Rivers flowing through our country. Rivers of Russia: names. Large and small rivers of Russia. The main navigable rivers of Russia: description, economic importance and ecology

23.10.2019

Russia has a huge territory, when studying the relief of which more than 2 million rivers are visible. They draw bizarre patterns and extend beyond the borders of the country. Some are small and do not exceed a few meters in size. Consider the longest Russian rivers .

The longest rivers in Russia are the Ob, Yenisei, Lena, Amur, Irtysh

Top 12 longest rivers in Russia

Ob - length 3650 km

It flows in Siberia and is 3,650 km. It is formed by the confluence of the Katun and Biya. It forms 5,410 km along with its tributary the Irtysh, which is why it has the title of the longest river. This length is considered the second in all of Asia and the first in Russia. The food of the Ob is mostly snowy. As for fish, there are about 50 species. Of industrial importance are: pike perch, perch, bream, pike. Valuable species include: sturgeon, whitefish, peled, sterlet.

Yenisei - length 3487 km

Yenisei. Like the Ob, it flows in Siberia and flows into the Kara Sea. Length 3487 - is considered from the confluence of the Big and Small Yenisei. This reservoir divides Siberia into Western and Eastern. Food is mixed: snow (predominant), rain and underground. Many different rivers flow into the Yenisei, and their total length exceeds 300,000 km. The Yenisei is an important waterway in the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

Lena - length 4294 km

Long and deep river. It falls into 10 significant rivers of the world. It flows in the Irkutsk region, as well as Yakutia. In Russia, it is considered the largest, provided that the basin of the reservoir is within the territory of the country. It flows into the Laptev Sea. The length is 4,294 km, the basin is 2,490 thousand square meters. km. The source of the Lena is a small lake not far from Lake Baikal. This river is the sea transport route of Yakutia. When the ice on the Lena melts in spring, it floods the coastal areas, so they are poorly populated, there are 6 cities.

Amur - length 2824 km

Amur. The river of the Far East, flows in Russia, China and Mongolia. The Chinese call the Amur the Black Dragon River. It is formed by the Argun and Shilka rivers. They say that the source is a stream that flows into Onon, which merges with the Ingoda River, after which Shilka is formed. Length - 2,824 km. The Amur flows into the Amur Estuary. It is distinguished by the diversity of the ichthyofauna - about 108 species of fish, of which 36 are important for fishing.

Irtysh - length 4248 km

Volga - length 3690 km

This is the largest river in Europe. In addition to Russia, it also flows in Kazakhstan. Initial length - 3690 km, after the repeated construction of reservoirs - 3530 km. There are 4 major Russian cities on the Volga: Volgograd, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod and Samara. It is considered the world's largest river that does not flow into the oceans. The mouth is located in the Caspian Sea. Its basin is the third part of the European territory of Russia. The Volga is fed by snow, rain and groundwater. There are 70 species of fish in the Volga, most of them are commercial.

Lower Tunguska - length 2989 km

Vilyuy - length 2650 km

Kolyma - length 2129 km

Kolyma. The river is located on the territory of the Magadan region of Russia and Yakutia. The length of the Kolyma is 2,129 km, counted from the source of the Kenyelichi (the right component of the Kullu River). It flows into the Kolyma Bay (East Siberian Sea). The Kolyma is a navigable river with three major ports.

Ural - length 2428 km

Don - length 1870 km

Like the Volga, it flows in Europe, but it is inferior in size to it, the length is 1,870 km. The source is located in the Central Russian Upland, the mouth is the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov (Taganrog Bay). The Don is important as a navigable river. The Seversky Donets is the largest tributary. There are up to 70 species of fish in the Don, but due to the ecological state, their stocks are decreasing.

Khatanga - length from the source of Kotui 1636 km

Khatanga. River in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. It is formed by the confluence of the Kheta and Kotuy rivers. The length from the source of the latter is 1,636 km. It flows into the Khatanga Bay (Laptev Sea). There are 112 lakes in the basin of the reservoir, the total area of which exceeds 11 thousand square meters. km. Khatanga is navigable and is used for catching omul, nelma, and vendace.

Everyone understands the long rivers of Russia in their own way. Some people want to hear about those that flow completely on the territory of the country, for others, the main thing is that most of them are “at home”.

The largest rivers in Russia by basin area

The rivers that we considered earlier, as the longest, will be included in this list, but we will add three more to them: Dnieper, Northern Dvina and Indigirka. Consider the largest rivers in Russia and interesting facts about them.

The Ob basin is 2,990 thousand square meters. km. The Novosibirsk reservoir functions in the southern part. The Ob Sea serves as the basis for several sanatoriums and recreation centers. Many people from neighboring regions come here to relax.

The Yenisei basin - 2,580 thousand square meters. km. The point where the Big Yenisei and the Small Yenisei merge is considered the center of Asia. This prompted the establishment of the obelisk symbol. There is a ski resort near Krasnoyarsk.

The Lena basin occupies a relatively slightly smaller area than the Yenisei - 2,490 thousand square meters. km. On the shore is the village of Sottintsy with a population of about 2 thousand people. It operates the historical and architectural Lenin Museum "Friendship".

