What is the basin of the Volga river. Volga water basin

or catchment- part earth's surface, including the thickness of the soil from which the river or river network receives water supply. The catchment area genetically determines the quantity and quality of runoff, thereby laying down the main parameters of natural water resources.

Each river basin has surface and underground watersheds. A surface catchment is a section of the earth's surface from which water flows into a river network. An underground catchment area is a part of the soil stratum, from which water enters the river network underground. The surface catchment may not coincide with the underground.

A river that flows directly into the sea or into an endorheic lake is called the main one; the rivers flowing into the main one are tributaries of the first order, then there are tributaries of the second order, the third, etc. The totality of the main river with all tributaries forms a river system. The ratio of the total length of all rivers in the basin (or other territory) to the area characterizes the density of the river network.

On the territory of Russia, 8 of the 50 largest world river basins are located in whole or in part: the basins of the Ob, Yenisei, Lena, Amur, Volga, Dnieper, Don, and Ural rivers.
The largest area of the basin has river Ob- 2990 thousand km2; the length of the river is 3650 km (from the source of the Katun River - 4338 km, from the source of the Irtysh River - 5410 km). At its confluence with the Gulf of Ob of the Kara Sea, the Ob River forms a delta with an area of over

AT the Yenisei river basin(the basin area is 2580 thousand km2, the length of the river is 3487 km; the length from the sources of the Small Yenisei River is 4102 km) there is a unique Lake Baikal, which, together with the adjacent territories, including protected areas, belongs to the World Natural Heritage Sites.
Square Lena river basin is 2490 thousand km2. The river, 4400 km long, originates on the slopes of the Baikal Range, flows into the Laptev Sea, forming a large (about 30 thousand km2) delta.

Most of Amur river basin located on the territory of Russia. The Amur is one of the largest rivers in the Far East region (length 2824 km; from the source of the Argun River - 4440 km; basin area 1855 km2). A serious problem of the river is the intensive development of the right bank of the river by the PRC, in connection with which last decade the pressure on the ecosystems of the basin has sharply increased. Wasteful use natural resources, with a significant difference between Chinese environmental standards and Russian standards, leads to a change in the natural resource potential, in particular, to a deterioration in the state of valuable species commercial fish, disruption of seasonal migration routes of ungulates and protected species waterfowl, to a change in the fairway of the river as a result of uncontrolled excavation in the water protection zone, pollution of it with harmful substances.
catchment area Volga river basin- the largest in Europe - is 1360 thousand km2, that is, 62.2% of the European part of Russia, 8% of the area of Russia, almost 13% of the territory of Europe. 2600 rivers flow directly into the Volga (length 3530 km), and in total there are more than 150 thousand watercourses in the basin with a length of more than 10 km. Its largest tributaries are the Oka and Kama rivers. The catchment area of small rivers is 45% total area pool.

A wide range of landscapes - from the southern edge of the forest zone to the semi-desert bordering the shores of the Northern Caspian, huge tracts of fertile land, rich pastures, oil from the Second Baku, inexhaustible salt reserves in the Elton and Baskunchak lakes, and finally, the beauties of the Volga and Kama rivers - these are the main strokes characterizing the nature of the Volga region. Of course, it is complex and diverse, and the attention of researchers has always been attracted by its rich resources. They were studied especially deeply in Soviet times when searching for oil and gas, as well as in connection with surveys for the construction of hydroelectric power plants on the Volga and Kama.

The real pearl of the region is the Volga itself with a wide expanse of water, a grandiose valley and a high right-bank slope.

The great Russian river originates in the form of a stream on the wooded slopes of the Valdai Upland. Fast and narrow in its upper reaches, it meanders through the forests and, forming huge bends, directs its course to the east. On this way, taking in many tributaries, it becomes more and more powerful and rich in water, and within the Volga proper, after confluence with the Kama, it becomes the first in Europe in terms of water content.

From Kazan, the Volga makes a sharp turn and then, for almost 1000 km, tends to the southwest in the direction of ... the Black Sea. Only from Volgograd, turning sharply again, this time to the southeast, it heads towards the Caspian Sea, into which it flows, breaking up into countless arms.

On the way to the south, the Volga receives fewer and fewer tributaries, and therefore its basin has the shape of a tree with a dense crown in the north in the forest zone and forest-steppe and with an almost bare trunk in the south, in the area of dry and sultry semi-desert. The Volga delta with its channels forms, as it were, the roots of this tree, going to the islands of the Caspian shallow water. To the south of the city of Tolyatti, the trunk of the Volga tree is twisted.

Here, bending around an obstacle made of solid rocks, The Volga forms a narrow latitudinal bend - the Samara Bend.

To the south of Volgograd, the river trunk bifurcates: a large branch branches off from it - the Akhtuba River, which flows parallel to the parent channel to the top of the delta and at the same time begins to break up into delta channels and branches.

Now the trunk of the Volga tree is losing its former harmony: it becomes knotty due to the chain of huge reservoirs following one after another at short distances. The flow of the modern Volga is regulated by powerful dams, and the huge reservoirs they backed up, flooded the river valley - Kuibyshev, Saratov, Volgograd - stretch for tens of kilometers in width. Therefore, in many areas the former Volga channel disappeared under water, and a single water stream was replaced by a cascade of flowing lakes, the water surface of which forms, as it were, wide steps of the “Volga ladder”, descending south to the sea.

