Yaroslavl, in Kostroma, in the city of Ples, in Kineshma, in Chkalovsk, in the city of Gorodets, in Balakhin, in Nizhny Novgorod, in Kozmodemyansk, in Cheboksary, in Novocheboksarsk, in Zvenigovo, Volzhsk, Kazan river port, port Bolgar, port in Tetyushi, Ulyanovsk river port, in Novoulyanovsk, in Sengilei, in Togliatti, Samara river port, in Syzran, in Khvalynsk, in Balakovo, in Volsk, in Saratov, in Kamyshin, in Volgograd, in Narimanov, Astrakhan river port.
Automobile access roads to the Volga River can be viewed
You can see the bridges built across the Volga River
Main tributaries and reservoirs.
The river system of the Volga basin includes 151 thousand. watercourses are streams, rivers and temporary watercourses, the total length of which is 574,000 km. The Volga receives about 200 tributaries. There are more left tributaries and they are richer than the right ones. After the city of Kamyshin (Volgograd region) there are no significant tributaries.
The most large tributaries The Volga rivers are considered to be the Kama and Oka rivers.
— river – length 1805 km, basin area 507,000 km²; left tributary.
- - length 1498.6 km, basin area 245,000 km²; right tributary.
In addition to many tributaries, there are several reservoirs on the river:
— Upper Volga Reservoir – length 85 km, width 6 km, area 183 km².
— Ivankovskoye Reservoir – length about 120 km, width of the reservoir 2-5 km, area 327 km², volume 1.12 km³, greatest depth 19 m, average depth 4 m.
— Uglich reservoir – length 146 km, width 0.4-5 km, area 249 km², volume 1.24 km³, greatest depth 22 m, average depth 5 m.
— Rybinsk Reservoir – length 140 km, width 70 km, area 4580 km², volume 25.4 km³, greatest depth 25-30 m, average depth 5.5 m.
— Gorky Reservoir – length 427 km, width 3 km, area 1590 km², volume 8.71 km³, maximum depth 22 m.
— Samara (Kuibyshev) reservoir – length 600 km, width up to 40 km, area 6.5 thousand km², volume 58 km³, greatest depth 41 m, average depth 8 m.
— Cheboksary Reservoir – length 341 km, width 16 km, area 2190 km², volume 13.85 km³, maximum depth 35 m, average depth 6 m.
— Volgograd Reservoir – length 540 km, width up to 17 km, area 3117 km², volume 31.5 km³, average depth 10.1 m.
More detailed information you can read about the tributaries of the Volga River
Relief and soils.
The Volga River is a typical lowland river. The area of the Volga basin occupies about 1/3 of the European part of Russia and extends along the Russian Plain from the Valdai and Central Russian Uplands in the west and to the Urals in the east. Due to the very large length of the river, the composition of the soils in the Volga basin is very diverse.
Vegetation.
The Upper Volga from its source to the city of Nizhny Novgorod and the city of Kazan is located in a forest zone. The middle part of the river to the city of Samara and the city of Saratov is located in the forest steppe zone. The lower part of the river is located in the steppe zone up to the city of Volgograd, and a little further south lies in the semi-desert zone.
In the upper reaches of the Volga there are large forested areas, in the middle part and partly in the Lower Volga region, large areas of the territory are occupied by crops of grain and industrial crops. Gardening and melon growing are also developed.
Hydrological regime.
The Volga is conventionally divided into three parts: the upper part of the Volga - from the source of the Volga River to the confluence of the Oka into it, the middle part of the Volga - from the confluence of the Oka (Nizhny Novgorod) to the confluence of the Kama River into the Volga (Nizhnekamsk) and the lower part Volga - from the confluence of the Kama River to the mouth of the Volga.
The length of the Volga River from source to mouth is approximately 3530 km (even before the construction of reservoirs it was 3690 km long). The drainage basin area is 1,361,000 km². Water flow near the city of Volgograd is 8060 m³/s. The height of the source is 228 meters above sea level. The height at the mouth is 28 meters below sea level. The river slope is 0.07 m/km. The total drop is 256 m. average speed The water flow in the channel is low - from 2 to 6 km/h. The average depth is 9 m, the depth in summer and during winter low water is about 3 m.
The river is fed a little by rain (10%), a little more by groundwater (30%) and mainly by snow (60% of the annual flow) water. Spring flood in April-June. Low water levels are observed in summer and during winter low water. There are autumn floods in October as a result of prolonged rains.
