home Women Kuma River now. The Kuma River in the Stavropol Territory: characteristics, meaning of the name, tributaries

Kuma River now. The Kuma River in the Stavropol Territory: characteristics, meaning of the name, tributaries

Kuma (Kabard-Cherk. Gum, Abaz. Gvym, Karach.-Balk. Gum suў, Chech. GӀum - “sand”, “sandy”, Kum. Kum) is a river in the North Caucasus.

Length 802 km, basin 33.5 thousand km².

Main tributaries: right - Podkumok, Zolka, Daria; left - Tomuzlovka, Sukhoi and Mokry Karamyki, Mokraya Buvola.

Etymology

The name is mainly derived from the Turkic word “kum” (“sand”). In its lower reaches, the Kuma actually flows through sand. In the 11th-13th centuries, Polovtsian headquarters were located along its banks, which is why some identify the name of the river with the self-name of the Polovtsians - “Cumans”.

Characteristics

Kuma originates on the northern slope of the Rocky Range, in the east of Karachay-Cherkessia. Kuma is a wild mountain river. With access to the plain it acquires a calm character with many meanders (eriks). When exiting Caspian lowland outside the city of Neftekumsk is divided into several branches, which, as a rule, do not reach Caspian Sea.

The river is mainly fed by precipitation. The average annual water flow is 10-12 m³/s near the village of Suvorovskaya. Kuma water is highly turbid (about 600 thousand tons of suspended material are carried out per year) and is widely used for irrigation (Tersko-Kuma and Kumo-Manych canals). The flow in the middle and lower reaches is regulated by the Otkaznensky reservoir (near the village of Otkaznoe). During the summer low-water period, Kuma is dismantled for irrigation in the rich Kum Valley (from the village of Suvorovskaya to the city of Neftekumsk).

Freeze-up lasts from late November - early December to early March. In the past, high spring floods were typical.

Settlements

The following settlements with more than 10 thousand inhabitants are located on Kuma: the village of Suvorovskaya, the village of Aleksandriyskaya, the village of Krasnokumskoye, the village of Soldato-Aleksandrovskoye, the city of Zelenokumsk, the village of Arkhangelskoye, the village of Praskovya, the city of Budyonnovsk, the village of Levokumskoye, the city of Neftekumsk and several dozen smaller settlements with a total number of 350 thousand people.

Reservoir and canals

A reservoir of the same name was created on the river near the village of Otkaznoe. After its formation, the turbidity of the water decreased significantly. The artificial reservoir is considered to be one of the most fishing places. In this regard, trapping is carried out there throughout the year, both professional and amateur.

There are more than 70 species of fish, among which the majority are gudgeon, crucian carp, bream, pike perch and perch. In addition to the reservoir, two irrigation canals were built on the Kuma stream - Kumo-Manychsky and Tersko-Kumsky.

They also transport water to the basin of several rivers (Eastern Manych, etc.), where it is processed, after which it is supplied to consumers.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RIVER KUMA - STAVROPOLYE

For a long time, people settled along the banks of the river. Thus, in Kuma there arose Zelenokumsk, Budennovsk, the villages of Bekeshevskaya, Suvorovskaya, Alexandriyskaya, Podgornaya, the villages of Prikumskoye, Obilnoe, Novozavedennoye, Soldato-Alexandrovskoye, Otkaznoe, Pokoinoye, Levokumskoye, Vladimirovka, Urozhainoye, Praskoveya.

The Kuma flows from southwest to northeast, crossing various altitude zones, which determines diversity natural conditions in its catchment area. In the upper reaches it flows in canyons, distinguished by high and steep banks, striking with the pristine, harsh wildness of nature. Up to the village of Suvorovskaya, the Kuma is a foothill river with a moving pebble-sand bed. During the flood period it forms many branches. Below the village of Suvorovskaya, the Kuma takes on the features of a steppe river. Flows with one sleeve. It has relatively high and steep banks. In the middle reaches it has a wide valley. The entire lower reaches of the Kuma River are located at 45 degrees north latitude, that is, literally halfway between the equator and North Pole.