On both sides of the Volga stretched wide expanses of the Volga region. The traveler usually judges the nature of this southeastern outskirts of the Russian Plain only by what can be seen from the deck of a steamer sailing along the river. Then one involuntarily gets the impression that the Volga region is only the Volga valley, or rather, its picturesque banks, with their special climate, vegetation, industrial cities. Behind the wall of riverine forests, one can not notice the change of natural landscapes on the adjacent watersheds: the transition from the forest zone to the forest-steppe, and then to the wide expanses of the steppe Trans-Volga region and to the low-lying sultry semi-desert of the Caspian Sea.

The journey from Kazan to the south leaves many instructive and vivid impressions. In the Volga cliffs, one can see opening geological outcrops and observe how the ancient layers of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic, in places crumpled into gentle folds, gradually sink to the south under the river's edge. And they are replaced, overlapping them, by younger Tertiary and loose Quaternary deposits.

The high slope of the right bank of the Volga, deeply dissected by ravines and dry valleys, is very picturesque. Its steep cliffs - "crowns", washed away by the river, steadily moving its course to the west, annually, when the shore it presses down, retreat, snatching land from the Volga fields. Often on the banks of the Volga one can see huge ancient and young landslides with their chaotic heaps of crumpled and bumpy layers at the foot. In places where the coast is composed of limestone and marl, there are karst caves and funnels.

From the south, the wide expanse of the Kuibyshev reservoir, stretching almost to the horizon, is supported by the dam of the Volga hydroelectric power station named after V. I. Lenin, and behind it open high wooded Zhiguli mountains with their conical peaks and steep slopes. On three sides they are surrounded by a bend of the Volga - Samarskaya Luka, and from the west - a wide bay of the reservoir, formed at the mouth of the Usa River. They make up the well-known to tourists "Zhigulev round the world", which is described in the chapter on the Kuibyshev region.

Passing through the narrow Zhiguli gates, where the river is squeezed to the right by the slopes of the Zhiguli, and from the left bank of the Sokolya Mountain, far in the east, you can sometimes see a hazy panorama of the low-lying steppe left bank and the steppe floodplain terraces of the Volga, so flat and monotonous compared to the green Volga slope. In the lower reaches, the pictures are different: from the steamer you can see the green expanse of the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain (zaimishche) and the Volga delta. But this bright greenery is pouring a huge riverine oasis created by the floods of the spring Volga waters against the backdrop of the sultry Caspian semi-desert scorched by the sun.

Near the Caspian coast, the greenery of the Volga meadows is gradually replaced by reed thickets - real "jungles" in which the colorful and rich world of animals and birds, protected by the Astrakhan state reserve. In the coastal part of the Volga delta and on the coast, the flyways of waterfowl nesting in northern regions countries. They rest and feed for a long time in the foredelta.

We got acquainted only with the banks of the Volga, and beyond them, to the west and east, the Volga region itself spreads, in the wide expanses of which the influence of the mighty river is almost not felt. And in front of those who cross this territory, moving towards the Volga from the steppe, its water surface appears suddenly only when you climb a high right-bank slope or on the edge of a floodplain terrace on the left bank.

The Volga region is the southeastern corner of the Russian Plain, its marginal zone, the area of \u200b\u200bthe most continental, and in the south of the most arid climate in Europe. In the Lower Volga region, both the animal, and the man, and the plant feel the breath of the deserts, which have put forward their western outpost here far beyond the borders of Asia.

The contrast between the nature of the watershed spaces of the Volga region and the Volga valley is less in the forest steppe zone where the Volga merges with the Kama. Here, the tributaries of two mighty Russian rivers do not dry up during the summer, and forests grow not only in the valleys - and on the watersheds they alternate with wide treeless expanses of fertile meadow steppes.

To the south of the Samarskaya Luka, the forests leave the watersheds and "hide" in the valleys and gullies, finding more shade and moisture in them. Chernozem steppes are becoming endless, already almost completely plowed, but even now, as of old, suffering from a lack of moisture, droughts and dry winds. The main source of water supply in countryside here are not rivers, but groundwater of the upper horizons. But they are not abundant, and in the steppes, even not far from the Volga, in shallow wells, the water is often brackish or completely salty.

The farther to the south and southeast, the hotter and drier the climate becomes: the amount of annual precipitation decreases, evaporation increases, steppe rivers become shallower, which often almost completely dry up in summer. The amount of salts in the soil gradually increases. Moderately arid feather grass-forb steppes are replaced by arid fescue-feather grass steppes, and further to the south, where chernozems give way to dark chestnut soils, wormwood appears on solonetz patches.

Behind the southern edge of the dry steppe, the flat and waterless Caspian semi-desert begins with its saline, “complex” (mosaic) soil cover, drainless rivers, squat and sparse vegetation. Soil moisture deficiency (less precipitation falls than can evaporate), lack of even drinking water, general anhydrous! And next to it, the Volga, meandering in the fresh greenery of the banks, expanding its water surface in huge reservoirs at the will of man, carries through the Lower Volga region in transit and annually releases billions of cubic meters of fresh water to the Caspian.