The average annual water flow at the Upper Volga dam is 29 m³/s, near the city of Tver - 182 m³/s, near the city of Yaroslavl - 1,110 m³/s, near the city of N. Novgorod - 2,970 m³/s, near the city of Samara - 7,720 m³/s s, near the city of Volgograd - 8,060 m³/s. Below the city of Volgograd, the river loses about 2% of its water flow to evaporation.
The water temperature in the Volga River in July reaches 20-25 °C. The river near Astrakhan breaks up from ice in mid-March. In the first half of April, the opening occurs on the upper Volga and below the city of Kamyshin; throughout the rest of the river, the opening occurs in mid-April. The Volga freezes in the upper and middle parts of its course at the end of November; in the lower part - in early December. The Volga remains free from freezing for about 200 days a year, and near Astrakhan about 260 days. With the creation of reservoirs on the river, the thermal regime of the Volga changed: at the upper dams the duration ice phenomena increased, and became shorter on the lower ones.
The bottom of the Volga is sandy, silty-sandy and silty; on the riffles the soil is gristly or pebbly.
Ichthyofauna.
In terms of its diversity of fish, the Volga is considered one of the richest rivers in Russia. Its waters are home to 76 species of fish and 47 subspecies. Grayling is found in the upper reaches of the Volga. Constantly found in the Volga are: carp, sterlet, bream, ide, pike-perch, pike, burbot, bleak, perch, catfish, dace, ruffe, bluegill, chub, roach, white-eye, podust, silver bream, asp, etc. Among the migratory fish that enter the river from the Caspian Sea: beluga, lamprey, sturgeon, stellate sturgeon, white fish, thorn, Volga and common herring. Among the semi-anadromous fish that live in the river are: bream, carp, pike-perch, bershi, catfish, asp, sabrefish, etc. The smallest species of fish in the Volga is the granular puglovka, its length is only 2.5 cm. In appearance, it resembles a tadpole. And the most big fish The Volga River is a beluga, its length can reach 4 meters.
Water quality.
The Volga River experiences enormous anthropogenic pressure from numerous sources of pollution located along its banks, as well as directly in the mouth.
Russia's great industrial potential is concentrated in the Volga basin, which is represented by giant chemical enterprises, oil refineries, large engineering associations and thermal power plants. Cargo and passenger ships sail along the Volga River and its tributaries. Hydrocarbon raw materials (coal, gas, oil) are being extracted in this area. Hundreds and thousands of organizations have their interests in the Volga region. Some of them are river polluters.
The Volga accounts for more than a third of the country's total wastewater discharge. Active wastewater treatment plants provide effective water purification of only 8% of contaminated waters. A large number of pollutants enter the Volga with water from the Oka River and the Kama River, as well as their tributaries. The largest volumes of contaminated wastewater occur in cities such as: Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Saratov, Samara, Balakhna, Volgograd, Togliatti, Cherepovets, Ulyanovsk, Ivanovo, Naberezhnye Chelny.
Inorganic and organic pollutants include petroleum products, heavy metal compounds, pesticides (pesticides), phenols, synthetic detergents, etc. These substances enter the river water with waste from industry, agricultural and domestic waste. Many of them are in aquatic environment either decompose very slowly or do not decompose at all.
Use, tourism and recreation.
The Volga River is used by people for a wide variety of purposes. First of all, it has an important economic importance as a transport route. Bread, salt, fish, vegetables, oil, petroleum products, cement, gravel, coal, metal, etc. are supplied up the Volga; Lumber, timber, mineral and construction cargo, and industrial materials are floated downstream.
Passenger transportation and excursions on motor ships are also carried out on the river.
The river is a source of water supply for agricultural facilities, as well as plants, factories and other industrial enterprises.
A number of dams and hydroelectric power stations have been built on the river to generate electricity for human needs.
Economic, recreational and sport fishing is carried out on the river. Many people use the Volga for travel and outdoor activities.
Reference Information.
Length: 3530 km.
Basin area: 1,361,000 km².
Pool: Caspian Sea.
Source: Valdai Upland
Location: Volgoverkhovye village, Ostashkovsky district, Tver region of Russia.
Coordinates: 57°15′7.51″ N. latitude, 32°28′12.62″ e. d.
Mouth: Caspian Sea.
Location: 60 km from the city of Astrakhan, Astrakhan region of Russia.
Coordinates: 45°53′14.98″ N. latitude, 48°31′1.3″ e. d.
