Diagram of the Volga river system. What was the former name and where does the Volga River originate?

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.

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 II 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 waters of the large river. The Volga is fed by meltwater and numerous rivers, lakes, and springs, allowing it to spread at its mouth for 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 spring with a 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 Olginsky in honor of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga. 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 is a lot of fish in the lake and along the banks there are excellent landscapes of central 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.

This mighty water stream flows through vast areas of European Russia and flows into the Caspian Sea. This is the longest river in Europe, and it has the right to be considered a national symbol of Russia.

This is the Volga River, in the basin of which many of the largest cities of the Russian state are located, including its capital, Moscow.

The article provides some information about the Volga River: width and depth, length and flow features.

Main characteristics

The total length of the river from source to mouth is 3692 km. Officially, not counting reservoir sections, the length of the Volga River is considered to be 3,530 kilometers.

The area of ​​the water basin is 100,380 square kilometers, which is 1/3 of the area of ​​the European territory of Russia.

What is the depth of the Volga? In this article we will try to find the answer to this question. But first, let's look at the path of the river from source to mouth. She begins her journey on the Valdai Hills, in the Tver region (Ostashkovsky district). Near the village of Volgoverkhovye springs emerge from the ground, one of which is the source of the great Russian river (altitude above sea level is about 228 meters). The spring is surrounded by a chapel, which can be approached via a bridge. A stream about 1 meter wide and no more than 30 cm deep flows from a small reservoir into which all nearby springs flow.

The beginning of the path of the great river

Conventionally, the river is divided into 3 sections: Upper, Middle and Lower Volga. The first large city on the path of the huge water flow is Rzhev. The distance to it from the source is 200 km. The next large settlement is the ancient city of Tver (population - more than 400 thousand people). The Ivankovskoye Reservoir, 120 kilometers long, is located here. The depth of the Volga in this area increases to 23 meters. Behind it comes the Uglich Reservoir (146 km length, 5 meters depth). Just north of Rybinsk is the Rybinsk Reservoir, where the northernmost point of the Volga is located. After this mark, the river turns southeast (before that it flows in a northeast direction).

In the area of ​​the Gorky Reservoir, the cities of Yaroslavl, Kineshma, and Kostroma are located on the banks of the river. Above Nizhny Novgorod is the regional center of Gorodets. The Nizhny Novgorod hydroelectric power station was built here, which forms the Gorky Reservoir, the length of which is 427 km.

The depth of the Volga in this area is on average 1.8-2.1 meters.

This section begins after the connection of the Volga with the Oka, which is its largest right tributary. Its length is 1499 kilometers. It flows into the Volga near Nizhny Novgorod.

The Volga River, having absorbed the waters of the Oka, becomes wider and heads east. It flows along the northern territory of the Volga Upland. Near the city of Cheboksary, its road is blocked by the Cheboksary Hydroelectric Power Station, forming a reservoir of the same name, the length of which is 341 kilometers and the width is 16 kilometers. The maximum depth of the Volga in this area is 35 meters, and the average is 5 m. Further, the river flows to the southeast, and near Kazan it turns to the south.

Lower Volga

The Volga becomes truly great and powerful after the Kama, the largest left tributary, flows into it. The length of this river is 1805 km, and it surpasses the Volga in many respects. So why doesn’t it flow into the Caspian Sea? And this is connected with established historical traditions and names.

After the reunification of these two largest rivers, the lower reaches of the Volga begin. Then it moves all the time to the south, towards the Caspian Sea. On the banks of this part of the river are cities such as Ulyanovsk, Samara, Togliatti, Saratov and Volgograd. Near the cities of Samara and Togliatti a bend is formed (Samara Luka), directed to the east. Here the water flow goes around the Togliatti Mountains. Located here (a little upstream) is the largest reservoir on the Volga, the Kuibyshev Reservoir, which ranks third in area in the world. Its length is 500 km, width – 40 km. The depth of the Volga in this section is 8 meters.

Features of the river delta

Near the Caspian Sea, the length of the river delta is approximately 160 km. Its width reaches 40 km. The delta includes approximately 500 canals and small rivers. It is generally accepted that the mouth of this great river is the largest in all of Europe. It should be noted that in these places you can meet unique representatives of both the flora and fauna. For example, here you can meet flamingos and pelicans, and you can also see a blooming lotus.

The maximum depth of the Volga River in the delta, according to various sources, is 2.5 meters. The minimum depth is about 1.7 meters.

The Volga delta is larger in size than the deltas of the Terek, Kuban, Rhine and Meuse. It is also important to note that important trade routes once passed here, connecting the Lower Volga with Persia and other Arab states. These places were inhabited by tribes of Polovtsians and Khazars. According to some sources, in the 13th century, a Tatar settlement called Ashtarkhan first arose in these places, which eventually became the beginning of Astrakhan.

Keywords: Parameters of the Volga River, depth, length, information, Volga River, Source of the Volga, Gorodets, Middle Volga

Among ancient authors of the first centuries AD. e. (Claudius Ptolemy and Ammianus Marcellinus) The Volga was called Ra, lat. Rha (cf. Moksh. and Erz. Rav - both names are of Iranian origin). The Byzantine chronicler Theophanes the Confessor, describing the geographical names of the Northern Black Sea region, several times repeats “the greatest river flowing down from the ocean through the land of the Sarmatians and called Ατελ.” The Latin translation, made "about half a century after the Greek original", reads Atel. In the Middle Ages it was known as Itil(cf. modern names Bashk. Iel, Tat. Idel, Kaz. Edіl, Chuvash. Atl, Kalm. Il). Modern Mari Yul comes from ancient Turkic. jul "source, stream". The Russian name Volga (Old Slavic Vlga) comes from the Proto-Slavic *Vьlga, cf. volgly - vologa - moisture. The Slavic version of the origin of the name is supported by the presence of the Vlga and Vilga (Polish) Russian rivers in the Czech Republic. in Poland.

Based on the fact that the upper reaches of the Volga are located in an area where hydronyms of Baltic origin are widely represented, an etymology from the Baltic languages ​​is proposed: ilga “long, long” → lake. Volgo → r. Volga; valka "stream, small river". Alternative versions derive the name of the river from the Baltic-Finnish (Finnish valkea "white", cf. Vologda; Vyrusk. Valgõ) and Volga-Finnish (Old Mari *Jylγ (from Turkic), modern Mar. Yul) languages .

It is believed that the first mention of the Volga is found in the works of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus (5th century BC), in the story of the campaign of the Persian king Darius I against the Scythians. Herodotus reports that Darius, pursuing the Scythians across the Tanais River (modern Don), stopped at the Oar River. They are trying to identify the Oar River with the Volga, although Herodotus also reported that the Oar flows into Maeotis (the modern Sea of ​​Azov).

Oh Volga!.. my cradle!

Has anyone ever loved you like I do?