The problem of the optimal use of the Volga waters is complex: it intertwines a whole range of problems and questions. When solving it, it is necessary to combine the interests of hydropower construction with the protection of the fish resources of the Volga-Kasppya, the improvement of navigation using the fertile Volga lands and the richest hayfields of the Volga-Akhtuba. Here questions arise about the expediency and methods of irrigating the steppe and semi-desert spaces, about transferring part of the northern waters to the Caspian Sea, about maintaining its level at levels favorable for various sectors of the economy, and so on. Much has already been done, especially in terms of the hydropower use of the Volga waters.

However, on the whole, the whole complex and multifaceted complex of the Volga problems still requires persistent and in-depth scientific and technical development.

Foreword:

For a long time we wanted to write a review article about this the great Russian (Mari, Tatar, Chuvash, etc.) river! Nomads from the very beginning of their existence traveled along the banks and waters of this river! In 1997 (and several times afterwards) the Nomads reached Astrakhan, that is, to the mouth of the Volga.

And in 2000 large group Nomads traveled up Volga- before Rybinsk reservoir(then we went to Onega and Ladoga lakes, and further to St. Petersburg). Along the Volga we visited the cities of Cheboksary, Nizhny Novgorod, Gorodets, Yaroslavl, Rybinsk, Kostroma. Those were great times, and there are a lot of photos left, however, then there was still film photography. But if there is time, we will scan these photos and tell you about this exciting journey on our website!

Over the years of our travels, we have visited different points this great river, from the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin (at the mouth of the Oka) and the Makarievsky Monastery (at the mouth Kerzhenets), before the mouth of the Kama and Long glades in Tatarstan. They were also in the Ulyanovsk region on their own business.

On many articles of our site you can see stories and photo of the Volga river, for example, at the mouth rivers Ilet, Big and small Kokshaga, Yurino (Sheremetyevo Castle)), Kozmodemyansk, Vasilsursk, Devil's settlement, Arda river, Dorogucha, Kerzhenets, Vetluga, Trinity Posad, Mount Alamner, Sviyazhsk island, the mouth of the Sviyaga, Bulgars etc.

I don’t think it’s necessary to remind you that Kazan is also located on the Volga, and in the days of carefree students (when our Team was born) we climbed onto the roof of our KFEI hostel - and from there stunning panoramas opened up on the historical center of Kazan, as well as on the Volga from Sviyazhsk to Bogorodsky mountains. Dachnoye, Morkvashi, Borovoye-Matyushino - were the places of our campaigns and gatherings, and the Kama mouth is still considered one of the most beautiful places Republic of Tatarstan!!!

It should also be noted that half of the Nomads were born in Zvenigovsky district of Mari El- that is, practically on the banks of the Volga! And since childhood, we went fishing on the Volga backwaters, oxbow lakes and floodplain lakes.

Thus, the idea arose to write this review article, which will include photos of the most beautiful and remarkable places on the Volga in our region, as well as links to those articles that will talk about the Volga and places on its glorious shores!

This article, as always, is not finished. And new links and materials will appear in it - as we travel through the native expanses of Mari El and Tatarstan! Therefore, we ask dear readers to send interesting material and photos to our address:

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The average annual water consumption near the Upper Volga Beishlot is 29 m³/s, near the city of Tver - 182, near the city of Yaroslavl - 1110, near the city of Nizhny Novgorod - 2970, near the city of Samara - 7720, near the city of Volgograd - 8060 m³/s. Below Volgograd, the river loses about 2% of its flow to evaporation.

The maximum water flow during floods in the past below the confluence of the Kama reached 67,000 m³/sec, and near Volgograd, as a result of a spill over the floodplain, it did not exceed 52,000 m³/sec. In connection with the regulation of the runoff, the maximum flood discharges have sharply decreased, while the summer and winter low water discharges have greatly increased. The water balance of the Volga basin to Volgograd on average over a long period is: precipitation 662 mm, or 900 km³ per year, river runoff 187 mm, or 254 km³ per year, evaporation 475 mm, or 646 km³ per year.

Prior to the creation of reservoirs, the Volga carried about 25 million tons of sediment and 40–50 million tons of dissolved mineral substances to the mouth during the year.

The water temperature of the Volga in the middle of summer (July) reaches 20-25 °C. The Volga breaks up near Astrakhan in mid-March; in the first half of April, the break-up occurs on the upper Volga and below Kamyshin, along the rest of its length - in mid-April. It freezes in the upper and middle reaches at the end of November, in the lower reaches at the beginning of December; Free from ice remains about 200 days, and near Astrakhan about 260 days. With the creation of reservoirs, the thermal regime of the Volga changed: in the upper pools, the duration of ice phenomena increased, and in the lower pools it became shorter.

The middle Volga is characterized by three main types of banks. The right ones are steep, descending to the Volga with slopes, sometimes forming cliffs at the turn of the river. The left ones are extremely gentle sandy shores, gradually rising to a low meadow floodplain, but they alternate with steep clayey or sandy-clayey almost sheer slopes, which in some places reach a considerable height.