The length of the Volga River is more than three and a half thousand kilometers, there are as many as four millionaire cities on it, several hydroelectric power stations, and it’s impossible to count how many paintings with the Volga have been created or poems written about it. However, this mighty river originates in a far less epic way - in a small but clean swamp, far from the village, where no one has lived for a long time.
In ancient times, the Volga was known as Ra (“generous”) and Itil (“ great river"), and received its modern name from the Proto-Slavic word meaning “moisture”. The Volga flows into the Caspian Sea, but its source is different time was in different places. There is even an opinion that the Volga used to begin in the mountains as a stormy mountain river, but today its source is considered to be a completely calm swamp near the village of Volgoverkhovye, Ostashkovsky district, Tver region.
Now there are no permanent residents in this village, only a few buildings built as summer cottages. But this place is well equipped, so tourists come here regularly. In addition to the famous swamp itself, there are also other important attractions - the Olginsky Convent (mostly visitors are attracted to it main temple- Spaso-Preobrazhensky) and the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, made entirely of wood.
Also attracting the attention of tourists is the Chapel of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, which is located just above the source of the Volga. Inside this chapel there is a hole in the floor, so those who wish can draw water from the source of the Volga.
Since the source of the river is located in close proximity to the village (250 meters), the bridge across the river in the village is not just a bridge, but “the first bridge across the Volga.” This is an ordinary wooden bridge, only about two meters long. The current bridge with handrails is certainly modern, but it was in this same place that there were bridges here before, in particular one of them can be seen in the photographs of S. M. Prokudin-Gorsky and M. P. Dmitriev (c. 1910) .
The first dam on the Volga is also located here. Like the local bridge, “first” here denotes not age, but location from the source. The dam was built at the beginning of the 20th century by the Olginsky convent. It is a fairly simple wooden structure with a bridge over the dam itself.
The world-famous Russian river originates on the Valdai Hills, or more precisely, in the village of Volgoverkhovye, Ostashkovsky district, Tver region. The Volga begins its journey from a height of 228 meters above sea level.
This is how, among the dense forests of the Tver region, the great Russian river is gaining its strength and power. The Volga here is calm and unhurried.
There is silence all around, which is occasionally broken by the timid voice of the cuckoo. And even rare passing cars.
The text at the source of the Volga, carved on a granite slab, confirms that this is where the great reservoir begins.
Its first stream is considered to be the Persyanka stream. Further, the river flows 91 km along the lakes Maly and Bolshoy Verkhit, Sterzh, Vselug, Peno, Volgo. It is here that it gains its strength and power, which it carries for 3900 km.
The Volga is 16th in length in the world and 5th in Russia.
Not far from the stream that gives rise to the Volga, there is a huge memorial stone. It was laid back in 1989, on June 22 - the 48th anniversary of the start of the Great Patriotic War. The monument also reminds us where we are and indicates that “here are the sources of the people’s soul.”
The stone looks majestic and impressive, as it should be next to such mighty river
The inscription on the memorial stone reads:
Traveler! Turn your gaze to the source of the Volga! The purity and greatness of the Russian land is born here. Here are the origins of the people's soul. Keep them.
Being around him immediately makes you feel good and peaceful. I want to lean against him and even lie on top of him.
Where does the Volga begin?
. You can’t say that a small shallow stream, which you can easily step over, turns into a mighty river further downstream.
Murmuring merrily, it flows from the swamp among the trees and grasses. The water is cold and clear, slightly brownish.
Holy water and chapel
When we were just preparing for the trip, we found out several interesting facts about the source of the Volga. Tver and the surrounding area began to be considered the beginning of the river not so long ago. For a long time the exact location of the source could not be determined.
When this issue was sorted out, the stream, which became the beginning of the river, was consecrated by the patriarch. A wooden chapel on stilts was erected above the stream. You can walk to the house along a narrow bridge, and from there you go down to the water along a platform with steps.
It flows through the European part of the country, and its mouth is located in the Caspian Sea. It is officially believed that the length of the Volga is 3,530 km. But if we add some more reservoirs to this figure, it turns out that the length of the queen of Russian rivers will be 3,692 km. Volga is longest river throughout Europe.
The area of its basin is 1 million 380 thousand square meters. km. It is interesting that there are mentions of the Volga already in the works of the ancient Greek scientist Ptolemy. He calls it “Ra” in his studies. And the Arabs once called the Volga the word “Itil”, which means “river”.