Alone, but in the morning dawn,

When everything in the world is still asleep

And the scarlet shine barely glides

On the dark blue waves,

I ran away to my native river...
(Nekrasov)

Geographical location of the Volga and its large tributaries, already by the 8th century determined its importance as a trade route between East and West. It was along the Volga route that the flow of Arab silver poured into the Scandinavian countries. Fabrics and metals were exported from the Arab Caliphate; slaves, furs, wax, and honey were exported from the Slavic lands. In the 9th-10th centuries, a significant role in trade was played by such centers as the Khazar Itil in the mouth, the Bulgar Bulgar in the Middle Volga, the Russian Rostov, Suzdal, Murom in the Upper Volga region. Since the 11th century, trade has weakened, and in the 13th century, the Mongol-Tatar invasion disrupted economic ties, except for the upper Volga basin, where Novgorod, Tver and the cities of Vladimir-Suzdal Rus' played an active role. Since the 15th century, the importance of the trade route has been restored, and the role of such centers as Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, and Astrakhan has grown. The conquest of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates by Ivan the Terrible in the mid-16th century led to the unification of the entire Volga river system in Russian hands, which contributed to the flourishing of Volga trade in the 17th century. New large cities are emerging - Samara, Saratov, Tsaritsyn; Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Nizhny Novgorod, Simbirsk play a major role. Large caravans of ships (up to 500) sail along the Volga. In the 18th century, the main trade routes moved to the West, and the economic development of the lower Volga was hampered by weak population and raids by nomads. In the 17th-18th centuries, the Volga basin was the main area of ​​action for the rebel peasants and Cossacks during the peasant wars under the leadership of S. T. Razin and E. I. Pugachev. In the 19th century, there was a significant development of the Volga trade route after the Mariinsky river system connected the Volga and Neva basins (1808); A large river fleet appeared (in 1820 - the first steamship), a huge army of barge haulers (up to 300 thousand people) worked on the Volga. Large shipments of bread, salt, fish, and later oil and cotton are carried out.

River length- 3530 km (before the construction of reservoirs - 3690 km), the area of ​​its drainage basin is 1,361,000 sq. km.

Volga basin

The Volga originates on the Valdai Hills (at an altitude of 228 m) and flows into the Caspian Sea. The mouth lies 28 m below sea level. The total fall is 256 m. The Volga is the world's largest river of internal flow, that is, not flowing into the world ocean.

The river system of the Volga basin includes 151 thousand watercourses with a total length of 574 thousand km. The Volga receives about 200 tributaries. The left tributaries are more numerous and have more water than the right ones. After Kamyshin there are no significant tributaries.

The Volga basin occupies about 1/3 of the European territory of Russia and extends from the Valdai and Central Russian Uplands in the west to the Urals in the east. The main, feeding part of the Volga drainage area, from the source to the cities of Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan, is located in the forest zone, the middle part of the basin to the cities of Samara and Saratov is in the forest-steppe zone, the lower part is in the steppe zone to Volgograd, and to the south - in the semi-desert zone . The Volga is usually divided into 3 parts: the upper Volga - from the source to the mouth of the Oka, the middle Volga - from the confluence of the Oka to the mouth of the Kama, and the lower Volga - from the confluence of the Kama to the mouth.

Like the Volga River, along the wide

A sharp-nosed boat sailed out,

Like rowers on a boat,

Cossacks, young guys.
(Pushkin)

Source of the Volga

The source of the Volga is a spring near the village of Volgoverkhovye in the Tver region. In the upper reaches, within the Valdai Upland, the Volga passes through small lakes - Maloe and Bolshoye Verkhity, then through a system of large lakes known as the Upper Volga lakes: Sterzh, Vselug, Peno and Volgo, united into the so-called Upper Volga reservoir.

Upper Volga

After the Volga passed through the system of Verkhnevolzhsky lakes in 1843, a dam (Verkhnevolzhsky Beishlot) was built to regulate water flow and maintain navigable depths during low water periods.

The first large settlement on the Volga from the source is the city of Rzhev.

Between the cities of Tver and Rybinsk on the Volga, the Ivankovo ​​Reservoir (the so-called Moscow Sea) with a dam and a hydroelectric power station near the city of Dubna, the Uglich Reservoir (HPP near Uglich) - the Rybinsk Reservoir (HPP near Rybinsk) were created. In the Rybinsk-Yaroslavl region and below Kostroma, the river flows in a narrow valley among high banks, crossing the Uglich-Danilovskaya and Galich-Chukhloma uplands. Further, the Volga flows along the Unzhenskaya and Balakhninskaya lowlands. Near Gorodets (above Nizhny Novgorod), the Volga, blocked by the dam of the Nizhny Novgorod hydroelectric station, forms the Gorky Reservoir.

Largest tributaries the upper Volga - Selizharovka, Tma, Tvertsa, Mologa, Sheksna, Kotorosl and Unzha.

Middle Volga

Volga near Nizhny Novgorod

In the middle reaches, below the confluence of the Oka, the Volga becomes even more full-flowing. It flows along the northern edge of the Volga Upland. The right bank of the river is high, the left is low. The Cheboksary Hydroelectric Power Station was built near Cheboksary, above the dam of which the Cheboksary Reservoir is located. The largest tributaries of the Volga in its middle reaches are the Oka, Sura, Vetluga and Sviyaga.

Lower Volga

In the lower reaches, after the confluence of the Kama, the Volga becomes a mighty river. It flows here along the Volga Upland. Near Togliatti, above the Samara Luka, which is formed by the Volga, skirting the Zhigulevsky Mountains, the Zhigulevskaya Hydroelectric Power Station dam was built; Above the dam lies the Kuibyshev Reservoir. On the Volga near the city of Balakovo, the Saratov hydroelectric power station dam was erected. The Lower Volga receives relatively small tributaries - Sok, Samara, Bolshoi Irgiz, Eruslan. 21 km above Volgograd, the left branch, Akhtuba (length 537 km), separates from the Volga, which flows parallel to the main channel. The vast space between the Volga and Akhtuba, crossed by numerous channels and old rivers, is called the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain; The width of the floods within this floodplain previously reached 20-30 km. The Volzhskaya Hydroelectric Power Station was built on the Volga between the beginning of Akhtuba and Volgograd; Above the dam lies the Volgograd Reservoir.

Volga Delta

The Volga Delta begins at the point where the Buzan branch separates from the Volga bed (46 km north of Astrakhan) and is one of the largest in Russia and the largest in Europe. There are up to 500 branches, channels and small rivers in the delta. The main branches are Buzan, Bakhtemir, Kamyzyak, Staraya Volga, Bolda, Akhtuba; Of these, Bakhtemir is maintained in navigable condition, forming the Volga-Caspian Canal. One of the branches of the lower Volga - the Kigach River - crosses the territory of Kazakhstan. The strategic water pipeline “Volga - Mangyshlak” originates from this branch, providing fresh water to certain areas of the Mangystau region of Kazakhstan.

Volga flows across the territory of 15 constituent entities of the Russian Federation (from source to mouth): Tver region, Moscow region, Yaroslavl region, Kostroma region, Ivanovo region, Nizhny Novgorod region, Chuvashia, Mari El, Tatarstan, Ulyanovsk region, Samara region, Saratov region, Volgograd region, Astrakhan region, Kalmykia.

The Volga is connected to the Baltic Sea by the Volga-Baltic waterway, the Vyshnevolotsk and Tikhvin systems; with the White Sea - through the Severodvinsk system and through the White Sea-Baltic Canal; with the Azov and Black Seas - through the Volga-Don Canal.