Middle Volga in the Nizhny Novgorod region

Below the confluence of the Oka, the Volga flows along the northern edge of the Volga Upland.

Volga in Nizhny Novgorod. On the opposite bank of the city of Bor

911 km: on the left bank, opposite Nizhny Novgorod, there is the city of Bor and the Moss Mountains.

915 km: the territory of Nizhny Novgorod and the water area of the port of Nizhny Novgorod ends. There are also many riffles and islands in the region of Nizhny Novgorod on the Volga, the largest of them are Pechersky Sands (910 - 916 km) and Podnovsky (913 - 919 km).

922 km: on the right bank is the Oktyabrsky settlement, where the fleet maintenance base is located, and in 1960 the first catamaran-type ships were built.

933 km: on the right bank is the city of Kstovo, located in the bend of the river - the Kstovsky knee, in the interfluve of the Volga and Kudma, where barge haulers made a halt. In the Kstovo region, the Volga turns south.

939 - 956 km: many backwaters and islands, the largest of which is Teply (939 - 944 km). Lake Samotovo flows in at 944 km from the left.

955 km: the Kudma river flows in from the right.

956 km: on the right is the village of Kadnitsy.

966 km: the beginning of the Cheboksary reservoir, formed in 1980 by a dam near the city of Novocheboksarsk. The reservoir area is 2200 km², length 332 km, maximum width 13 km (below the mouth of the Veluga River). Due to the fact that the Cheboksary HPP has not yet reached its design capacity, the level of the Cheboksary reservoir is 5 meters below the design level. In this regard, the section from the Nizhny Novgorod hydroelectric power station to Nizhny Novgorod remains extremely shallow, and navigation on it is carried out thanks to water releases from the Nizhny Novgorod hydroelectric power station in the morning. At the moment, the final decision on filling the Cheboksary reservoir to the design level has not been made. As an alternative option, the possibility of constructing a low-pressure dam combined with a road bridge above Nizhny Novgorod is being considered.

993 km: the river Sundovik flows to the right, at the mouth of which lies the city of Lyskovo.

Before the formation of the Cheboksary reservoir, it stood on the banks of the Volga, but then the river changed its course and moved away from the Lyskovsky bank, approaching Makaryevsky Monastery and the village of Makaryevo(995 - 996 km). Today, Lyskovo is connected with the Volga by a shipping canal, and Makaryevo village located on the left bank of the Volga.

995 km: the Kerzhenets River (length 290 km) is the left tributary of the Volga.

1005 - 1090 km: many islands, backwaters and channels. Most big Island- Barminsky (1033 -1040 km).

1069 km: right tributary - the river Sura (length 864 km). At its mouth and on the right bank of the Volga is Vasilsursk settlement.

Volga in the Mari Republic

The Volga enters the territory of the Republic of Mari El (Mari Republic) immediately after Vasilsursk. The length of the Volga in the territory of the republic is 70 km.

1260 - 1264 km: The Volga again falls into the territory of the Mari Republic, here on the left bank is the city of Volzhsk. In the Volzhsk region, the borders of three republics are joined - the Mari Republic, Chuvashia and Tatarstan.

The Volga enters the territory of Tatarstan outside the city of Volzhsk, at 1965 km. The length of the Volga in Tatarstan is 200 km. Basically, the river flows through the territory of the East European Plain, but the right bank is located on the Volga Upland.

1269 - 1276 km: on the left bank is the city of Zelenodolsk. Opposite it, on the right bank, is the village of Nizhniye Vyazovye.

1275 - 1295 km: there are many small islands on the Volga - Vyazovsky Island, Tatar Griva Islands, Kos Islands, Vasilyevsky Island, Sviyazhsky Islands.

1278 - 1284 km: the river Sviyaga flows to the right(375 km).

1282 km: on one of the Sviyazhsky Islands, in fact, at the confluence of the Volga and Sviyaga stands city-monument Sviyazhsk.

Sviyazhsk island, Volga river

1280 - 1285 km: on the left bank is the village of Vasilyevo - the center of the Raifa section of the Volzhsko-Kama Reserve, founded in 1960.

1295 km: on the right bank is the village of Morkvashi Naberezhnye, near which the Kazan road bridge was built in 1989.

1302 km: on the right bank - the village of Pechishchi, on the left - Arakchino. 1305 km: on the right bank - the village of Verkhny Uslon.

1310 km: the left tributary of the Kazanka River flows into the Volga.

1307 - 1311 km: on the left bank of the Volga, as well as along the left bank of the Kazanka, the city of Kazan is located. In the Kazan region, the Volga turns south. Behind Kazan along the right bank of the Volga, replacing each other, the Uslonsky, Bogorodsky and Yuryevsky mountains stretch, and on the left bank meadows grow.

1311 - 1380 km: on the banks of the Volga there are many small villages, towns and villages. On the right bank are Nizhny Uslon (1320 km), Klyuchishchi (1322 km), Matyushino (1325 km), Tashevka (1330 km), Shelanga (1338 km), Russian Burbasy (1356 km), Krasnovidovo (1358 km), Kamskoe Ustye (1380 km). On the left bank are Kukushkino (1311 km), Novoe Pobedilovo (1312 km), Old Pobedilovo (1315 km), Matyushino-Borovoe (1330 km), Teteevo (1357 km), Atabaevo (1376 km) - the center of the Volga-Kama Reserve.