The area of the Amur basin is 1,855 thousand square meters. km. This river has the highest indicator of fish diversity - 108 species, but 36 species are of commercial importance.

The Volga basin is 1,361 thousand square meters. km. The ancient Romans called the river generous, and the Arabs called it great. Back in the 8th century, it was of great importance - gold, furs, honey, wax, and slaves were transported along it.

Kolyma has a swimming pool with an area two times smaller - 643 thousand square meters. km. On the right side, the river is still called Kulu, as the Evens called it. There are gold deposits in the basin. The Kolyma hydroelectric power station stands on it - it provides electricity to the entire Magadan and the region.

The Don basin covers 422 thousand square meters. km. This river is every fisherman's dream. People come here to “hunt” 90 species of fish. Interestingly, in England there are two rivers with this name.

The area of the Khatanga basin is 364 thousand square meters. km. There are many islands in the channel, the basin itself has 112 lakes.

The Yakut Indigirka River has a basin of 360 thousand square meters. km. It is interesting to know that the north pole, the village of Oymyakon, is located on this river. And also on it stands a monument city, whose inhabitants died of smallpox in the 19th century - Zashiversk.

The Northern Dvina flows in the north of Russia in its European part. Swimming pool with an area of 357 thousand square meters. km. The old steamer “N. V. Gogol”, which in 2011 turned 100 years old.

In big Russian rivers also include the Dnieper with a pool of 504 thousand square meters. km. In addition to our country, it passes through Ukraine and Belarus. In Kyiv, every year in the summer (1 Saturday of July) the Day of the Dnieper is celebrated. It is the third largest river in Europe, after the Danube and the Volga.

Rivers on the border of Russia

Russia neighbors eighteen countries, and only Japan and the United States are considered maritime borders. The rest are considered land, but this does not prevent them from including rivers. Consider the border water bodies of Russia.

Let's start from the western border - the Barents Sea, and move towards the South. Between Norway and Russia we will see the Pasvik River. After it, the country borders on Finland. We see the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, which is located in the southwest. Next is the Kaliningrad region. It borders on Lithuania and Poland. Most of this border runs along the Neman, as well as its tributary Sheshup.

Continuing the journey from the Gulf of Finland, we will see the border from the Narva River, as well as Pskov and Peipus Lakes. Then Russia is separated from its neighbors by a land border. It is sometimes crossed by rivers such as the Zapadnaya Dvina, Desna, Dnieper, Seim, Oskol, and Seversky Donets. Plowed expanses of fields stretch all the way to the Taganrog Bay of the Sea of Azov. All this was the division of territories with Estonia, Latvia, Belarus and Ukraine.

The southern border begins at the Kerch Strait, which connects the Azov and Black Seas. We draw a line to the mouth of Psou - the beginning of the border with Georgia, Azerbaijan. It passes along the river valley, and then along the ridges of the Greater Caucasus. Further, the border will turn to the north and go along the valley of the Samur River up to the Caspian Sea. Passing through it, it again becomes land and is laid across deserts and steppes. The border with Kazakhstan is not clearly fixed and runs along the Irtysh. A small part of the boundary is fixed by the rivers: Ural, Ilek, Maly Uzen, Tobol and its multiple tributaries, including the Uy.

The eastern border clearly runs along the ridges separating two river basins: the Katun and the Bukhtarma. The boundary from Altai to the Pacific Ocean is almost entirely stretched along the mountain belt. However, there are "border" rivers Amur, Argun, Ussuri and its tributary Sungach. Neighborhood with China is created almost everywhere by rivers. The Tumannaya River forms the border with North Korea and leads it to the Sea of Japan.

To the east, Russia is a neighbor of the US and Japan. They are separated by a sea border: the Pacific Ocean with the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk, the Bering Sea and numerous straits. The northern border is also maritime: the seas of the Arctic Ocean.

Now, looking at the map, you will see the borders that create the seas, rivers and lakes of Russia and neighboring states.

The main navigable rivers of Russia: description, economic importance and ecology

The main ones, of course, are the navigable rivers of Russia and those that play a significant role in the Russian economy. However, this exploitation leads to severe pollution of water basins. Let's consider the situation in more detail:

About two dozen reservoirs of various sizes have been built on the Ob. And also in its basin, oil-producing activities are carried out, which a priori cannot have a good effect on the state of its basin. There is a hydroelectric power station near Novosibirsk. Wastewater and swampy forests provoke even greater water pollution and environmental degradation throughout the country.
The most full-flowing rivers in Russia and the world, like the Lena, for example, are doomed to all kinds of exploitation. It is navigable and therefore of great importance, since the transport networks along its coasts are not very developed. However, such intensive use adversely affects the quality of water and the state of the ichthyofauna. In its basin, enterprises for the extraction of gold and diamonds are carried out. And also there are 12 reservoirs and hydroelectric power stations.
Part of the Amur basin belongs to China, as it is a border river. Navigation is well developed on it, there are 37 reservoirs of various sizes. In addition, 29 more small reservoirs have been built on small rivers. The waters of the basin are polluted with sewage and emissions from machine-building, electrical engineering, mining and other industries.
The Yenisei, like the Lena, belongs to the high-water rivers. There are 39 reservoirs and 3 hydroelectric power stations in its basin. Its huge resources are able to provide the Krasnoyarsk Territory even in the distant future. The river is considered very promising for other regions.
The Volga is the largest river in Europe. It is famous for its shipping channels that connect it with four seas: Azov, Black, White and Baltic. There are about 12 reservoirs on the river, which are essential for transport, fisheries, energy and other things.
The Don is very important for the Volga-Don shipping canal. However, frequent ships provoke rapid pollution of its waters.
The Ural basin is considered scarce, but is used for various types of industry. Especially for this, the Iriklinsky hydroelectric complex was built on the river.
From all of the above, two conclusions can be drawn: good - the widest rivers of Russia number many thousands of kilometers, which makes the state rich in natural water resources, bad - the country pollutes them heavily, which leads to inevitable environmental problems of a global nature.