In the Upper Volga basin there are large forest areas; in the Middle and partly in the Lower Volga region, large areas are occupied by grain and industrial crops. Melon growing and gardening are developed. The Volga-Ural region has rich oil and gas deposits. Near Solikamsk there are large deposits of potassium salts. In the Lower Volga region (Lake Baskunchak, Elton) - table salt.

Lives in the Volga about 70 species of fish, of which 40 are commercial (the most important: roach, bream, pike perch, carp, catfish, pike, sturgeon, sterlet).

A great river flows through the expanses of the European territory of Russia, which has no equal in this part of the world. The Volga stretches from the Caspian Sea. It flows through forests and steppe, absorbing numerous tributaries. The length of the river, the area of ​​the basin and delta make it the largest in Europe. It is impossible to overestimate its importance in the country’s economy, both in the past and at the present stage.

Volga River flow direction

The river moves to the southeast, becoming increasingly full-flowing as it approaches the mouth. The direction of the Volga flow in each specific section is determined by the characteristics of the area. However, it is not particularly tortuous. The sharpest turn occurs near Kazan. Here the direction of the Volga flow changes sharply from east to south. Near Samara it goes around passing through several hills. Here the southwestern direction of the current arises and moves almost to Volgograd. Not far from the city, she becomes close to Don. At approximately the same place, the direction of the Volga flow changes to the southeast and remains so until it flows into

The humble beginning of a great river

As you know, everything powerful, valuable and large at first or during its inception looks small, sometimes even inconspicuous. Where is the beginning of the Volga River? It can be found in the Tver region, near the village of Volgoverkhovye. There is a swamp here and there are several springs. One of them is considered the source of the river. Anyone can drink water from the spring that gives rise to the Volga. There is a small chapel with a window in the floor directly above the source.

A little further, the river turns into a stream about one meter wide and up to thirty centimeters deep. If there were no chapel and various signs, a person asking the question “where is the beginning of the Volga River?” could have missed it. A trickle seems so insignificant compared to the mighty stream of water. The Volga acquires more “decent” dimensions after having already crossed the Malye and Bolshie Verkhity lakes. The stream widens to 1.5 km and deepens to an average of 5 m.

Zoning

The river is usually divided into three sections. The Upper Volga stretches from the source to the confluence of the Oka. The middle one ends with the mouth of the Kama, the lower one with the Caspian Sea. When merging with its two main tributaries, the Volga becomes increasingly full-flowing.

The Oka flows into the great river in the Nizhny Novgorod region. The most significant right tributary makes the Volga wider. The Kama connects with the river halfway from Kazan to Ulyanovsk. This is the largest left tributary. There is a version according to which it is not the Kama that flows into the Volga, but vice versa. However, today it remains unofficial.

Estuary

Which sea does the Volga flow into? To the Caspian. begins near Volgograd, where Akhtuba separates from it. The Volga gives rise to approximately 500 branches and channels. The river delta is considered one of the largest in Russia. Its length is estimated at approximately 160 km, and its width reaches 40 km in some areas. The last city on the river, Astrakhan, is located in the delta. A nature reserve has also been created here to protect the unique nature of this region.

Huge lake

Perhaps everyone who lives in our country knows which sea the Volga flows into. However, not everyone knows that the Caspian Sea is the largest lake in the world. It is called the sea because of the huge area and oceanic type of the earth's crust lining the bottom. At the same time, the Caspian Sea has no drains. The sea-lake is not connected to the ocean.

The Volga is the largest river flowing into the Caspian Sea. It carries with it a huge amount of fresh water. As a result, the river delta region experiences the lowest salinity levels - only 0.05%.

One of the features of the Caspian Sea is the change in water level. Constant observations of it have been carried out since 1832. Research has shown that the highest value was reached in 1882 (25.2 m below sea level). The lowest value of the indicator was measured in 1977 (29 m below sea level). The level of the Caspian Sea rose until 1995, and then began to decline again. Since 2001, there has been an increase in the indicator. The reason for such fluctuations, according to scientists, lies in a combination of various climatic, anthropogenic and geological factors.

The Caspian Sea, like the Volga itself, needs protection from pollution and overuse of resources. The activities of cities and large enterprises, as well as uncontrolled fishing, lead to the destruction of the flora and fauna of these reservoirs.

The Great Russian River connects many cities in our country. The direction of the Volga flow, its regime and resources have been well studied and used for various purposes since ancient times. The river is a shipping canal connecting a large number of ports, a source of fresh water, commercial fish and an attractive route for tourists.

Volga(Mar. Yul, Tat. Idel, Chuvash. Atӑl, Erz. Rav, Old Slav. Vlga, Kaz. Edil, Kalm. Idzhil-gol, German Wolga) - a river in the European part of Russia, one of the largest rivers in On Earth and the largest in Europe. One of the branches of the lower Volga - the Kigach River - crosses the territory of Kazakhstan.
Length - 3530 km (before the construction of reservoirs - 3690 km). The basin area is 1360 thousand km².

Portrait of the Volga

It is not just the largest river in Europe and the fifth longest in Russia. The Volga is a phenomenon of the highest order, a fact of history and culture, a symbol and love of Russia, the mother of Russian rivers, “a national beauty, like a deep sea,” sung in hundreds of songs. Everyone visually imagines how the sharp-chested canoes of Razin’s freemen sailed “from behind the island to the core”; who hasn’t sung about the cliff that “only with the Volga alone does one sometimes remember the daring life of the ataman”...

Its basin occupied more than a third of the Russian Plain. Tvardovsky, who was able to say that the Volga “looked like half of Russia,” wrote how it absorbed seven thousand rivers, “that from Valdai to the Urals they furrowed the globe,” and they “participated in one family, as if they were located along a branched tree.” earth."

Indeed, the system of Volga tributaries looks like branches of a mighty tree on the map. Only the mouth trunk is almost devoid of branches: in the lower reaches the Volga flows through semi-deserts as a transit river into which nothing flows. But to the north, the network of branches is so dense that the total length of the navigable routes alone exceeds 17 thousand kilometers, and there are also many rafting rivers...

Who didn’t think that the Volga is both great and united! But geomorphologists saw that there was only one river, while its valley was extremely heterogeneous and even patchwork. A complete water artery emerged here quite recently, already in post-glacial times. And before the great glaciations, water from the upper half of the Volga basin flowed to the south and partly to the north, and not at all to the southeast. The river that drained the eastern half of the Russian Plain was Pra-Kama, which flowed directly into the sea. The Caspian was also different - its waters spilled up the Prakamsky trench several times, forming distant bays (one of them even penetrated into the valley of the present-day Kama).

The advances of the great glacier more than once rebuilt the flow in the upper parts of the modern Volga basin. Thus, meltwater from the region of today's Oka flowed into the Don basin; With the departure of the glaciers, the flow to the north was partially resumed. Later, part of the Praok system was intercepted by the tributaries of the Pra-Kama, and the outflow from here rushed to the east. The narrowing of the Volga valley near Plyos, Cheboksary, and Kazan still reminds us of such interceptions today. Only after the alien and different-aged valleys of the modern upper and middle reaches of the Volga concentrated a flow greater than that in the Kama, there were grounds to consider the Prakamsky section below the current mouth of the Kama to be the Volga. “Mother of the Volga” - Kama lost primacy to her aggressive daughter and herself turned into a tributary of the Volga.