1377 - 1390 km: on the left, the Kama River flows into the Volga(2030 km 21)

- the main and full-flowing tributary of the river. There is even a theory that it is not the Kama that will flow into the Volga, but the Volga into the Kama. In hydrography, there are several rules for distinguishing the main river and its tributaries; the following signs of rivers are usually compared at their confluence: water content; pool area; structural features of the river system - the number and total length of all tributaries, the length of the main river to the source, the angle of confluence; altitudinal position of the source and valley, the average height of the catchment area; geological age of the valley; width, depth, current speed and other indicators.

Therefore, it is more correct to say that it is not the Kama that flows into the Volga, but the Kama Bay of the Kuibyshev reservoir, more than 200 km long, into which the Kama River flows.

After the confluence of the Kama The Volga becomes a full-flowing, powerful and wide river and the Lower Volga region begins.

Lower Volga

The Lower Volga flows through Tatarstan, Ulyanovsk, Samara, Saratov, Volgograd and Astrakhan regions and Kalmykia.

The Lower Volga flows along the Volga Upland, across the territory of the East European Plain and Caspian lowland. The basin of the Lower Volga to Samara and Saratov is in the forest-steppe zone, from Saratov to Volgograd - in the steppe zone, and below Volgograd - in the semi-desert. In the lower reaches, the Volga receives relatively small tributaries, and from Kamyshin to the Caspian Sea it flows without tributaries. AT Astrakhan region when it flows into the Caspian Sea, the Volga forms a delta.

1430 km: on the right bank stands the city of Tetyushi.

1430 - 1440 km: the Tetyushsky mountains are located on the right bank, at 1440 km the Kuibyshev reservoir narrows sharply, but then quickly expands again.

1445 km: the Utka River flows from the left, at the mouth of which are the villages of Polyanki and Berezovka.

Volga in the Ulyanovsk region

If you look along the left bank, then the Volga enters the territory of the Ulyanovsk region after the confluence of the Utka river, on the right bank the border between Tatarstan and the Ulyanovsk region is located in the region of 1495 km along its course. The length of the Volga in the region is 150 km. The Volga divides the Ulyanovsk region into an elevated right bank (up to 350 m) and a low left bank.

1468 - 1470 km: the Maina River flows from the left, at the mouth of which the village of Staraya Maina is located.

1495 - 1520 km: Undorovskie mountains stretch along the right bank.

1521 km: Ulyanovsk begins on the right steep bank, called the Crown, and on the left gentle bank. 1527 km: Ulyanovsk bridge connecting the left-bank and right-bank parts of the city. On the left bank, Ulyanovsk ends at 1528 km, and on the right bank it stretches up to 1536 km. On the territory of Ulyanovsk, the Volga narrows to 3 km, but after the Ulyanovsk bridge, the Volga becomes very wide, and below the city it reaches its greatest width - 2500 m.

1536 - 1595 km: Kremensky, Shilovsky and Senchileevsky mountains stretch one after another along the right bank.

1543 km: on the right bank on the chalk Kremensky mountains is Novoulyanovsk - a satellite town of Ulyanovsk.

1548 km: on the right at the mouth of the Tunoshka River, which flows into the Volga, on the Kriushinsky mountains is the village of Kriushi.

1555 km: the left tributary is the Kalmayur River, opposite which on the right bank is the village of Shilovka.

1572 km: on the right bank is the city of Sengilei, in the area of which the rivers Tushenka and Sengileika flow into the Volga. Sengileevskaya Bay serves as a shelter for ships during storms.

1575 - 1577 km: on the left bank is the village of Bely Yar.

1585 - 1598 km: the Bolshoi Cheremshan river flows from the left (336 km). The mouth of the river turned into a large Melekessky bay. On its right bank is the village of Nikolskoye on Cheremshan, on the left - the village of Khryashchevka (1598 - 1599 km). At the confluence of the Bolshoy Cheremshan River in the Melekessky Bay is the city of Dmitrovgrad.

SOURCE OF MATERIAL AND PHOTO:

Nomad Archives

Wikipedia site

http://www.vokrugsveta.ru/encyclopedia/

http://maptatarstan.rf/tatarstan/atlas/volga-kama

http://fotki.yandex.ru/

The first mention of the Volga River dates back to ancient times, when it was called as "Ra". In later times, already in Arabic sources, the river was called Atel (Ethel, Itil), which means “great river” or “river of rivers”. That is how the Byzantine Theophanes and subsequent chroniclers called her in the annals.
The current name "Volga" has several versions of its origin. The version about the Baltic roots of the name seems to be the most probable. According to the Latvian valka, which means "overgrown river", the Volga got its name. This is how the river looks in its upper reaches, where the Balts lived in antiquity. According to another version, the name of the river comes from the word valkea (Finno-Ugric), which means "white" or from the Old Slavic "volog" (moisture).