Until the village of Praskovey, the Kuma flows in one channel. After reaching the Caspian lowland, it is divided into a number of branches that flow through marshy areas, between forests and reeds, in narrow and muddy streams. Below the village of Vladimirovka, the Kuma, having collected its waters, again flows in one channel, but does not reach the very mouth; its water for the most part usually does not reach the Caspian Sea.

This suggests that there were huge forests in the Kuma valley. Even in the 70-80s XVIII century in Qom there was a significant more water, and along its valley there were dense forests all the way to present-day Budennovsk. Kuma waters have been widely used for irrigation for a long time. In the past, these were ditches and eriks, the water from which was used to water gardens, vineyards and vegetable gardens. Irrigated agriculture received the most widespread development after the construction of the Terek-Kumsky canal in 1960 and the Kuma-Manychsky canal in 1964. Near the village of Levokumskoye, Kuma receives water from the mountain Terek through a canal. Mixing waters has a beneficial effect on reducing the salinity of the Kuma River and increasing its flow in the lower reaches.

For a long time, people settled along the banks of the river. So, in Kuma, Zelenokumsk, Budennovsk, the villages of Bekeshevskaya, Suvorovskaya, Alexandriyskaya, Podgornaya, the villages of Prikumskoye, Obilnoe, Novozavedennoye, Soldato-Alexandrovskoye, Otkaznoe, Pokoinoye, Levokumskoye, Vladimirovka, Urozhainoye, Praskovya.

The Kuma flows from southwest to northeast, crossing various altitude zones, which determines the diversity of natural conditions in its catchment area. In the upper reaches it flows in canyons, distinguished by high and steep banks, striking with the pristine, harsh wildness of nature. Up to the village of Suvorovskaya, the Kuma is a foothill river with a moving pebble-sand bed. During the flood period it forms many branches. Below the village of Suvorovskaya, the Kuma takes on the features of a steppe river. Flows with one sleeve. It has relatively high and steep banks. In the middle reaches it has a wide valley. The entire lower reaches of the Kuma River are located at 45 degrees north latitude, that is, literally halfway between the equator and the North Pole. Until the village of Praskovey, the Kuma flows in one channel. After reaching the Caspian lowland, it is divided into a number of branches that flow through marshy areas, between forests and reeds, in narrow and muddy streams. Below the village of Vladimirovka, the Kuma, having collected its waters, again flows in one channel, but does not reach the very mouth; its water for the most part usually does not reach the Caspian Sea.

According to many years of observations, in the section between the village of Bekeshevskaya and the village of Vladimirovka, the river freezes. Ice phenomena usually begin on December 12-15 and continue until the end of February.

The river is fed mainly by snow and rain. The presence of these two runoff formation zones influenced the features water regime rivers. Snowmelt in the steppes causes an annual spring flood, lasting from three to four months.

To protect themselves from spills, residents of the right bank began to build earthen ramparts back in the nineteenth century. Today, in the area of the city of Budennovsk you can see the remains of these earthen structures. To regulate water flow in Kuma, in the second half of the twentieth century, the Otkaznenskoye reservoir was built between the villages of Soldato-Aleksandrovskoye and Otkaznoye. During a flood, it accepts 32 million cubic meters for storage. water.

The river waters are characterized by high turbidity - a mass of silt, clay and sand particles. In terms of turbidity, among the rivers not only of the lowland Ciscaucasia, but also of the entire European part of Russia, the Kuma occupies a record position.

Hence, apparently, its name. Some researchers translate the word “Kuma” from Tatar as “flowing through the sand.” The word “kum” is also found in other well-known geographical names: Karakum - black sands, Kyzylkum - red sands. And the Kuma River, rather, could be called Peschanka or Peschanaya. And the mountain, from under which streams flow, feeding the river, also has the word “kum” in its name - Kumbashi, which means Sandy Head.