428 km: Rybinsk stretches 22 km along the Volga on both its banks. At this point the Volga changes its direction to the southeast. In the Rybinsk region, the Sheksna flows into the Volga and begins the river section of the Gorky Reservoir, formed in 1955 as a result of the Volga being blocked by the Gorky hydroelectric dam near the city of Gorodets. The reservoir was filled in 1955 - 1957. Its area is 1591 km², length 430 km, maximum width 26 km at the confluence of the Unzha River with the Volga. According to the hydrological regime and navigation conditions, the reservoir is divided into three sections - river, lake-river and lake. The river section stretches from Rybinsk (Rybinsk hydroelectric complex) to the Nekrasovskoye pier and has a length of 138 km and a width of 0.6 - 1 km14.

481 km: Tutaev, on the right bank.

516 - 524 km: Yaroslavl is located on both banks of the Volga. In the area of ​​Yaroslavl, the Kotorosl River flows into the Volga.

539 km: the village of Tunoshna, from where the Volga flows to Kostroma in a northeast direction.

560 km: the village of Nekrasovskoye, after which the lake-river section of the Gorky Reservoir begins. Its length is 194 km, and its width is 3 - 3.5 km15.

564 - 568 km: the village of Krasny Profintern, on the left bank.

In the area from Rybinsk to Kostroma, the Volga flows in a narrow valley among high banks, crossing the Uglich-Danilovskaya and Galichsko-Chukhloma uplands, and then the Unzhenskaya and Balakhninskaya lowlands.

Volga in Kostroma region

584 km: in the area of ​​the right-bank village of Comintern, the Volga enters the Kostroma region, its length in the region is 67 km. The Volga is a section of the Gorky Reservoir. In the region, the Volga flows through the Kostroma Lowland.

585 km: a new artificially created mouth of the Kostroma River (354 km), in the lower reaches of which the Kostroma Reservoir was created in 1955 - 1956. This is the largest tributary of the Volga in the region.

597 - 603 km: Kostroma is located on both banks of the Volga, here the Volga changes its direction and turns to the southeast. Within the city at 599 - 600 km there is the old bed of the Kostroma River, now it is an additional ship passage leading to the settling and repair point of the port of Kostroma.

611 km: right tributary - the Kuban River, 618 km: left tributary - Poksha.

637 km: Volgorechensk is located on the left bank of the Volga, in the area of ​​which in 1970 - 1973. Kostromskaya GRES was launched - one of the most powerful in Russia (installed capacity 3600 MW).16 In the area of ​​Kostromskaya GRES, Shacha flows into the Volga on the left.

641 - 642 km: the village of Krasnoe-on-Volga, on the left bank. Here the Volga again changes direction to the east.

Volga in Ivanovo region

651 km: The Volga enters the Ivanovo region near the village of Sungurovo, its length in the region is 180 km.

657 - 660 km: on the right bank is the resort town of Plyos.

681 km: the Sunzha River flows into the right.

706 - 711 km: Kineshma, on the right bank of the Volga. On the opposite bank is the young city of Zavolzhsk, which until 1954 was the left bank part of Kineshma. Within the boundaries of Kineshma, the river of the same name flows into the Volga.

755 km: the Elnat River flows into the Volga, at the mouth of which there is a backwater where the cargo fleet is settled and repaired. The lake part of the Gorky Reservoir begins from the Elnat River.

770 km: the left tributary of the Volga is the Nemda River. From the mouth of the Nemnda, the Volga reaches the Unzhenskaya lowland. At the mouth of the river is the village of Zavrazhye

770 - 773 km: the left tributary of the Volga, the Unzha River (426 km). In the lower reaches of the Unzha there is a wide flood - up to 26 km.

770 - 775 km: opposite the Unzha River, on the right bank of the Volga, on a bend is the city of Yuryevets - the most ancient city in the Ivanovo region (founded in 1225). At Yuryevets the Volga makes a sharp turn to the south.

Volga in the Nizhny Novgorod region

The length of the Volga in the Nizhny Novgorod region is 240 km. The river divides the Nizhny Novgorod region into the low-lying Trans-Volga region (along the left bank) and the elevated right bank (maximum height - 247 m) - part of the Volga Upland. The Volga throughout the region in the northern part is actually the Gorky Reservoir, and in the southern part it is the Cheboksary Reservoir.

Part of the western border of the Nizhny Novgorod region runs along the lake section of the Gorky Reservoir, so it is difficult to determine exactly where the Volga enters the territory of the region, but the first sufficiently large settlement on the banks of the Volga in the Nizhny Novgorod region is the village of Sokolskoye, 794 km on the left.

805 - 810 km: The Volga absorbs two left tributaries - Mocha and Lotinka, and on the right bank is the city of Puchezh (810 - 812 km).

820 km: the Yachmenka River flows in on the right, and peat deposits begin along the left bank, stretching up to 828 km, where the village of Katunki is located on the right, in the 17th - 18th centuries. the most popular vessels on the Volga were made here - barks - single-masted sailing punts.

835 - 839 km: on the right bank is the city of Chkalovsk18. Previously, this was the village of Vasileva Sloboda - one of the centers of barge haulers on the Volga. In the Chkalovsk area, the Sanakhta (839 km) and Trotsa (843 km) rivers flow into the Volga.

851 - 853 km: on the right bank is the city of Zavolzhye, 853 - 857 km: on the left bank is Gorodets. In the area of ​​these cities there is the Gorky hydroelectric complex, which includes a 13 km long dam, shipping facilities and a hydroelectric power station with a capacity of 520 thousand kW. In the area of ​​Gorodets, the Volga changes its flow direction to the southeast.

861 - 873 km: in this section of the Volga there are many rifts, ridges19 and islands. Ogrudki: Kocherginskie (861 km), Vetlyankie (870 km), Kubentsovskie (872 km), Balakhninskie (873 km). Islands: Kocherginsky (864 - 866 km), Shchukobor (862 - 866 km), Krasavchik (866 km).

865 - 870 km: on the right bank is the village of Pravdinsk, 871 - 876 km: Balakhna, also on the right bank, the city is located on the Balakhninskaya lowland, rich in peat deposits. Beyond Balakhna on the Volga there are still many islands and rifts.

893 km: the water area of ​​the Nizhny Novgorod port begins. The city of Nizhny Novgorod is located on the right bank of the Oka and on the right bank of the Volga, starting from 905 km.

905 km: on the right, the Oka (1480 km) flows into the Volga - one of its main tributaries. After the confluence of the Oka, the Volga becomes more full-flowing, the width of its channel increases and ranges from 600 to 2000 m, and the Middle Volga region begins.

Middle Volga

The Middle Volga flows through the Nizhny Novgorod region, the Mari Republic, Chuvashia and Tatarstan.

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

Volga in the Nizhny Novgorod region

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

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

915 km: the territory of Nizhny Novgorod and the water area of ​​the Nizhny Novgorod port ends. In the area of ​​Nizhny Novgorod on the Volga there are also many rifts and islands, the largest of which are Pechersk Sands (910 - 916 km) and Podnovsky (913 - 919 km).