Volga River - description, meaning and ecology

Volga replenishes the list of the largest rivers of the whole world. It flows in the northern part of Russia, located in Europe. The source is located in the Valdai Upland, the mouth in the Caspian Sea. Its length today is 3,530 km, but initially (before the construction of reservoirs and hydroelectric power stations) it was 3,690 km. The area of its basin is measured in 1,360,000 square meters. km, which is 8% of the vast territory of the country. Without flowing into the ocean, it becomes the largest in the internal flow. The Volga is fed by snow (60%), groundwater and rainwater (30 and 10%).

Today, about half of all industry and agriculture in Russia is concentrated in the river basin. Twenty percent of fish production comes from the Volga. It has 9 reservoirs with hydroelectric power stations. Connection by water with the Azov, Baltic, White and Black Seas is of great importance for navigation. The canal connecting the capital with the Volga is very significant, as it provides navigation and water supply to Moscow.

Attention should be paid to the environmental problems of the river. 38% - an impressive indicator of polluted effluents, which falls on the Volga from the all-Russian. Such severe pollution provokes the development of mutant fish, and poisonous algae, decomposing, emit about 2 hundred poisons, which are still unknown to science. The progress of her deterioration every year is more and more shocking.

The researchers noted that after the construction of dams, the river lost its ability to clean itself, which indicates the hopelessness of the situation if people do not intervene to stop the environmental problem. The Volga is a river of huge resources, which provokes the abuse of its reserves. This is what leads to the rapid deterioration of the ecological state of the water basin.

Lena River - description, meaning and ecology

The northern rivers of Russia are the largest in the entire country. Lena is the tenth largest in the world. It can be considered the largest in the Russian Federation, since the pool is located entirely within the country. The main tributaries are: Mama, Vilyui, Aldan, Chaya, etc. Its source is near Baikal, and its mouth is in the Laptev Sea. The length of the river is 4,480 km, the basin area is 2,490,000 sq. km.

Lena's nutrition is mainly due to melt and rainwater. Eternal cold and permafrost do not allow it to be fed by groundwater. The river is of great importance in the transport sense, as many shipping routes pass through it. Gold and diamond mining is carried out in its basin. In addition, there are more than a dozen reservoirs and hydroelectric power stations.

In addition, its rich fauna is important. Fish resources in Lena are truly inexhaustible. Since no dams were built on it, the fish have a large amount of food, and this stimulates an even greater diversity of the ichthyofauna. Siberian sturgeon (listed in the Red Book), sterlet, pike, and nelma are found in its waters.

It is worth saying that before the construction of reservoirs and the active exploitation of people, the Lena was one of the cleanest rivers in the world. However, even today, compared to others, it is considered not as polluted. Perhaps because there are not too many settlements along it. This is due to the fact that it can overflow the banks.

As for environmental problems, of course, shipping and the extraction of precious metals have a negative impact. However, researchers today note the problem of global warming, which adversely affects the northern rivers of Russia. It provokes large floods that destroy the coast.

It is worth knowing that on the banks of the Lena there is a beautiful national park called the Lena Pillars.

The Ob River - description, meaning and ecology

The widest rivers of Russia cannot be imagined without the Ob. It flows in the Western part of Siberia and is the longest in the territory of the Russian Federation. It is worth noting that its size gives it the right to be the second in Asia. Forms its confluence of Biya and Katun. The length is 3,650 km, and the basin area is 2,990,000 square meters. km (the largest figure in the country). In the north, the Ob flows into the Kara Sea, thereby forming a bay - the Gulf of Ob. By full flow, the river is considered the third. The deepest rivers in Russia are Lena and Yenisei.

On the Ob is the Novosibirsk Reservoir. It took 11 years to build the dam, starting in 1950. Locals call this place the Ob Sea. There are resorts and sanatoriums here. Residents of many nearby regions come here to relax. Oddly enough, but built at the end of the 19th century, the canal connecting the Ob with the Yenisei is not used today and looks rather abandoned.

The main sources of the Ob are Tom, Charysh, Irtysh, Ket and Chulym. The river is fed mainly by snow. About 50 species of fish are found in its waters. Half of them are of commercial importance. Sterlet, sturgeon (their catching is punishable by a fine), peled and several other species are considered valuable. The goal of fishermen are: pike perch, ide, pike, roach, perch, crucian carp and others.