U Turkic peoples Another name for the river is “lost in the sands.” Only in exceptionally high-water years (1886, 1898 and 1921) did the Kuma reach the Caspian Sea and flow into the Kizlyar Bay. Its usual water intake is the floodplains, located east of the village of Urozhaynoye and occupying an area of 420 square kilometers.

On the maps of the sailors of the ancient Romans and Greeks, Kuma was called Idon, among the Ossetians - Udon, the Circassians called it Gumiz, that is, Old Kuma. It can be assumed that in ancient times the river was more abundant than in subsequent centuries. Some researchers claim that the fugitive Don Cossacks-schismatics made large ships on Kum, put them on wheels and dragged them to the Caspian Sea. This suggests that there were huge forests in the Kuma valley. Even in the 70-80s of the 18th century, there was much more water in Kuma, and dense forests grew along its valley all the way to present-day Budennovsk. Kuma waters have been widely used for irrigation for a long time. In the past, these were ditches and eriks, the water from which was used to water gardens, vineyards and vegetable gardens. Irrigated agriculture received the most widespread development after the construction of the Terek-Kumsky canal in 1960 and the Kuma-Manychsky canal in 1964. Near the village of Levokumskoye, Kuma receives water from the mountain Terek through a canal. Mixing waters has a beneficial effect on reducing the salinity of the Kuma River and increasing its flow in the lower reaches.

The right tributaries of the Kuma River are Daria, Gorkaya, Podkumok, Zolka. The left tributaries include Tamlyk, Surkul, Sukhoi Karamyk, Mokry Karamyk, Tomuzlovka, Buivola.

FISHING ON THE KUMA RIVER

Flashing. Catch: 1-3 kilograms (chub 350 g)

Weather: Sun during the day. In the morning it was cool +10, by lunchtime the temperature rose to +24 degrees.

Closer to lunch, a light breeze blew.

Tackle: Spinning 2-11 240

Reel 2000

Fishing place:

Was at the confluence of the Kuma and Podkumok rivers

In the morning I took my daughter to school and slowly drove towards the village of Krasnokumskoye. I fished there successfully about 10 years ago, and decided to check how things are there now. Moving after the confluence of rivers downstream I caught small fish. I used different baits, especially after catching a chub, I changed the bait at most two times. The largest chub weighed 380 grams. In the place where he was caught, several individuals weighing up to kg were spinning around, but after this one sat down, we made a lot of noise and scared the rest. Then a breeze blew and blew leaves into the water, after which it became uncomfortable to fish because the fallen leaves hung on the hooks of the wobblers. And even switching to oscillating spoons didn’t help. After which I packed up and went home. In principle, the reconnaissance was a success. More details in the video.

Detailed description of the place:

From the bridge with. Kangly on the federal highway, to the railway bridge. Kangly.

Weather, reservoir condition:

Sunny up to 30 degrees, slight breeze, water transparency is 40-50 centimeters.

Fishing method: Flashing

My tackle:

Graphiteleader - Rivolta 6112L Daiva Revros 2000 monofilament 0.16

My lures:

Various wobblers

What kind of fish did you catch: chub

My catch:

3-5 kilograms

The most big fish

chub, 250 gr.

Detailed fishing report

And so here it is, a clean river, a sunny day, and on top of everything, a day off. First, various matters, etc. then we go home along the highway towards Kanglov, I

ready in advance with a backpack (which contains waders), a spinning rod and a bag of bait, I fall out of the car at the turn towards Slavyanovsky village

and move under the bridge which is located on the federal highway across the Kuma River in the area of the village. Kangly. Today I will move downstream until I get bored.... And so the spinning rod is loaded and the baits begin their dance of drift. Well, we didn’t have to wait long for bites. Small chubs lined up, and it didn’t matter to them what kind of lures were used. Therefore, I stuffed the entire arsenal of baits into a backpack behind my back, and left myself a small box with 12-15 wobblers. In total, during the fishing trip, which was 3.5 hours, I walked about 3 km through the water. I found three points where there was a chance to take a large specimen.