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

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

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

955 km: the Kudma River flows into the right.

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

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 hydroelectric power station 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 station to Nizhny Novgorod remains extremely shallow, and navigation on it is carried out thanks to water releases from the Nizhny Novgorod hydroelectric 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 Sundovik River flows into the right, at the mouth of which is 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 the Makaryevsky monastery and the village of Makaryevo (995 - 996 km). Today, Lyskovo is connected to the Volga by a shipping canal, and Makaryevo is located on the left bank of the Volga.

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

1005 - 1090 km: many islands, backwaters and channels. The largest island is Barminsky (1033 - 1040 km).

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

Volga in the Mari Republic

The Volga falls into the territory of the Mari El Republic (Mari Republic) immediately after Vasilsursk. The length of the Volga on the territory of the republic is 70 km.

1103 - 1113 km: the Vetluga River (length 889 km) flows into the left - the third largest tributary of the Volga. With the filling of the Cheboksary reservoir, the mouth of the Vetluga actually dissolved in the waters of the Volga and turned into a large bay. 1106 km - the Bolshaya Yunga River flows into the right, at the mouth of which the villages of Troitsky Posad and Pokrovskoye are located.

1109 km: the Malaya Yunga River flows into the right.

1113 - 1116 km: on the right bank is the city of Kozmodemyansk. In the Kozmodemyansk area the Volga turns to the southeast.

1138 km: the Sundyr River flows into the right.

Volga in Chuvashia

The Volga enters the territory of Chuvashia immediately beyond the mouth of the Sundyr River, the length of the Volga in the republic is small - only 50 km, while in the area of ​​​​the city of Novocheboksarsk and further to the border of the region with Tatarstan, the river flows near the border of Chuvashia with the Mari Republic, sometimes entering the territory of the Mari Republic20 .

On the territory of Chuvashia, the Volga flows along the East European Plain, which is quite swampy in this area, but the Right Bank is still occupied by the Volga Upland.

1145 - 1178 km: there are many shoals on the Volga, among them the Sheshkarskaya shoal (1145 - 1152 km), the Vurnarskaya shoal (1150 - 1156 km), the Maslovskie shoals (1156 - 1159 km), the Cheboksary shoals (1172 - 1178 km).

1165 km: on the right bank is Zavrazhnoe, in the area of ​​which the Volga turns east.

1169 - 1172 km: on the right bank is the city of Cheboksary, in the area of ​​which the Cheboksary River flows into the Volga (1172 km).

1178 km: the Kuvshinka River flows into the left.

1185 km: Cheboksary hydropower station from the Cheboksary hydroelectric station. Construction of the hydroelectric complex began in 1938, but was interrupted by the war and resumed in 1968, and only in 1980 the construction of the 1st stage of the hydroelectric complex was completed. The design capacity of the hydroelectric power station is 1,400 thousand kW, but it still does not operate at full capacity.

1188 - 1190 km: immediately after the gateway of the Cheboksary hydroelectric complex, on the right bank of the Volga, the city of Novocheboksarsk is located.

1191 km: the Old Volga branch branches off to the left.

1192 - 1197 km: Casin Island.

1197 - 1202 km: Sidelnikovsky Island.

1200 - 1202 km: on the right bank is the city of Mariinsky Posad, which is also located on the left bank of the Sundyrka River, which flows into the Volga at 1202 km.

1207 km: the Bolshaya Kokshaga River flows into the left.

1210 km: on the right bank there is the village of Vodoleevo, after which the Volga again turns to the southeast.

1230 - 1235 km: The Volga returns to the territory of the Mari Republic, here the city of Zvenigovo is located on the left bank. In the Zvenigovo area, the Urengoy-Uzhgorod gas pipeline crosses the Volga.

1253 km: the Ilet River flows into the left.

1257 km: on the right bank there is the city of Kozlovka.

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 meet - the Mari Republic, Chuvashia and Tatarstan.

Volga in Tatarstan

The Volga enters the territory of Tatarstan beyond 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 Nizhnie Vyazovye.

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

1278 - 1284 km: the Sviyaga River flows into the right (375 km).

1282 km: on one of the Sviyazhsk islands, actually at the confluence of the Volga and Sviyaga, there is the monument city of Sviyazhsk.

1280 - 1285 km: on the left bank there is the village of Vasilyevo - the center of the Raifsky section of the Volga-Kama Nature Reserve, founded in 1960.

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

1302 km: on the right bank - the village of Pechischi, on the left - Arakchino. 1305 km: on the right bank - the village of Verkhniy 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. Beyond Kazan, along the right bank of the Volga, the Uslonsky, Bogorodsky and Yuryevsky mountains stretch, replacing each other, and meadows grow on the left bank.

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

1377 - 1390 km: from the left the Kama River flows into the Volga (2030 km 21) - the most important 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 identifying the main river and its tributaries; the following characteristics of rivers at their confluence are usually compared: 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, average height of the catchment area; geological age of the valley; width, depth, flow speed and other indicators. In terms of water content, the Volga and Kama are almost equal to each other, but the Volga is still less (the average annual water flow of these rivers is 3750 m³/sec and 3800 m³/sec, respectively), and at the confluence of the two rivers, the water flow is higher in the Kama - 4300 m³/sec versus 3100 m³/sec. In terms of the catchment area at the confluence of rivers, the Volga is slightly larger (260,900 km² versus 251,700 km²), but in terms of the number of tributaries, the Volga in the territory under consideration is inferior to the Kama basin (66,500 rivers versus 73,700). The average and absolute heights of the Volga basin are less than the Kama basin, because in the Kama basin are the Ural Mountains, and the ancient Kama valley is older than the Volga valley. In the first half of the Quaternary period, before the era of maximum glaciation, there was no Volga in its modern form. There was the Kama, which, uniting with the Vishera, flowed into the Caspian Sea. Glaciation led to a reshaping of the hydrographic network: the Upper Volga, which previously gave water to the Don, began to flow into the Kama, almost at a right angle. The Lower Volga even today serves as a natural continuation of the Kama and not the Volga Valley22. But this theory has not been officially accepted. 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, which is more than 200 km long, into which the Kama River flows.

After the confluence of the Kama, the Volga becomes a deep, 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, through the territory of the East European Plain and the Caspian Lowland. The Lower Volga basin 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 its lower reaches, the Volga receives relatively small tributaries, and from Kamyshin to the Caspian Sea it flows without tributaries. In the Astrakhan region, when it flows into the Caspian Sea, the Volga forms a delta.

Volga in Tatarstan

1400 - 1425 km: the Syukeevskie Mountains stretch along the right bank.

1412 - 1415 km: on the left bank of the Volga there is the city of Bulgar, to the south of which in the 12th - 14th centuries. was the capital of the Bulgar Kingdom (Volga Bulgaria) - the city of Bulgar the Great2324, and now there is a state historical and architectural reserve of the Bulgar settlement25.

1430 km: on the right bank there is the city of Tetyushi.

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

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

Volga in the Ulyanovsk region

If you look along the left bank, 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 area 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 into the left, at the mouth of which the village of Staraya Maina is located.

1495 - 1520 km: the Undorov Mountains stretch along the right bank.