Hydrography

Since ancient times, the Volga has not lost its grandeur at all. Today it is the largest river in Russia and ranks 16th in the world among the most long rivers. Before the construction of the cascade of reservoirs, the length of the river was 3690 km, today this figure has decreased to 3530 km. At the same time, navigable navigation is carried out for 3500 km. In navigation, the channel plays an important role. Moscow, which acts as a link between the capital and the great Russian river.
The Volga connects with the following seas:

with the Azov and Black Seas through the Volga-Don Canal;
With by the Baltic Sea through the Volga-Baltic waterway;
with the White Sea along the White Sea-Baltic Canal and the Severodvinsk river system.

The waters of the Volga originate in the region of the Valdai Upland - in the spring of the village of Volga-Verkhovye, which is located in the Tver region. The height of the source above sea level is 228 meters. Further, the river carries its waters through the whole Central Russia to the Caspian Sea. The height of the fall of the river is small, because. the mouth of the river is only 28 meters below sea level. Thus, throughout its entire length, the river descends 256 meters, and its slope is 0.07%. The average speed of the river flow is relatively low - from 2 to 6 km/h (less than 1 m/s).
The Volga is fed mainly by melt water, which accounts for 60% of the annual runoff. 30% of the runoff comes from groundwater (which supports the river in winter) and only 10% brings rain (mainly in summer). Throughout its length, 200 tributaries flow into the Volga. But already at the latitude of Saratov water basin the river narrows, after which the Volga flows from Kamyshin to the Caspian Sea without support from other tributaries.
From April to June, the Volga is characterized by a high spring flood, which lasts an average of 72 days. The maximum level of water rise in the river is observed in the first half of May, when it spills over the floodplain territory for 10 or more kilometers. And in the lower reaches - in the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain, the width of the flood in places reaches 30 km.
Summer is characterized by a stable low-water period, which lasts from mid-June to early October. Rains in October bring with them an autumn flood, after which a period of low-water winter low water begins, when the Volga is fed only by groundwater.
It should also be noted that after the construction of a whole cascade of reservoirs and regulation of the flow, fluctuations in the water level became much less significant.
The Volga freezes in its upper and middle reaches, usually at the end of November. In the lower reaches, ice rises in early December.
Ice drift on the Volga upstream, as well as in the section from Astrakhan to Kamyshin happens in the first half of April. In the area near Astrakhan, the river usually breaks up in mid-March.
At Astrakhan, the river remains ice-free for almost 260 days a year, while in other sections this time is about 200 days. During the period open water the river is actively used for ship navigation.
The main part of the river catchment falls on the forest zone, located from the very source to Nizhny Novgorod. The middle part of the river passes through the forest-steppe zone, and the lower part already flows through semi-deserts.

Volga Map

Different Volga: Upper, Middle and Lower

According to the classification adopted today, the Volga in its course is divided into three parts:

The Upper Volga captures the section from the source to the confluence of the Oka (in the city of Nizhny Novgorod);
The Middle Volga extends from the mouth of the Oka River to the confluence of the Kama;
The Lower Volga starts from the mouth of the Kama River and reaches the Caspian Sea itself.

As for the Lower Volga, some adjustments should be made. After the construction of the Zhigulevskaya hydroelectric power station just above Samara and the construction of the Kuibyshev reservoir, today's border between the middle and lower sections of the river passes just at the level of the dam.

Upper Volga

In its upper course, the river made its way through the system of the Upper Volga lakes. Between Rybinsk and Tver, 3 reservoirs are of interest to fishermen: Rybinsk (the famous "fish"), Ivankovskoye (the so-called "Moscow Sea") and the Uglich reservoir. Even further downstream, bypassing Yaroslavl and as far as Kostroma, the riverbed passes through a narrow valley with high banks. Then, a little higher than Nizhny Novgorod, there is the dam of the Gorky hydroelectric power station, which forms the Gorky reservoir of the same name. The most significant contribution to the Upper Volga is made by such tributaries as: Unzha, Selizharovka, Mologa and Tvertsa.

Middle Volga

Beyond Nizhny Novgorod, the Middle Volga begins. Here the width of the river increases by more than 2 times - the Volga becomes full-flowing, reaching a width of 600 m to 2+ km. Near the city of Cheboksary, after the construction of the Cheboksary hydroelectric power station of the same name, an extended reservoir was formed. The area of the reservoir is 2190 square km. The largest tributaries of the Middle Volga are the rivers: Oka, Sviyaga, Vetluga and Sura.

Lower Volga

The Lower Volga begins immediately after the confluence of the Kama River. Here the river, indeed, can be called mighty in all respects. The Lower Volga carries its full-flowing streams along the Volga Upland. Near the city of Tolyatti on the Volga, the largest reservoir was built - Kuibyshevskoe, on which in 2011 there was a disaster with the notorious motor ship Bulgaria. The reservoir of the Volga hydroelectric power station named after Lenin is propped up. Even further downstream, near the city of Balakovo, the Saratov hydroelectric power station was built. The tributaries of the Lower Volga are no longer so full of water, these are the rivers: Samara, Eruslan, Sok, Big Irgiz.