But fortune turned around. The first large chub, not even like that, but just like that, the first large chub was prevented by a small thing that, having overtaken it, grabbed the bait and made a bunch of somersaults as if it was not a chub, but a trout.... The second large one stupidly drove the wobbler into a snag, and swam away. It was as if I wasn’t even there at the other end of the tackle, he swam wherever he wanted and allowed me to stupidly hold on to the spinning rod... And the third of the big ones just stupidly pricked himself and got off...

Of those I held in my hands before drowning, there were up to 250 grams of chubs. At first I took pictures of everything in a row, but after 40 minutes I got tired of it. Chub were caught with a frequency of 2-3 minutes in the photo of the next fish.... but I went fishing and not to take pictures. Moreover, the camera ended up in my backpack and I took all the photos with my phone. A camera with a flexible tripod for trophies, but there were none today. I met bored fishermen on the banks. I asked one about his progress; in general, he had been sitting for an hour along the shore; there were 4 donkeys, totaling zero. I will say that the hero’s hand was tired of stabbing:) after two and a half hours, the tiredness of removing the fish from the hooks gave her the opportunity to free herself by walking next to her in the water.

In principle, with a weakened fishing line, the chubs were released quite quickly, from 5 to 15 seconds on average. I caught about 50 small chubs in total... I took a photo of 20 pieces. There were about 8-10 less pleasant gram chubs for 200, the rest were smaller. The average size is about 100-150 grams. It seems that I didn’t walk very far, about three kilometers on the water, but already at 17:30 I called my wife to come pick me up, and he set off to meet me. On the other hand, the fishing was successful because 1) I didn’t swim, 2) I didn’t lose a single bait, 3) I got a huge bunch of bites and catches.

Place - region/district: Dagestan

Weather, reservoir condition:

Mainly cloudy

Fishing method: Donka / Feeder / Picker

Nozzle, bait:

Crawls

What kind of fish did you catch: carp

My catch:

more than 10 kilograms

The largest fish is carp, 3 kg.

Detailed fishing report

Hello everyone! A short report about the trip to Kuma! We left on April 9 at 23:00 and were there at 6:00! We set up, pumped up the boats! And took them to the old fish reception area since there was little water and the canal near the base was empty! The first day we went to the mouth and started catching several crankbaits and carp in the by-catch the bite is bad!

In the evening we started the Niva to tow the boats and it lost its grip!!! It was decided to go to Kochubey tomorrow! In the morning the guys went to catch, we pulled! The car that was pulling in the middle of the steppe drove into the mud and got stuck! Phone doesn’t catch, went for a tractor to Kutan and almost got eaten by a huge dog. The owner came out and said there is no equipment, go to another Kutan at a distance of 7-9 km, reached back and brought ( thanks a lot Magomed for help)

The Niva was pulled out dry by hand and towed by the 24th night to Kochubey (many thanks to Denis and Andrey and everyone who participated in the evacuation) The Mitsubishi (the driver spent the night in it in the steppe) pulled out the Tractor on the morning of April 12. I spent the night in the car in front of the service station, in the morning the Master came (thanks Ali) and by lunchtime I left back for Biryuzyak! We loaded up and headed home! We planned to be home for Easter, but that’s how it turned out! In half a day of fishing, the guys caught 70-80 kg of roach and 20-30 kg of carp!

Place - region/district: Stavropol Territory

Detailed description of the place:

Below the bridge of the federal highway Caucasus area with. Kangly.

Weather, reservoir condition:

Large black clouds move across the sky, and sometimes thunder is heard. There is practically no wind. The water level is below average, after rains the water is slightly cloudy, visibility is 70-80 cm.

Fishing method: Flashing

My tackle:

Banax Ultra 240 2-11 + Daiwa Revros 2000 + monofilament line 0.16 GR Fish Vega 210L + Shimano Catana 1000RA + fluorocarbon 0.18

My lures:

Since I was far away from the car, I used only one bait - the Asakura S-Hornet 4 wobbler

What kind of fish did you catch: chub

My catch:

1-3 kilograms

The largest fish is chub, 400 gr.