1521 km: Ulyanovsk begins on the right steep bank, called Venets, and on the left gentle bank. 1527 km: Ulyanovsky 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 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: along the right bank the Kremensky, Shilovsky and Senchileevsky mountains stretch one after another.

1543 km: on the right bank of the Cretaceous Kremen Mountains is Novoulyanovsk, a satellite city of Ulyanovsk.

1548 km: on the right at the mouth of the Tunoshenka River, which flows into the Volga, on the Kriushinsky Mountains there 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 Tushenka and Sengileika rivers flow into the Volga. Sengileevskaya Bay serves as a refuge for ships during storms.

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

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

Volga in Samara region

The Volga enters the territory of the Samara region in the area of ​​​​the village of Khryashchevka. The length of the Volga in the region is 210 km.

1603 km: on the right bank there is the village of Russkaya Bektyazhka.

1616 km: on the right bank there is the village of Novodevichye.

1634 km: the village of Klimovka is located on the right bank.

1640 km: the Aktusha River flows into the right, near the mouth of which the village of Aktushi is located. In this area the Volga turns east.

1643 km: on the right is the village of Usolye, located at the mouth of the Usa River (length 140 km), which turned into the wide and deep Usha Bay when it flows into the Volga. Beyond Usa begins the Samara Luka - a bend of the Volga that goes around the Zhiguli Mountains. On the left bank of the Usha Bay there are 2 mountains - Karaulny Bugor and Kabatskaya, on the right - 2 mounds - Ushinsky and Molodetsky, opening the ridge of the Zhiguli Mountains.

1663 - 1673 km: on the left bank is Tolyatti, and on the right bank is the city of Zhigulevsk - the center of oil production and the Samarskaya Luka National Natural Park. In the region of Zhigulevsk and Tolyatti in 1951 - 1958, the Kuibyshev hydroelectric complex was built with the Kuibyshevskaya HPP (Volzhskaya HPP named after V.I. Lenin, from July 1, 2004 - Zhigulevskaya HPP) with a capacity of 2,400 thousand kW and an average annual output of 10,900 million kW/hour . The Kuibyshev hydroelectric complex also includes upper and lower locks and a spillway dam 981.2 m long. The Kuibyshev reservoir was filled in 1955-1957. The reservoir area is 6450 km², the length along the Volga is 580 km, the greatest width is 40 km (at the confluence of the Volga and Kama), the average depth is 9 m. The Kuibyshev reservoir is considered the largest on the Volga.26 (at 1665 km of the Volga).

1670 km: after the lower locks of the Kuibyshev hydroelectric complex, the Saratov reservoir begins, formed by the dam of the Saratov hydroelectric complex in the city of Balakovo. It was filled in 1967 - 1968. The reservoir area is 1831 km², length is 357 km, greatest width is 25 km, greatest depth is 28 m, and average is 7 m.

1677 km: on the right bank there is the village of Bakhilova Polyana, and at 1677 - 1683 km the island of Bakhilovsky stretches.

1683 - 1687 km: on the right bank is the village of Zolnoye, in the area of ​​which there is one of the peaks of the Zhiguli Mountains - Mount Observer (height 370 m).

1692 - 1698 km: on the right bank, the villages of Solnechnaya Polyana and Bogatyr are located almost one after another.

1705 - 1708 km: on the left bank there is the village of Volzhsky, in the area of ​​which there is a geological object - Tsarev Kurgan with a cut off top.

1709 km: the Sok River flows in from the left. Here is the narrowest point of the Samara Luka - the Zhigulevsky Gate. The Volga breaks through here between the right-bank Zhigulevsky (Mount Sernaya) and the left-bank Sokolsky mountains (Mount Tip-Tyav). The width of the Volga at the Zhigulevsky Gate is only 600 - 700 m; initially it was here that the Volga was planned to be blocked during the creation of the Kuibyshev hydroelectric station.

1710 - 1725 km: the suburbs of Samara stretch along the left bank: Krasnaya Glinka (1710 - 1714 km), Administrative Town (1715 km), Studeny Ravine (1720 - 1721 km), Polyana named after. Frunze (1722 - 1725 km). Zelenenky (Serny) Island is located at 1712 - 1718 km.

1727 - 1737 km: Samara stands on the left bank. In the Samara region, a left tributary flows into the Volga - the Samara River, beyond the mouth of which is the village of Zasamarskaya Sloboda (1738 km). In the Samara region, the Volga turns sharply to the west, skirting the Zhiguli Mountains.

1735 - 1763 km: below Samara there are many large islands: Rozhdestvensky (1735 - 1746 km), Koroviy (1738 - 1740 km), Tushinsky (1747 - 1753 km), Bystenky (1752 - 1759 km), Vinnovsky (1758 - 1763 km) . At 1748 km the left tributary flows in - the Krivusha River.

1758 km: the Vinnovskie Mountains begin on the right bank. They are smaller than the Zhigulevsky ones and are not so rich in vegetation. The top of the Vinnovsky Mountains is Davydova Mountain (height 177.4 m).

1765 km: on the right bank there is the village of Vinnovka, near which the remains of two ancient villages (III and V centuries) and the “Stone Goat” settlement (I century BC - 1st century AD) were discovered.

1771 km: Ermakovo is located on the right bank, according to legend founded by Ermak himself.

1774 km: left tributary - the Chapaevka River.

1777 - 1812 km: many islands, including Sredny Island (1777 km), Baranovsky Island (1778 - 1781 km), Koltsovsky Island (1781 - 1788 km), Ekaterinovsky Island (1786 - 1801 km).

1790 km: on the left bank is the village of Vladimirovka.

1792 km: on the right bank is the village of Brusyany.

1796 km: on the right bank there is the village of Malaya Ryazan, founded in 1770 by settlers from Ryazan.

1806 km: on the right bank is the village of Perevoloki, located on a narrow isthmus separating the Volga from Usa (only 2.5 km long). Barge haulers dragged ships through this isthmus in order to shorten the route along the Volga and not go around the Zhiguli Mountains.

1815 - 1817 km: on the right bank there is the village of Pecherskoye, in the area of ​​which the Volga smoothly turns to the southwest.

1826 - 1848 km: on the right bank there is the city of Oktyabrsk, in the area of ​​which the Syzran Bridge is located, in the 19th century. considered the largest in Europe30, and the left tributary flows into it - the Erikla River (at 1836 km).

1840 - 1895 km: there are many small islands on the Volga, the largest of which is Lopatkinsky Island (1850 - 1856 km).

1850 - 1864 km: Syzran is located on the right bank.

1885 - 1888 km: the village of Spasskoye is located on the left bank, a little lower at 1889 - 1890 km is the village of Privolzhye.

Volga in the Saratov region

The Volga enters the territory of the Saratov region along the right bank after the village of Kashpiry, at 1890 km, and on the left bank, the territory of the Saratov region begins lower - in the area of ​​​​the village of Ekaterinovka, located at 1916 - 1917 km. In the Saratov region, the Volga flows through the southeastern part of the East European Plain and divides the region into an elevated right bank (Volga Upland) and a low left bank (northern Caspian Lowland). On the territory of the Saratov region, the Volga flows in the steppe zone; settlements located along the banks are becoming fewer and the distances between them are increasing. The length of the Volga in the Saratov region is 460 km.