Volga-Akhtuba floodplain

Below the city of Volzhsky, a left branch called Akhtuba separates from the great Russian river. After the construction of the Volga hydroelectric power station, the beginning of the Akhtuba was a 6 km canal extending from the root Volga. Today, the length of Akhtuba is 537 km, the river carries its waters to the northeast parallel to the mother channel, then approaching it, then moving away again. Together with the Volga, Akhtuba forms the famous Volga-Akhtuba floodplain - a real fishing eldorado. The floodplain territory is pierced by numerous channels, saturated with flood lakes and unusually rich in all kinds of fish. The width of the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain averages from 10 to 30 km.
Through the territory of the Astrakhan region, the Volga travels 550 km, carrying its waters along the Caspian lowland. At the 3038th kilometer of its journey, the Volga River splits into 3 branches: Bold Curve, City and Trusovsky. And in the section from 3039 to 3053 km, the city of Astrakhan is located along the branches of the City and Trusovsky.
Below Astrakhan, the river makes a turn to the southwest and splits into numerous branches that form a delta.

Volga Delta

The Volga delta first begins to form in a place where one of the branches called Buzan separates from the main channel. This place is located above Astrakhan. In general, the Volga delta has over 510 branches, small channels and eriks. The delta is located on a total area of 19 thousand square kilometers. In width, the distance between the western and eastern branches of the delta reaches 170 km. In the generally accepted classification, the Volga delta consists of three parts: upper, middle and lower. The zones of the upper and middle deltas consist of small islands separated by channels (eriks) 7 to 18 meters wide. The lower part of the Volga delta consists of very branched channel channels, which pass into the so-called. Caspian peals, famous for their lotus fields.
Due to the lowering of the level of the Caspian Sea over the past 130 years, the area of the Volga delta is also growing. During this time, it has increased more than 9 times.
Today, the Volga delta is the largest in Europe, but is famous primarily for its rich fish stocks.
Note that the flora and fauna of the delta is under protection - the Astrakhan Reserve is located here. Therefore, amateur fishing in these places is regulated and not allowed everywhere.

The economic role of the river in the life of the country

Since the 30s of the last century, electricity has been produced on the river with the help of hydroelectric power stations. Since then, 9 hydroelectric power plants with their reservoirs have been built on the Volga. At the moment, the river basin is home to approximately 45% of industry and half of all Agriculture Russia. More than 20% of all fish are caught in the Volga basin for Food Industry RF.
The logging industry is developed in the Upper Volga basin, and grain crops are grown in the Middle and Lower Volga regions. Horticulture and horticulture are also developed along the middle and lower reaches of the river.
The Volga-Ural region is rich in deposits natural gas and oil. Near the city of Solikamsk there are deposits of potassium salts. The famous lake Baskunchak on the Lower Volga is famous not only for its healing mud, but also for its salt deposits.
Upstream ships carry oil products, coal, gravel materials, cement, metal, salt and food products. Downstream supplies timber, industrial raw materials, lumber and finished products.

Animal world

Tourism and fishing on the Volga

In the mid-90s of the last century, due to the economic decline in the country, water tourism on the Volga lost its popularity. The situation was normalized only at the beginning of this century. But hinders development tourism business outdated material and technical base. Motor ships that were built back in Soviet times(60-90 years of the last century). There are quite a lot of water tourist routes along the Volga. From Moscow alone, motor ships run on more than 20 different routes.

Catchment and river basin

Definition 1

A catchment area is a part of the earth's surface, the thickness of soils and soils, from where a particular river receives food.

Rivers, as a rule, have not only surface nutrition, but also underground, so the catchment can be surface and underground.

These watersheds may not coincide.

Definition 2

A river basin is a part of land that includes a specific river system bounded by an orographic watershed.

The catchment and basin of the river usually coincide, but there are cases and discrepancies. Cases of non-coincidence are typical for arid regions with a flat relief.

The orographic boundaries of the basin and the boundaries of the catchment do not coincide in cases where part of the groundwater flow comes from outside the basin, or, conversely, goes beyond it.

There are not only river basins, but also lake, sea, and ocean basins. There are 4 largest ocean basins on the planet: the Arctic, Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans.

The river basins are distributed among the ocean basins. There are also drainless regions of the globe. The rivers flowing in these areas do not carry their water to the ocean.

The drainless regions of Russia include: the basin of the Caspian Sea, including the basin of the Volga, Ural, Terek, Kura.

River basins have the main morphometric characteristics: area, length, maximum width, as well as the distribution of the basin area over the heights of the terrain.

The height of the area is shown by a hypsographic curve, which is used to calculate the average height of the pool.

Volga basin

Remark 1

The Great Russian River originates on the Valdai Upland, the height of which in this area is 229 m. The river carries its waters to the south through the entire Russian Plain and flows into the Caspian Sea. The mouth of the river is 28 m below sea level. The water of the Volga does not enter the ocean, so it is the largest river of internal flow.

The Volga basin is 1/3 of the European territory of Russia. In the west it starts from the Valdai and Central Russian uplands and in the east it reaches the Urals. The main part of the catchment area, which feeds the Volga from its source to Kazan and Nizhny Novgorod, is located in the forest zone, the middle part to Saratov is in the forest-steppe zone, the lower part to Volgograd is in the steppe zone, and the most southern part located in the semi-desert zone. The Volga basin sharply narrows from Saratov and the river flows without tributaries to the Caspian Sea.