Detailed fishing report

The trip was to train my wife, or rather to set up her casting. We left the house at about 14:30 and stayed at the reservoir for about 2 hours. Chub activity is above average. My wife had a Kosadaka Roger SF wobbler and she caught 3 small chubs. When she started to get tired of this, I broke away and moved 100 meters downstream, where I caught the most large specimen 410 grams.

I rush to the car, my wife takes a couple of pictures and the chub returns (like everyone else) to its native element. It's time to leave: (while my wife has the camera, I catch another chub, one more photo and go home. All the other photos were taken with a smartphone, so the quality may not be AIS.

TRITUTARIES OF THE KUMA RIVER

RIVER PODKUMOK

Podkumok is a river in Karachay-Cherkessia and the Stavropol Territory of Russia, the largest right tributary of the Kuma. Length - 160 km. The basin area is 2220 km². Average water flow near Georgievsk (5-7 m³/s).

It originates from Mount Gum-Bashi in Karachay-Cherkessia. It flows into the Kuma in the village of Krasnokumskoye, Georgievsky district, Stavropol Territory.

The nature of the river's flow is mountainous, as it crosses the mountainous region of Pyatigorye. Freeze does not form. The drain is not regulated. High water - April-June, low water - August-November. Sometimes there are severe floods, as in 1977 and June 2002.

The main tributaries are the Karsunka, Eshkakon, Alikonovka, Berezovaya, Bolshoy Essentuchek, Bugunta, Yutsa.

There are several large settlements on Podkumka - the cities of Kislovodsk, Essentuki, Pyatigorsk and Georgievsk, the urban-type settlements of Svobody and Goryachevodsky, the villages of Essentukskaya, Konstantinovskaya, Lysogorskaya, Nezlobnaya, the villages of Uchkeken and Krasnokumskoye, the village of Podkumok. As a result, more than 70 km of Podkumok flows within the settlements of the Caucasian region Mineral water, with a total population of about a million people, which greatly affects the pollution of the river. The underbed waters of Podkumka are used for drinking and domestic needs in some settlements.

Near the village of Bely Ugol (currently a microdistrict of the city of Essentuki), in 1903 on Podkumka, the first hydroelectric power station (HPP) in Russia, “Bely Ugol”, was built, which is currently mothballed.

Historical information

In 1780, at the confluence of the Zolotukh (Zolotushka) and Podkumka rivers, the Konstantinogorsk fortress was founded on the so-called “Dry Line” of the Caucasian Line - future city Pyatigorsk

ZOLKA RIVER

Zolka (Big Zolka) (Kabard-Cherk. Dzelykue) is a river in the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria and in the Stavropol Territory. It originates at the northern foot of the Dzhinalsky ridge in Kabardino-Balkaria. The middle and lower reaches of the river are located in the Stavropol Territory. The mouth of the river is located 508 km along the right bank of the Kuma River. The length of the river is 105 km, the drainage basin area is 945 km².

Water register data

According to the state water register of Russia, it belongs to the Western Caspian Basin District, the water management section of the river - Kuma from the confluence of the Podkumok River to the Otkaznensky hydroelectric complex, the river sub-basin of the river - there is no sub-basin. River basin rivers - drainless areas between the Terek, Don and Volga rivers.

TOMUZLOVKA RIVER

Tomuzlovka is a river in the Stavropol Territory, a left tributary of the Kuma River. Five tributaries flow into Tomuzlovka: Dubovka, Kalinovka, Zhuravka, Shchelkan beam, Gryaznaya beam.

On the right bank of the Tomuzlovka River, Kh. A. Amirkhanov in 1977, near the Zhukovsky farm, identified the Zhukovskoye location. The monument is located at an altitude of approx. 80 m above river level (approx. 300 m above sea level). Due to the absence of non-rooted voles in the fossil fauna, scientists set an upper age limit for it at the level of the Olduvai paleomagnetic episode, respectively, the age of the few archaeological finds estimated at 2 million years.