Barge Haulers and Volga
The Volga has gone down in history for all time due to the use of heavy barge labor. It was necessary only at a time when the movement of ships turned out to be impossible against its current, that is, during floods. During the day, the Burlatsky artel could travel up to ten kilometers. A total the number of working barge haulers for the entire season could reach six hundred.
Sources of the great river
The river originates at Not far from the village of Volgoverkhovye, several springs gush out from under the ground. One of these springs is recognized as the source of the great Volga. This spring is surrounded by a chapel. All the springs in this area flow into a small lake, from which, in turn, flows a stream no more than a meter wide. The depth of the Volga (if we conventionally designate this stream as the beginning of a great river) here is only 25-30 cm.
It is believed that the Volga exists mainly thanks to snow. About 60% of its total nutrition comes from melting snow. Another third of the Volga is supplied by groundwater. And rain nutrition accounts for only 10%.
Upper Volga: depth and other characteristics
Moving further, the stream becomes wider and then flows into a lake called Sterzh. Its length is 12 km, width - 1.5 km. And the total area is 18 km². The Sterzh is part of the Upper Volga Reservoir, the total length of which is 85 km. And already beyond the reservoir, the name Verkhnyaya begins. The depth of the Volga here averages from 1.5 to 2.1 m.
The Volga, like most other rivers, is conventionally divided into three parts - Upper, Middle and Lower. First Big city on the way of this river is Rzhev. Followed by ancient city Tver. In this area there is the Ivankovskoye Reservoir, which stretches for 146 km. In his area the depth of the river increases to 23 m. The Volga in the Tver region stretches for 685 km.
There is a section of the river in the Moscow region, but in this territory it occupies no more than 9 km. Not far from it is the city of Dubna. And next to the Ivankovskaya dam, its largest tributary in the Moscow region, the one of the same name, flows into the Volga. Here, in the 30s of the 20th century, the canal named after. Moscow, connecting the Moscow River and the Ivankovskoye Reservoir, the waters of which are indispensable for the economy of the capital.
Further downstream is its length of 146 km. The depth of the Volga at the Uglich reservoir is 5 meters. which is the northernmost point of the Volga, has a depth of 5.6 m. Beyond it, the river changes its direction from northeast to southeast.
Depth of the Volga and other indicators in the middle and lower sections
The section of the Middle Volga begins at the point where the Oka, the largest right tributary of the river, flows into it. At this place stands Nizhny Novgorod - one of the largest settlements in Russia. The width and depth of the Volga here are as follows:
- the width of the channel ranges from 600 m to 2 km;
- maximum depth is about 2 m.
After merging with the Oka, the bed of the Volga becomes increasingly wider. Near Cheboksary, the great river encounters an obstacle - the Cheboksary hydroelectric power station. The length of the Cheboksary reservoir is 341 m, width is about 16 km. Its greatest depth is 35 m, the average is 6 m. And the river becomes even larger and more powerful when the Kama River flows into it.
A section of the Lower Volga begins from this point, and now it flows into the Caspian Sea. Even further upstream, after the Volga bends around the Tolyatti Mountains, the largest of all its reservoirs is located - Kuibyshevskoye. Its length is 500 m, width - 40 km, and depth - 8 m.
What is the depth of the Volga in its delta? Features of the Great River Delta
The length of the delta near the Caspian Sea is about 160 km. Width - about 40 km. The delta includes about 500 canals and small rivers. It is believed that the mouth of the Volga is the largest in all of Europe. Here you can meet unique representatives of the animal and flora- pelicans, flamingos, and even see a lotus. Here it is already difficult to talk about such a parameter as the depth of the Volga. The maximum depth of the river in its delta is, according to various estimates, up to 2.5 m. The minimum is 1-1.7 m.
In size, this section of the Volga exceeds even the deltas of such rivers as the Terek, Kuban, Rhine and Meuse. It, like the river itself, played a very important role in the formation of the first settlements in these territories. Trade routes passed here that connected the Lower Volga with Persia and other Arab countries. Tribes of the Khazars and Polovtsians settled here. Presumably in the 13th century. here a Tatar settlement called Ashtarkhan first appeared, which eventually became the beginning of Astrakhan.
What is unusual about the Volga delta
The peculiarity of the Volga delta is that, unlike other deltas, it is not sea, but lacustrine. After all, the Caspian Sea is essentially a large lake, since it is not connected to the World Ocean. The Caspian is called a sea only due to its impressive size, which makes it look like a sea.
The Volga flows through the territory of 15 constituent entities Russian Federation and is one of the most important waterways for industry, shipping, energy and other important areas of the state.