There are several cities on the Ob, but Novosibirsk and Barnaul are considered the largest in terms of population. As for economic use, almost anywhere in the river you can periodically see cargo and passenger ships. Mining is carried out in the Ob. And also on the river is the Novosibirsk hydroelectric power station. The river is used to supply water to all nearby settlements.

It is worth paying attention to the fact that the upper reaches of the Ob (the area of Biysk, Barnaul and Novosibirsk) are a great place for fishing. Extreme lovers can relax on the rafting of the tributaries of the river. In the summer you can come to rest and treat yourself to the wonderful fruits that ripen in Siberia - grapes, melons, watermelons.

As for the ecological state, then, of course, such exploitation cannot have a positive effect on the Ob and its tributaries.

Angara, video

Walk along the Ob on a motor ship, video

Yenisei, video

Natural springs, such as rivers, are not only a tourist attraction in Russia. This is a real treasure of our country rich in natural resources.

The world leadership in terms of river flow per year was recently revised, and Russia currently ranks second in this indicator.

The largest rivers in Russia

How many rivers are there in Russia? Famous among them, with a length of more than one and a half thousand kilometers, are the Amur, the Yenisei, the Lena and the Ob.

In total, there are more than two million such "arteries" of the earth on the territory of Russia. They are easy to find on the map of Russian rivers.

Map of Russian rivers (click to enlarge)

The table shows a list of rivers in descending order of length. Descriptions are given in alphabetical order in the text.

Amur

Along the southeastern Russian border with the country "where the sun rises" (China), lies the great Russian river. The "black dragon" (in Chinese Heilongjiang) is freely located.

It originates where the flow of Argun and Shilka ends. Having overcome two and a half thousand kilometers, the Amur flows into the Sea of Japan (Okhotsk) Sea. Throughout the entire length - from Pokrovka to the Amur Estuary - there are deliveries of cargo and passengers.

Fish White Amur

Amur is the Russian leader in the diversity of ichthyofauna: up to 139 species and subspecies of fish live in the waters, including unique breeds of sturgeon and salmon.

The tributary of the Amur - the Zeya - is full-flowing. There is a similar situation between the Volga and Kama. Thus, the width and fullness are not always taken into account when determining tributary rivers.

Volga

Source of inspiration for poets. The object of beautiful paintings by the artist. The character of folk tales and myths. The famous river in the western part of Russia, the beauty of which cannot be compared with others.

The Volga occupies a special place in the soul of a Russian person. She was endowed with will and reason, making her a symbol of an unenslaved people. In Russia, she had a special name "Mother Volga".

The uniqueness is that the main water branch does not flow into the world's oceans, having an internal flow. Large cities (for example, Samara) stand on its banks.

The main navigable river in Russia. Its channel is so deep and rich in tributaries that it is rightfully considered the central water artery, which is divided into three parts:

lower;
average;
top.

This made navigation easier.

From the point of view of science (hydrology and history), the lower part of the Volga is a natural continuation of the Kama, the river of the Perm Territory. However, due to the unifying role for the Russian state, priorities have changed (the Kama is a tributary of the Volga, and nothing else).

The official source of the Volga is located in the Tver region. This is the Volgoverkhovye village, where a water spring breaks to the surface, to the delight of many tourists.

It carries its waters through the lakes Verkhit Small and Verkhit Bolshoy, a system of large lakes in the upper reaches, combines into a reservoir to the city of Rzhev.

The Volga is a river that unites four seas (Black, Azov, White and Baltic).

Vilyuy

The longest river is a tributary of the Lena. Its length is two thousand six hundred and fifty kilometers.

The Yakuts have been using fish resources and water for decades. The ecological state is gradually deteriorating due to the oil and gas industry. It is planned to build a hydrological power station.

The Vilyui basin is rich in fish resources and lakes, of which there are more than sixty-seven thousand. The source of the tributary is located on the plateau of the same name near Tunguska (Lower).

Gryazev

The shortest river carries its waters over a distance of ten kilometers. It starts a kilometer from the Mitovskaya station (Moscow railway).

Due to a historical inaccuracy that crept in, in the 20th century it changed places with Nakhabinka. The smallest river of the described.

Don

It takes its name from the languages: Scythians, Sarmatians and Aryans. From the cognate word dānu (translated as "river, drops or dew"). It flows from the Central Russian Upland to a distance of one thousand eight hundred and seventy kilometers to the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov.

Don is a winding river in the area of the Great Bend (Donskaya Luka). The bends bring the channel closer to the Volga already described above for a distance of sixty kilometers.

The Don is navigable due to the calm (slow) current, which is typical for lowland rivers.

Northern Dvina

It was formed due to the union of two tributaries (Sukhona and Vychegda) with a delta of nine hundred square kilometers.

The commercial history of the river begins in the fifteenth century. Many cargoes were delivered to Europe.

The "status" changed in the nineteenth century, when the Dvina became an important military strategic object.

Yenisei

He is called "father" by analogy with the Volga-mother. The most full-flowing artery, which runs to the Arctic Ocean, crosses most of the climatic zones of Siberia along the way.

The mouth of the river (Yenisei basin) is fifty kilometers. On its banks you can meet a camel or a polar bear.