1940 km: on the left bank is the village of Skoropochevka, and immediately behind it at 1941 km the village of Dukhovnitskoye begins. Opposite Dukhovnitsky on the right bank is the city of Khvalynsk (1942 - 1946 km). It is located at the foot of the Cretaceous Khvalynsky Mountains.

1966 - 1967 km: on the right bank there is the village of Alekseevka, it stands on the chalk Devichye Mountains, which continue the Khvalynsky Mountains.

1974 km: Maly Irgiz flows into the left, having previously connected with the Sterekh River. A large bay formed at the mouth of the river.

1990 km: the Saratov hydroelectric complex begins, which was built in 1956 - 1971. together with the Saratov hydroelectric station in the Balakovo region. Power 1,360 thousand kW, average annual output 5.352 billion kW/hour.

1998 - 2008 km: the city of Balakovo is located on the left bank next to the dam of the Saratov hydroelectric complex.

2008 - 2019 km: large island Devushkin (Desert).

2011 km: after the Saratov reservoir, the Volgograd reservoir immediately begins, formed by the dam of the Volzhskaya hydroelectric station near the city of Volzhsky. The reservoir was filled in 1958 - 1961. Its area is 3117 km², length is 540 km. The greatest width is 17 km near the mouth of the Eruslan River, the average depth is 10.1 m.

2025 km: on the right bank is the village of Tersa, in the area of ​​which the Artanikha River flows into the Volga.

2033 - 2037 km: Volsk is located on the right bank, opposite Volsk at 2036 km the left tributary, the Bolshoy Irgiz (length 675 km), flows into the Volga. Below Volsk, along the right bank of the Volga, stretch the Zmeevy Mountains.

2047 - 2049 km: on the right bank is the village of Rybnoye, below which is the island of Rybninsky (2050 - 2055 km).

2075 - 2077 km: on the right bank there is the village of Voskresenskoye.

2091 - 2095 km: Marks is located on the left bank. In the Marks area, Marks Island begins (2092 - 2100 km).

2098 - 2103 km: Bereznyakovsky Island.

2110 km: the Big Karaman flows into the left, connecting with the Small Karaman almost at the mouth.

2112 - 2180 km: there are many islands on the Volga, including Usovsky (2112 - 2120 km), Tula, Kayukovsky (2118 - 2122 km), Chardymsky (2122 - 2134 km), Verbnyaki (2135 - 2139 km), Voronok (2133 - 2140 km), Kurdyumsky (2141 - 2143 km), Tatarinsky (2147 km), Zeleny (2155 km), Cossack (2170 km) and Shumey Islands.

2125 km: Chardym flows on the right, at the mouth of the river the village of Chardym is located.

2149 km: the Kurdyum River flows into the right, at the mouth of which stands the village of Ust-Kurdyum.

2155 km: the village of Shumeika is located on the left bank, below Shumeika the Saratovka River flows into the Volga.

2158 - 2168 km: Engels is located on the left bank.

2155 - 2174 km: on the right bank is Saratov, connected to Engels by the Saratov road bridge, built in 1965 and at the time of construction was considered the longest bridge in Europe. The total length is 2825.8 m. The navigable part of the river is blocked by a continuous lattice span with a length of 710 m.

2175 - 2177 km: on the right bank there is the village of Uvek, built on the site of the Bulgar city of Uvek, destroyed by Timur in 1395. The village preserves the remains of an earthen rampart and ancient stone buildings. On the left bank, opposite the village of Uvek, is the village of Privolzhsky.

2190 km: on the right bank there is the village of Krasny Tekstilshchik.

2195 km: on the left bank there is the village of Smelovka, next to which Yuri Gagarin landed after his flight into space on April 12, 1961.

2225 km: on the right bank on the right-bank rocky Ushiya Mountains stands the village of Akhmat. Opposite, on the left bank is the village of Privolzhskoye. Below these villages the Volga overflows and becomes very wide.

2240 km: the Tarlyk River flows into the left.

2257 - 2260 km: on the left bank is the village of Rovnoye.

2265 - 2268 km: on the right bank is the village of Zolotoe, in the area of ​​which there is the rock “Seven Brothers”, on which, according to legend, the associates of Stepan Razin took refuge.

2297 km: on the right bank there is the village of Belogorodskoye.

2300 km: on the right bank there is the cliff of Stepan Razin - the first site of the rebel Razins.

2303 km: on the right bank rises Mount Durman, where the Razin guard posts were located.

2315 km: on the right bank is the village of Shcherbakovka, below which rise the picturesque Stolbichi Mountains with many cliffs and unusual shapes: columns, stone pillars.

Volga in the Volgograd region ====

The Volga enters the territory of the Volgograd region below the village of Shcherbakovka (2320 km), although if you look along the left bank, the Volga crosses the border of the Volgograd region in the Cherbaevo region (2276 km)36. The length of the river in the Volgograd region is 240 km.

2303 km: on the left bank is the village of Krasny Yar.

2319 - 2321 km: the village of Ilovatka is located on the left bank.

2330 - 2333 km: on the left bank there is the village of Kurnaevka.

2340 km: Eruslan flows from the left (length 220 km) - the last large tributary of the Volga. The mouth of the river turned into a wide and long bay of the Volgograd reservoir.

2344 - 2346 km: on the right bank there is the village of Nizhnyaya Dobrinka, 8 km east of which is Urakova Mountain. According to legends, it was here that the hordes of Batu Khan crossed the Volga River and the Tatar-Mongol invasion of Rus' began. Before the creation of the Volgograd Reservoir, the Volga crossed the zero horizontal line (the level of the world ocean) in the area of ​​Nizhnyaya Dobrinka.

2375-2380 km: Kamyshin is located on the right bank, the city is located at the mouth of the Kamyshin River - the right tributary of the Volga.

2380 - 2384 km: the village of Nikolaevsk is located on the left bank.

2398 - 2400 km: on the left bank there is the village of Kislovo.

2407 km: the village of Antipovka is located on the right bank.

2410 - 2414 km: the village of Bykovo is located on the left bank.

2444 - 2445 km: on the right bank there is the village of Gorny Balykley, opposite which, on the left bank, there is the village of Verkhniy Balykley.

2448 - 2450 km: on the left bank there is the village of Nizhny Balykley.

2454 km: the village of Stepo-Razinskoye is located on the left bank.

2473 - 2476 km: on the left bank there is the village of Primorsk.

2502 - 2505 km: the city of Dubovka is located on the right bank. Near the city, the Dubovka River flows into the Volga.

2514 km: the right tributary is the Pichuga River, at the mouth of which the village of Pichuga is located.

2528 - 2531 km: on the left bank is the city of Volzhsky, in the area of ​​​​which there is a dam of the Volzhskaya Hydroelectric Power Station (formerly Stalingrad Hydroelectric Power Station, from September 9, 1961 - Volzhskaya Hydroelectric Power Station named after the XXII Congress of the CPSU) and the Volgograd hydroelectric complex, built in 1951 - 1962. The installed capacity of the hydroelectric power station is 2551 thousand kW, the average annual output is 11,100 million kW/hour.38 After passing through the Volgograd junction, the Volga flows to Astrakhan on natural banks.