The hydrographic length of the river is variable and is assumed to be 3694 km. Variability is associated with secular fluctuations in the level of the Caspian water. The Volga basin occupies 40% of the European territory of Russia and is 1.5 million square meters. km. Located on the territory of the Russian Plain, the relief of the Volga basin is mainly flat and low, bordered by hills. Elevations in the basin occupy no more than 5% and have heights of up to 300 m. The Ufimskoe Plateau and the Belebeevskaya Upland, which are 400 m high, are exceptions.

Low pool areas include:

upper reaches of the river;
Meshcherskaya lowland;
Oka-Don lowland;
Caspian lowland.

Erosion processes are typical for half of the basin area, leading to the formation of ravines, different in length and depth, 15% of the territory is covered by swamping processes. The danger is represented by landslide and karst phenomena.

The Volga is in 5th place in Russia in terms of length, basin area, water content. The river yields in these indicators only to the Siberian rivers - the Yenisei, Lena, Ob, Amur.

The Volga basin includes 151 thousand watercourses, the total length of which is 574 thousand km. The catchment area of small rivers is 45% of the area of the entire basin. In general, the Volga receives about 200 tributaries. The density of the river network is 40% higher than the national average and is 0.42 km per sq. km. km.

The flow of the Volga and Kama was regulated by 11 large reservoirs. At the confluence with the Kama, the Volga unites a smaller number of rivers and is inferior to the Kama basin - 66.5 thousand rivers against 73.7 thousand.

Remark 2

The Volga valley is younger than the Kama valley. Before the epoch of maximum glaciation, in the first half Quaternary period, in modern form The Volga didn't exist yet. There was Kama, which, having united with Vishera, flowed into the Caspian Sea. To the north, to the Vychegda, there was a runoff of the modern upper reaches of the Kama, but glaciation reshaped the hydrographic network.

The fall of the Volga is 256 m, and the slope of the water surface is 7 cm / km. The speed of the current during low water varies from 0.7 to 1.8 km/h. In high water, the current speed increases to 9-11 km/h.

When it flows into the Caspian Sea, the Volga forms a delta, which begins at the point of separation of the left arm - Akhtuba.

Main sleeves:

Bakhtemir;
Kamyzyak;
Old Volga;
Akhtuba;
Buzan;
Bold.

From the beginning to the sea, the length of the delta is about 120 km, the area is 13 thousand square meters. km. In the upper part, the delta has a width of up to 17 km, and along the sea edge it reaches 200 km.

Northern Dvina river basin

The Northern Dvina flows in the north of the Russian Plain and is formed from the confluence of the Sukhona and Yuga rivers. With all its tributaries, the river flows into the White Sea, which belongs to the basin of the Arctic Ocean. From the confluence of the two rivers to the point of confluence, the length of the river is 750 km. The river basin has an area of 357 thousand square meters. km and in terms of its size among the rivers of the European part, it ranks 5th.

The relief of the basin is represented by a hilly plain, descending in a northwesterly direction. A layer of glacial deposits covers the entire surface of the basin, so a significant part of it - 8.5% - is waterlogged. There are many mosses among the swamps.

Swimming pool Northern Dvina located in the taiga subzone, where spruce and pine forests predominate conifers. There are admixtures of small-leaved species. The river valley is occupied by meadows with forb-large-grass vegetation. The forests are rich in mushrooms and berries. The sandy banks of the Northern Dvina are reminiscent of the Volga banks. On the river, at the source, there are sandbanks that change their place every year.

Within the 25-kilometer zone in the upper reaches of the river, there are more than 20 shoals. The river is navigable throughout its length. Having received large tributaries, the Northern Dvina becomes full-flowing and wide, and on its way begins to erode loose banks.

Among the tributaries:

Vaga;
Yemets;
Pinega.

Having met dense soil, the river breaks into many branches and carries water to the White Sea. The lake network is well developed in the river basin. In watershed swamps, lakes with a small mirror area are sometimes found. Lakes on old floodplain massifs are rare. On the floodplains of the rivers, a network of oxbow lakes is developed.

In general, the number of lakes in the catchment area is 17602. They occupy an area of 1517 square meters. km. Total population rivers and streams in the basin 61879, their length is 206248 km. The average slope of the Northern Dvina is about 0.07 ‰, which indicates that the river is typically flat.

In spring, the floodplain of the river is under water. Navigation is hampered by the presence of islands and sandy rifts. In addition, new islands are formed every year. The islands look like open sandbanks.

Remark 3

The hydrological regime of the river is determined climatic conditions, which are characterized by long cold winters, short cool summers with a lot of precipitation.

The river basin is dominated by wet air masses coming from the west, they bring about 500 mm of precipitation, so there is excessive moisture.

The hydrological regime is characterized by high spring floods and low summer low water. The rivers of the basin are mainly fed by melting snow. Due to this, the volume of spring flood runoff is equal to 50% of its annual value.

In low-water years, the volume of runoff is reduced to 40%, and in high-water years it increases to 80%. Ice breakup on the river is established in late October - early November, and ice drift occurs with the advent of April. The ice drift is very stormy with the formation of congestion. The direction of the river flow to the north is an important factor in the formation of the hydrological regime.