In terms of runoff, the Yenisei is second only to the Tunguska (lower part), despite the fact that it is fed by half a thousand tributaries.

Irtysh

It got its letter designation on the map thanks to the Turkic-Iranian theory (“kara” is the earth, and “irtsis” is a swift stream, fast).

The longest length, over 4 thousand kilometers, forced the inhabitants of the coast to give the honorary name Black Irtysh to the section to Lake Zaisan (the synonym “kara” is used - black).

Ishim

It owes its appearance on the world map to the death of the Tatar Khan, who drowned in the left tributary of the Irtysh. "Took" a place in the Kazakh mountains Iyaz.

Translated from the Tatar language, Ishim, and more specifically Ishimak, means “destroying”. According to the Russian laboratory, in its lower reaches there are traces of pollution from the oil refining industry.

Kuban

The beautiful river, sung by more than one generation of Cossacks, did not immediately acquire its familiar name. Scholars suggest that there were at least three hundred different references to her. As a result, the Karachay-Balkarian name "Kuban" (rising stream) remained.

A mountain river is born at the foot of Elbrus, after transferring its waters through nine hundred kilometers and flowing into the Sea of Azov.

On the banks of the great Russian Kuban there is a place for birds of prey and near-water birds, as well as wild boars and muskrats. And hundreds of species of fish have found shelter in its waters.

Lena

In the first half of the seventeenth century, the Russian pioneer Pyande got acquainted with the life of the Kangalas Yakuts (now the city of Yakutsk). The largest river Lena (from the similar Even "yene") was the first for the traveler's rafting.

It has a length of over 4 thousand kilometers (the longest),

Surprisingly, the starting point of the Lena is a swampy area near Lake Baikal (ten kilometers to the west).

Neva

The only river flowing from Lake Ladoga. The uncontrollable and capricious "coquette river" constantly changes its channel depth and width.

It attracted the attention of Peter I both by its picturesqueness and by the fact that it is the most abundant in water. The tsar founded the most beautiful city of "drawbridges" (St. Petersburg) on its shore.

The total length is 74 kilometers.Its basin has 48 thousand lakes, and the volume of water is comparable to the Don and Dnieper combined.

After research in 2013, out of 24 bathing places, one turned out to be suitable. Pollution class after verification was assigned the third.

Ob

The leader in terms of the size of the basin (3 million km 2) and water flow (12 thousand meters per second). The river stretches for 3.5 thousand km. and flows into the Kara Sea.

The widest in Russia. In spring, a sixty-kilometer floodplain forms at the confluence, and the flood itself lasts up to three months.

Russian travelers learned about the largest river in Russia from Komi guides (“obva” means “snow water”).

Ural

The original Yaik (Kazakh name) was renamed the Ural by the decree of the Russian Empress Catherine II. Many indigenous people in the Urals remember the former name.

The river originates in the Uraltau (mountains of the Southern Urals) and flows into the Caspian Sea.

The Ural has a rather winding and often changing direction channel, leaving oxbow ponds behind it.

Conclusion

Clean rivers are most often found in places devoid of constant human interference. Drinking water from a spring close to the city is dangerous. There is a possibility of industrial pollution.

In the Siberian taiga there are springs with crystal clear moisture. Alas, technological progress makes the environmental situation more difficult every year.

There is a great way to see Russia's water resources by taking a cruise on the largest rivers. This can be a great opportunity to understand the world of the Russian soul, known for its mystique.

Russia is located in the east of Europe and in the north of Asia, occupying about 1/3 of the territory of Eurasia and 1/9 of the earth's land. The European part of the country (about 23% of the area) includes territories to the west of the Ural Mountains (the border is conditionally drawn along the Urals and the Kumo-Manych depression); The Asian part of Russia, which occupies about 76% of the territory, lies to the east of the Urals and is also called Siberia (however, the exact definition of the boundaries of Siberia is a matter of dispute) and the Far East. The total length of Russia's borders is 60,933 km (of which 38,808 km are maritime borders); Russia's borders in the north and east are maritime, in the south and west they are mostly land. Despite the fact that Russia is the largest country in the world in terms of area, the climatic and soil conditions in most of its territory do not favor agriculture.

Russia is one of the most water-provided countries in the world. The country has one of the world's largest reserves of fresh water. Surface waters occupy 12.4% of the territory of Russia, while 84% of surface waters are concentrated to the east of the Urals; many densely populated areas of the European part of Russia experience a shortage of water resources. Production needs prevail in the structure of water use.

In Russia there are the deepest lake in the world (Baikal), the longest river in Europe (Volga) and the largest lake in Europe (Ladoga), the cold pole of the Northern Hemisphere (Verkhoyansk), as well as the highest peak in Europe (Elbrus) (when drawing the border between Europe and Asia along Greater Caucasus Range, and not along the rivers Kum and Manych to the mouth of the Don).