2532 km: on the left is the beginning of Akhtuba - the left branch of the Lower Volga (length 537 km). The area between the Volga and Akhtuba rivers is called the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain. It lies within the Caspian lowland, its area is 1,400 thousand hectares. Throughout its entire length, the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain, which has a width of 20 - 40 km, is cut through by numerous branches, channels, waterways, eriks, and has a lot of shallow lakes.

2532 - 2610 km: there are many large islands on the Volga, including Zeleny (2533 - 2537 km), Denezhny or Zaitsevsky (2535 - 2543 km), Crete (2543 - 2548 km), Golodny (2550 - 2558 km), Sarpinsky, Sareptsky (2568 - 2575 km), Popovitsky (2601 - 2608 km).

2533 - 2575 km: Volgograd with the Krasnoarmeysky district stretches along the right bank, where the Volga turns to the southeast. On the contrary, on the left bank there is Krasnoslobodsk (2547 - 2551 km). Near Volgograd, the Volga Upland ends, the banks go down, and further to the south there is a semi-desert zone.

2577 km: the beginning of the Volga-Don shipping canal, opened in 1952 and connecting the Volga with the Tsimlyansk reservoir on the Don. The length of the canal is 101 km.

2594 - 2595 km: on the right bank there is the village of Svetly Yar.

2608 - 2609 km: on the right bank there is the village of Raigorod.

Volga in the Astrakhan region and Kalmykia

The Volga enters the territory of the Astrakhan region beyond the village of Raigorod; the length of the main channel of the Volga in the region is 550 km. Within the Astrakhan region, the Volga flows through the Caspian lowland.

2615 - 2980 km: on the Volga and in the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain there are many islands, including Korshevity (2640 - 2646 km), which even has Lake Sazanchiki, Saralevsky (2643 - 2660 km), Vyazovsky (2657 - 2661 km), Ugolny (2675 - 2679 km), Skrynnikov (2677 - 2682 km), Trenin (2682 - 2692 km), Verkhniy Volovy, Volovy (2711 - 2714 km), Crimean Sands (2716 - 2720 km), Vyaznikovsky, Chernoyarsky (2742 - 2745 km), Oblivnoy (2773 - 2778 km), Grachevsky, (2781 - 2788 km), Nikolsky, Prishibinsky (2817 - 2821 km), Tsagan-Amansky (2838 - 2842 km), Verkhniy Kopanovsky (2842 - 2846 km), Enotaevsky (2887 - 2892 km), Shaposhnikovsky (2889 - 2903 km), Konstantinovsky (2911 - 2918 km), Selitrenny, Gusiny (2969 - 2979 km).

2622 km: the village of Bulgakov is located on the left bank.

2662 - 2667 km: on the left bank there is the village of Sadovoye. Opposite, on the right bank is the village of Kamenny Yar (2664 - 2665 km). Below Kamenny Yar, Akhtuba comes close to the Volga. The floodplain between them is cut through by a wide milk duct (volozhka).

2743 - 2745 km: on the right bank is the village of Cherny Yar.

2760 - 2762 km: on the right bank there is the village of Solenoe Zaimishche.

2794 - 2796 km: on the right bank there is the village of Nikolskoye, below which the zone of semi-deserts and deserts begins.

2824 km: on the right bank is the village of Vetlyanka, beyond which at 2830 - 2831 km a small section of Kalmykia begins: the length of the Volga across the territory of the republic is only 12 km.

2834 - 2838 km: on the right bank there is the Kalmyk village of Tsagan-Aman, and 1 km below the village of Tsagan-Bulg.

2850: on the right bank there is the village of Kopanovka, above which the territory of the Astrakhan region begins again.

2889 - 2991 km: on the right bank there is the village of Enotayeka, in the area of ​​​​which the Enotaevsky branch begins.

2943 - 2944 km: on the right bank there is the village of Volzhsky.

2949 km: on the left bank there is the village of Rechnoye.

2982 - 2984 km: on the left bank is the village of Baranovka.

2987 - 2988 km: on the right bank there is the village of Verkhnelebyazhye, which is the border between the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain and the Volga delta. Below the village, the first large branch of the delta - Buzan (at 2990 km) branches off to the left.

The Volga Delta covers an area of ​​19 thousand km², the distance between the westernmost and easternmost branches is 170 km. The Volga Delta is divided into zones: upper, middle and lower. The upper and middle zones are small islands with a distance between them of 7 - 18 m. The lower one has intensive branching of channels (about 800) and passes into the kulchut (semi-flooded) zone, consisting of many channels - shallow reservoirs and spits with depths of 0.5 - 1.5 m. In the Volga delta (upper and middle zones) there are up to 500 branches, channels and small rivers. The main branches besides Buzan are Bakhtemir, Staraya Volga, Bolda, Akhtuba.40. In 1919, the Astrakhan State Nature Reserve was created in the Volga delta (area 62.4 thousand hectares).

2990 - 2994 km: Astrakhan water divider (commissioned in 1977), blocking the Volga bed in such a way that 1/3 of the flow passes along the Volga, and 2/3 goes along the Buzan River and floods the eastern part of the delta - the main breeding ground for semi-anadromous fish . The water divider consists of a reinforced concrete dam, a navigation and fish lock, two spans with lifting gates and an earthen dam.

2994 - 2996 km: the city of Narimanov is located on the right bank.

3033 - 3034 km: on the right bank is the village of Karantinnoe, 5 km west of which lies Lake Tinaki, where a mud resort opened in 1820 is located

3035 - 3037 km: on the right bank is the village of Privolzhsky, which is part of Astrakhan.

3038 km: The Volga is divided into three branches Trusovsky, Gorodskoy and the left branch Krivaya Bolda.

3039 - 3053 km: Astrakhan stretches along the Trusovsky and Gorodskaya branches. Within the city limits there is Gorodskoy Island (3039 - 3043 km). The central part of the city (located along the City sleeve) with the right bank Trusovsky district (located along the Trusovsky sleeve) is connected by the Astrakhan highway bridge, built in 1989 (length 3536 m). Below Astrakhan the Volga turns southwest.

3053 km: the left branch of Kizan departs.

3060 km: the right branch of Bakhtemir departs. Shipping to the Caspian Sea is carried out along this branch and the Volga-Caspian Canal.

3062 km: on the right bank there is the Volgo-Caspian village.

3070 - 3072 km: Nikolskoye is located on the right bank.

3077 km: the left branch of the Kanych separates.

3078 km: Khmelevka is located on the left bank.

3093 - 3097 km: on the left bank there is the village of Samosdelka, in the area of ​​which the right branch of Somovka separates.

3100 - 3157 km: a number of small branches separate from the Volga, the river flows into the Caspian Sea, having become significantly shallower.

The most famous Volga landscape is the bell tower of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Kalyazin. When the Uglich reservoir was filled, the cathedral and bell tower fell into the flood zone, the cathedral built in 1694 was dismantled, and the bell tower from 1800 remained on the island and turned into the main attraction of the city.

Nizhny Novgorod Region. Volga in the vicinity of Chkalovsk. Shore of the Gorky Reservoir