Tomuzlovka originates on the Prikalaus Heights, where powerful springs flow. The river flows along the steppe plain in a narrow valley with a steep left slope and a smoother right slope. Near the village of Aleksandrovskoye, the riverbed passes through sandstone terrain, forming a stone cornice with caves and bizarre boulders and rocks that resemble fantastic animals. Among them stands out a block of stone in the form of a giant frog, with its head held high and facing west. Bus passengers always stop at this place to admire the amazing sculpture.

Traveling in the Tomuzlovka area, you can come across other, even more bizarre sculptural works of nature.

Before the active development of the surrounding lands by peasants, a swampy floodplain forest grew along Tomuzlovka. At the beginning of the 20th century, during times of heavy floods, small schools of fish went to spawn along the river through the Kuma from the Caspian Sea sturgeon fish. There were many wild boars in the reeds. Pelicans arrived. Due to the cutting down of trees for buildings, fuel and other needs, there is currently nothing left of the forest.

WET BUFFALO

Wet Buffalo, in the upper reaches of the Buffalo and Malaya Buffalo - a river in the Stavropol Territory, a left tributary of the Kuma. The length of the river is 151 km, the area of its drainage basin is 2490 km².

The city of Blagodarny is located on the river. It is a seasonal river - in the absence of rain, it dries up in the lower reaches.

On the map of 1773 compiled by A.I. Gildenshtedt, and the same on the plan of the Madzhar settlement dated 1790, the river and its estuary are designated as “Baibala”. The name comes from one of the Turkic languages. Lake Baibala of the same name is located in Kazakhstan.

Five tributaries flow into the Wet Buffalo:

Kharitonova Balka,

Kopanskaya Balka,

Stone Beam,

Dry Buffalo,

Long Beam.

The Wet Buffalo Estuary - Lake Buffalo - is a picturesque freshwater body of water with an area of 740 hectares, now located within the city of Budennovsk. The lake consists of two parts, blocked by dams.

The shallow water along the banks is overgrown with reed floodplains. It freezes in winter at −10 °C and is a favorite object for winter fishing. There are crucian carp, rudd, pike perch, perch, bottom goby, bleak, roach, and crayfish. Silver carp and carp are commercially bred. The depth is no more than 2.80 m, plus the height of the fluff can reach up to 2 meters. There is a beach, a yacht club. Near the lake there is the Stavrolen chemical plant with its settling tanks along the shore.

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SOURCE OF INFORMATION AND PHOTO:

Team Nomads

Surface water resources of the USSR: Hydrological knowledge. T. 8. Northern Caucasus / ed. D. D. Mordukhai-Boltovsky. - L.: Gidrometeoizdat, 1964. - 309 p.

Kuma River on AquaExpert. RU

General card Russian Empire 1745

Kuma River. Geography of the USSR.

Surface water resources of the USSR: Hydrological knowledge. T. 18.. Issue. 2. Volga region / ed. I. S. Bykadorova. - L.: Gidrometeoizdat, 1963. - 83 p.

Geographical encyclopedic Dictionary: geographical names - Kuma River / Ed. A. F. Treshnikova. — 2nd ed., add. - M.: Soviet encyclopedia, 1989. - P. 489. - 210,000 copies. — ISBN 5-85270-057-6.

https://fion.ru/

Popchikovsky V.Yu., Kuznetsov V.L. and others. Tourist sports routes. M., Profizdat, 1989, 192 p.

Rivers of the North Caucasus.

The name comes from the Turkic “kum” - “sand”.

The development of resources in this territory has a long history. Already in the 3rd–1st centuries. BC. Agriculture, cattle breeding, primitive crafts, pottery, and metal production developed in the river basin.

The Kuma River originates on the northern slopes of the Rocky Range at an altitude of 2100 m. Top part basin (to the mouth of the Podkumok River) occupies the area of distribution of the Greater Caucasus. The middle and lower reaches of the river are located on the northern slopes of the Stavropol Upland, as well as in the west of the Caspian Lowland. When entering the Caspian lowland, the river breaks into branches, creating vast floodplains with a rich fauna. The Kuma River ends in a blind mouth in the Nogai steppe; the waters of the Kuma, as a rule, do not reach the Caspian Sea. The length of the river is 802 km, the basin area is 33.5 thousand km 2 - the 6th largest river in the basin area and the 4th longest river in the Caspian Sea catchment area, the 38th river in Russia in terms of basin area. The main tributaries of the river: Podkumok, Zolka, Daria (right), Tomuzlovka, Sukhoi and Mokry Karamyk, Sukhaya Buivola, Surkul, Mokraya Buvola (left).