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Lakes of Russia

There are over 2.5 million lakes in Russia. The largest lakes are the Caspian, Ladoga, Onega, Baikal. The Caspian is the largest lake in the world in terms of area, and the deepest is Baikal. The lakes are very unevenly distributed. There are especially many of them in the Vilyui basin, on the West Siberian Plain and in the north-west of the European Plain - in Karelia. All these areas are in conditions of excessive moisture. To the south, in the zone of steppes and semi-deserts with their arid climate, the number of lakes decreases sharply, and many lakes have saline or brackish water. Salty are such drainless large lakes as the Caspian Sea, as well as lakes Elton and Baskunchak, where table salt is mined.
There are countless smaller lakes, located mainly in the poorly drained lowlands of the Russian and West Siberian Plains, especially in the more northern regions. Some of them reach significant sizes, in particular, Lake Beloe (1.29 thousand sq. km.), Topozero (0.98 thousand sq. km.), Vygozero (0.56 thousand sq. km.) and Lake Ilmen (0.98 thousand sq. km.) in the territory of the European north-west of the country, and Lake Chany (1.4-2 thousand sq. km.) in the south-west of Siberia.
Lakes also differ in the origin of the basins. Lakes of tectonic origin are located in troughs and dips of the earth's crust. The largest tectonic lake Baikal is located in a graben and therefore reaches a depth of 1637 m.
Glacial-tectonic lake basins arose as a result of the processing by the glacier of tectonic depressions in the earth's crust: Imandra, Ladoga, Onega. In Kamchatka and the Kuriles, lakes are mainly of volcanic origin. In the northwest of the European Plain, the origin of lake basins is associated with continental glaciations. Many basins are located between moraine hills: Seliger, Valdai.
As a result of landslides, dammed lakes arose in mountain valleys: Sarez in the Pamirs, Ritsa in the Caucasus. Small lakes appear above karst sinkholes. In the south of Western Siberia, there are many saucer-shaped lakes that arose as a result of subsidence of loose rocks. When ice melts in permafrost areas, saucer-shaped shallow lakes also form. The oxbow lakes are located on the floodplains of lowland rivers. On the shores of the Black and Azov Seas there are lakes-estuaries.
All large and largest lakes in Russia are widely used in the national economy. They catch and breed fish. Especially a lot of fish, including the most valuable sturgeon, are caught in the Caspian. There is omul fishing in Baikal. The lakes are also used for navigation. A variety of minerals are mined in the basins of the lakes: oil and mirabilite in the Caspian Sea, table salt in Elton and Baskunchak.

The largest lakes in Russia

Caspian Sea, area - 376,000 square kilometers, maximum depth - 1,025 meters.
Lake Baikal, area - 31,500 square kilometers, maximum depth - 1,620 meters.
Lake Ladoga, area - 17,700 square kilometers, maximum depth - 230 meters.
Lake Onega, area - 9,690 sq. km., maximum depth - 127 meters.
Taimyr lakes, area - 4,560 sq. km., maximum depth - 26 meters.
Lake Khanka, area - 4,190 sq. km., maximum depth - 11 meters.
Lake Peipus-Pskovskoye, area - 3,550 sq. km., maximum depth - 15 meters.
Lake Chany, area - 1 708-2 269 sq. km., the greatest depth - up to 10 meters.
White Lake, area - 1,290 sq. km., maximum depth - 6 meters.
Topozero, area - 986 sq. km., the greatest depth - 56 meters.
Lake Ilmen, area - 982 sq. km., the greatest depth - up to 10 meters.
Lake Imandra, area - 876 sq. km., maximum depth - 67 meters.
Khantai lake, area - 822 sq. km., maximum depth - 420 meters.
Segozero, area - 815 sq. km., maximum depth - 97 meters.
Kulunda Lake, area - 728 sq. km., the greatest depth - 4 meters.
Teletskoye lake, area - 223 sq. km., maximum depth - 325 meters.

Rivers of Russia

Russia occupies a vast geographical area, and it is not surprising that numerous rivers spread over its expanses, which played an important historical role in the settlement and development of new lands. Almost all the largest cities of the country are located on the rivers. Within Russia there are about 3 million rivers with a total length of almost 10 million km. Most of the Russian rivers belong to the Arctic Ocean basin. It makes up over 66% of the country's area; up to 80% of atmospheric precipitation falls within its limits. The rivers flowing into the northern seas are the longest and most full-flowing in Russia. The longest river Lena is 4400 km. The most full-flowing river is the Yenisei (623 km3 per year). In terms of catchment area, the first place in the country is occupied by the Ob (2975 sq. km.). The rivers of the Arctic Ocean are freezing. In winter, a winter road is installed along them for about four months - roads for the movement of cars and sledges.
The largest rivers of Siberia originate in the south of the country in the Altai, Sayan and Baikal mountains. The rivers of the Arctic Ocean basin are fed by snow and rain. In the spring, due to the melting of snow on the rivers, the water rises. The flood begins in the south, and in the north the ice for a long time prevents the flow of melt water to the ocean. Therefore, on all rivers of the Arctic Ocean basin in the middle and lower reaches, high water rises occur in spring. In the southern parts of the rivers of Siberia are swift and rapids. On these segments of the valleys, large hydroelectric power plants have been built and are being built: Krasnoyarsk and Sayano-Shushenskaya on the Yenisei, Novosibirsk on the Ob, Bukhtarma and Ust-Kamenogorsk on the Irtysh, Irkutsk, Bratsk and Ust-Ilimskaya on the Angara, on the tributaries of the Lena - Vilyui and Vitim - built Vilyui and Mamakanskaya HPP. In the northern plains, the course of these rivers is calm and smooth. In summer they are used for timber rafting and navigation, connecting the southern and inland regions of the country with the Northern Sea Route and the Trans-Siberian Railway.
The rivers of the European part of the Arctic Ocean basin - Pechora, Mezen, Northern Dvina and Onega are much shorter than the Siberian rivers. They flow completely over the plains and therefore have a calm current.
The Pacific Ocean covers approximately 19% of the country's area. The main river of this basin is the Amur and its tributaries Zeya, Bureya and Ussuri. Rivers are predominantly rain fed. In the conditions of the monsoon climate in the Pacific basin, little snow falls in winter, so there are no spring floods, but floods are very significant due to summer monsoon rains. The water in the Amur and its tributaries rises to 10-15 m and floods vast areas. Catastrophic spills usually occur in early autumn. At this time, sudden and stormy downpours of cyclones - typhoons often fall on the Far Eastern regions of the country. River floods reach several tens of kilometers and cause great damage to agriculture, cities and towns.
The Amur and its tributaries have a large fall and are rich in hydropower. The Zeya hydroelectric power station was built on the Zeya River. The Amur is the main river highway of the Far East, through which the inner remote regions are connected with the seas. The state border of Russia with the People's Republic of China runs along the rivers Argun, Amur and Ussuri.
Near the rivers of Chukotka and the basin of the Sea of Okhotsk, snow is predominantly fed. Therefore, they are full-flowing in late spring and early summer, which favors the movement of salmon fish, rising to spawn up rivers and streams.
The Caspian basin is called drainless, since the rivers carry their waters not to the World Ocean, but to an internal drainless reservoir - to the Caspian Sea. The basin covers the interior regions of the East European Plain, the Southern Urals, and the eastern part of the Caucasus.
The Volga, Ural, Araks, Terek, Emba and other rivers flow into the Caspian. The largest river is the Volga. Its basin occupies 34% of the East European Plain. Most of the tributaries of the Volga are located in a temperate continental climate with sufficient moisture. Food is mostly snowy. In the spring, when the snow melts, there is a significant rise in water in the river. In summer, the main source of food is groundwater and rain. Some rise of water in the channel also occurs in autumn, when evaporation is significantly reduced. Below the mouth of the large left tributary of the Kama, the Volga flows through the steppe and semi-desert zones, where there is very little precipitation and therefore there are no significant tributaries. Below Volgograd, the Volga has no tributaries and is of a transit nature. It only carries water and partially evaporates it. From here, the Volga splits into branches, the largest of which is Akhtuba. Below Astrakhan, the channel is divided into 80 branches, forming a vast delta. Now almost the entire Volga has turned into a cascade of dams and reservoirs. On the Upper Volga, not far from Tver, there is the Ivankovskoye Reservoir. From him begins the channel to them. Moscow, through which the Volga water is pumped for the water supply of Moscow. Below, the entire Volga to Volgograd turned into a chain of interconnected reservoirs (Uglich, Rybinsk, Gorky, Cheboksary, Kuibyshev, Saratov and Volgograd). They retain a significant part of the spring flood water, which is used to generate electricity, supply cities, and irrigate drylands. Thanks to reservoirs, the movement of large river vessels is possible. Now the river is connected by the Volga-Don navigable canal with the Black and Azov seas, the Volga-Baltic - with the Baltic and White seas. Half of all river cargo and passengers of the country are transported along the Volga. But the reservoirs flooded large areas of fertile floodplain lands. The dams slowed down the flow of the Volga. As a result, a large amount of pollutants began to accumulate in the reservoirs, which come here from the fields, as well as with industrial and domestic effluents. Therefore, the river is currently heavily polluted.
The Atlantic Ocean basin occupies the smallest area - about 5% of the entire territory of Russia. The rivers flow west into the Baltic Sea and south into the Black and Azov Seas. To the west flow the Western Dvina, Neman, Neva, etc. To the south - the Dnieper, Don and Kuban. All rivers of the Atlantic Ocean basin are full-flowing all year round, since most of their watersheds are located on the territory of sufficient moisture. They mainly feed on snow, and in summer - underground and rain. The rivers flowing into the Baltic Sea have very little fluctuations in runoff, since precipitation falls evenly throughout the year. There are only small spring floods and autumn floods. The Neva River occupies a special place. This short river (74 km long) carries a huge amount of water - 79.7 km3 per year, four times more than the Dnieper, which has a length of over 2 thousand km. The Neva originates in Lake Ladoga and therefore its flow is constant throughout the year.
But almost every year it floods part of St. Petersburg with its waters. The culprits of the floods are surges of water from the Baltic Sea, which dam up the Neva. As a result, the water in the river rises by 2 - 3.5 m and splashes out of the granite embankments onto the streets and squares of the city.
The rivers of the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean basin receive water in their branched upper reaches. In the lower sections, they are of a transit nature, since here the rivers cross the steppe zone with an arid climate. The food of the Dnieper and Don is mainly snow, so they have high spring floods. A cascade of hydroelectric facilities and reservoirs has been built on the southern rivers. Reservoirs are used both to generate electricity and to irrigate arid lands in the south of the East European Plain. Rice and other agricultural crops are grown in the Sea of Azov and the North Caucasus thanks to the waters of the Don and Kuban.