Before the confluence with Podkumk, the Kuma is a mountain or semi-mountain river in a narrow valley. The bed here is pebble-sand. In the upper reaches the river has a rapids-waterfall bed. Below Art. The Suvorov Valley is expanding, the river forms a wide floodplain in a poorly defined valley. The banks of the river are steep. In the flat part of the basin, for 7.3% of the river's length, a straight channel is cut into bedrock. The free development of channel deformations is typical for 25% of the length of the Kuma in sections of a relatively straight channel and for 59% of the length of a meandering one. The clayey and loamy banks of the river are eroded at a rate of 0.5–1.0 m/year. In the lower 100 km, the river flows in floodplains that dry up during the dry season.

The average long-term water flow near the city of Zelenokumsk is 19.7 m 3 /s (flow volume 0.622 km 3 /year), near the city of Budyonnovsk - 15.5 m 3 /s (0.489 km 3 /year), near the village. Vladimirovka - 10.6 m 3 /s (0.335 km 3 /year). Kuma has a mixed diet. As the surface of the catchment area increases, the role of rainfall decreases, and that of snow increases.

The flow in the middle and lower reaches of the Kuma River is regulated by the Otkaznensky reservoir. Terek water enters the river basin through the Malka-Zolka canal and the Tersko-Kumsky canal. It does not have a significant effect on the water regime of the river, since no more than 1 m 3 /s is redistributed through the first channel, and through the second channel water flows below the main zone of formation of the Kuma runoff. Kuban water is supplied to the Kuma basin via the Great Stavropol Canal . As a result, the water content of the Kuma River near the city of Budennovsk increased almost four times compared to natural conditions.

The river has a Tien Shan type of water regime. The flood lasts from March to June. During the flood period, about 40% of the annual water flow passes. Rain floods in the summer cause a short-term increase in water levels up to 5 m above low water levels. Floods of rain origin are common. Low water occurs in August–September.

The waters of Kuma are distinguished by a high content of suspended particles. The average annual water turbidity near the cities of Zelenokumsk and Budyonnovsk is 0.15 and 0.63 kg/m3, respectively. After the creation of the Otkaznensky reservoir, the turbidity of water in the lower pool decreased to 0.018 kg/m 3. During the period of high water and floods, it increases to 5–6 kg/m3.

The Kuma ice regime is unstable due to partial thaws. Ice phenomena usually begin in mid-December. Freeze-up occurs in 60% of winters. On the rifts, the formation of intra-water and bottom ice is possible.

In the upper reaches, Kuma water is characterized by low mineralization. It has a hydrocarbonate-calcium composition. Downstream, mineralization increases to 2–3 g/l against the background of an increase in the content of sulfates in the water. The water quality corresponds to polluted, dirty and very dirty rivers.

Kuma's water resources are used for irrigation and watering of arid areas. The Otkaznenskoye reservoir is one of the most fish-producing reservoirs.

The cities of Mineralnye Vody, Zelenokumsk and Prikumsk are located on the Kuma River.

In the mouth of the Kuma River there is a valuable wetland of the North Caucasus - the Nizhnekumsky Razlivs. Spills are a chain of small shallow fresh water bodies located along the Kuma riverbed, the size and condition of which depend on the regime of the Kuma and the Caspian Sea. Reservoirs are spawning grounds for many valuable commercial species fish The adjacent territories are occupied by coastal meadows, a place for nesting and migratory stopovers for waterfowl, semi-aquatic and desert-steppe birds, including those listed in the international and Russian Red Books.

N.I. Alekseevsky

- Location - Height