The largest rivers of Russia

Lena, length - 4320 km., Basin area - 2418 thousand sq. km.
Yenisei (with Biy-Khem), length - 4012 km., Basin area - 2707 thousand sq. km.
Ob (with Katun), length - 4070 km., Basin area - 2425 thousand sq. km.
Volga, length - 3690 km., Basin area - 1380 thousand sq. km.
Amur, length - 2824 km., Basin area - 1855 thousand sq. km.
Ural, length - 2530 km., Basin area - 220 thousand sq. km.
Kolyma, length - 2150 km., Basin area - 644 thousand sq. km.
Don, length - 1950 km., Basin area - 422 thousand sq. km.
Indigirka, length - 1790 km., Basin area - 360 thousand sq. km.
Pechora, length - 1790 km., Basin area - 327 thousand sq. km.
Northern Dvina (with Sukhona), length - 1300 km., Basin area - 411 thousand sq. km.
Yana (with Dulgalakh), length - 1070 km., Basin area - 318 thousand sq. km.
Selenga (with Ider), length - 1020 km., Basin area - 445 thousand sq. km.
Mezen, length - 966 km., Basin area - 76 thousand sq. km.
Kuban, length - 906 km., Basin area - 51 thousand sq. km.
Terek, length - 626 km., Basin area - 44 thousand sq. km.
Onega, length - 416 km., Basin area - 58 thousand sq. km.
Neva, length - 74 km., Basin area - 282 thousand sq. km.

Sailing regatta from "Russian Seven". Rafting on the main rivers of Russia!

Volga. River flows

The main water brand of Russia is the Volga. Insanely popular river, though not the longest, not the most abundant. Why? The answer is simple: the Volga basin occupies about 1/3 of the European territory of Russia. By the way, the length of the river is 3530 km. It's like from Moscow to Berlin and back.

The Volga is dedicated not only to a song known without exaggeration to all Russians and a film with the title title. The action of A. Ostrovsky's plays takes place, as a rule, in cities on the Volga. A particularly strong image of the river was created in the film "Cruel Romance"!

Detail: Lotuses - flowers that are associated with the exotic and the East, have long lived in our Volga.

Oka. Not only a small car

The Oka River is the Great Russian River, and it is not in vain that we write this word with a capital letter! Almost all of Central Russia lies on the banks, the area of the river basin (245,000 sq. Km) is equal to the territory of the whole of Great Britain, and the length is 1,500 km.

In many respects (navigation, basin area, etc.) for Russia, the Oka exceeded the value of the Nile for Egypt. It is no coincidence that in the 9th-10th centuries, foreigners called the Oka River "Russian River", "River Rus".

By the way, the name of the river "Oka" supposedly comes from the Proto-European "aqva" - "water", it is so ancient! There is a hypothesis that even the word "ocean" (understood as "a great river bordering the world") in Russian comes from the word "Oka".

Don. Millennium Witness of Russian History

Don is a thousand-year-old witness of Russian history. This river appeared on Earth - scary to say! - about 23 million years ago. And according to scientists, the Paleo-Don collected the waters of the entire Russian Plain.

Among the ancient Greeks and Romans, the lower reaches of the Tanais (Don) were reputed to be the habitat of the legendary Amazons. These women-warriors also got into our epics, which often tell about the fights of Russian heroes with daring riders - "glade".

Detail: Our "father-Don" has two younger namesakes in England: the river Don (Don) in the Scottish county of Aberdeen and the river of the same name in the English county of York.

Dnieper. A rare bird will fly to its middle

The Dnieper has been known since ancient times! Even Herodotus called him in his historical treatises Borisfen (which means "river flowing from the north").

Here is what the ancient Greek historian wrote: “Borisfen is the most profitable river: beautiful fat pastures for cattle stretch along its banks; the best fish is found in large quantities in it; the water tastes good for drinking and is transparent (compared to the water of other muddy rivers of Scythia) ".

During the period of Kievan Rus, the river was called Slavutich ("river of the Slavs"), at that time a waterway "from the Varangians to the Greeks" passed along it, connecting the Baltic (Varangian) Sea with the Black (Russian) Sea.

Detail: "A rare bird will fly to the middle of the Dnieper," wrote N. Gogol. The birds have enough strength to fly to the middle and fly over the river. And a rare bird meant a parrot, which is really difficult to meet in these parts.

Yenisei. Natural border between Eastern and Western Siberia

On the left bank of the Yenisei, the West Siberian plains end, and on the right bank, the mountain taiga begins. Therefore, in its upper reaches you can meet camels, and going downstream to the Ocean - polar bears.

Until now, there are legends about the origin of the word Yenisei: either it is the Tungus word "enesi" ("big water"), converted into Russian, or the Kyrgyz "enee-Sai" (mother river).

Detail: The Yenisei and other Iberian rivers bring as much heat to the Arctic Ocean as burning 3 billion tons of fuel would give. If not for the rivers, the climate of the North would be more severe.