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

Hydrography

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

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

The Volga waters originate in the region of the Valdai Upland - in the spring of the Volgo-Verkhovye village, which is located in the Tver region. The height of the source above sea level is 228 meters. Further, the river carries its waters through the whole of Central Russia to the Caspian Sea. The height of the fall of the river is not great, because the mouth of the river is only 28 meters below sea level. Thus, along its entire length, the river descends by 256 meters, and its slope is 0.07%. The average speed of the river is relatively low - from 2 to 6 km / h (less than 1 m / s).
The Volga is mainly fed by melt water, which accounts for 60% of the annual runoff. 30% of the runoff comes from groundwater (they support the river in winter) and only 10% comes from rain (mainly in summer). Along its entire length, 200 tributaries flow into the Volga. But already at the latitude of Saratov, the water basin of the river narrows, after which the Volga flows from Kamyshin to the Caspian without support from other tributaries.
From April to June, the Volga is characterized by high spring floods, which on average lasts 72 days. The maximum level of water rise in the river is observed in the first half of May, when it spills over the floodplain for 10 kilometers or more. And in the lower reaches - in the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain, the width of the flood in some places reaches 30 km.
Summer is characterized by a stable low-water low-water period, which lasts from mid-June to early October. The rains in October bring with them an autumn flood, after which a period of low-water winter low-water period sets in, when the Volga feeds only on groundwater.
It should also be noted that after the construction of a whole cascade of reservoirs and regulation of the flow, fluctuations in the water level became much less significant.
The Volga freezes in its upper and middle reaches, usually at the end of November. On the lower reaches, ice rises in early December.
Ice drift on the Volga in the upper reaches, as well as in the section from Astrakhan to Kamyshin, occurs in the first half of April. In the section near Astrakhan, the river usually opens up in mid-March.
Near Astrakhan, the river remains ice-free for almost 260 days a year, while in other areas this time is about 200 days. During the open water period, the river is actively used for ship navigation.
The main part of the catchment area of ​​the river falls on the forest zone, located from the very sources to Nizhny Novgorod. The middle part of the river flows through the forest-steppe zone, and the lower part flows through the semi-desert.


Volga Map

Different Volga: Upper, Middle and Lower

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

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

As for the Lower Volga, some adjustments should be made. After the construction of the Zhigulevskaya HPP just above Samara and the construction of the Kuibyshev reservoir, the current border between the middle and lower sections of the river runs exactly at the level of the dam.

Upper Volga

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

Middle Volga

The Middle Volga begins behind Nizhny Novgorod. Here the width of the river more than doubles - the Volga becomes full-flowing, reaching a width of 600 m to 2+ km. An extended reservoir was formed near the city of Cheboksary after the construction of the Cheboksary hydroelectric power station of the same name. The reservoir area is 2,190 square km. The largest tributaries of the Middle Volga are the rivers: Oka, Sviyaga, Vetluga and Sura.

Lower Volga

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

Volga-Akhtubinskaya floodplain

Below the Volzhsky, a left branch called Akhtuba is separated from the great Russian river. After the construction of the Volzhskaya hydroelectric power station, the beginning of Akhtuba was a 6 km canal extending from the main Volga. Today the length of Akhtuba is 537 km, the river carries its waters to the northeast parallel to the mother channel, then approaching it, then again moving away. Together with the Volga, Akhtuba forms the famous Volga-Akhtuba floodplain - a real fishing Eldorado. The floodplain area is penetrated by numerous channels, saturated with flooded lakes and is unusually rich in all kinds of fish. The width of the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain is on average 10 to 30 km.
Through the territory of the Astrakhan region, the Volga makes a path of 550 km, carrying its waters along the Caspian lowland. At the 3038th kilometer of its path, the Volga River splits into 3 branches: Krivaya Bolda, Gorodskaya and Trusovsky. And on the section from 3039 to 3053 km along the Gorodskoy and Trusovsky branches there is a city - Astrakhan.
Below Astrakhan, the river turns to the southwest and splits into numerous branches that form a delta.

Volga delta

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

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

Since the 30s of the last century, electricity has been produced on the river with the help of hydroelectric power plants. Since then, 9 hydroelectric power plants with their own reservoirs have been erected on the Volga. At the moment, the river basin has sheltered about 45% of industry and half of all agriculture in Russia. More than 20% of all fish for the food industry of the Russian Federation is caught in the Volga basin.
The logging industry is developed in the Upper Volga basin, and grain crops are grown in the Middle and Lower Volga regions. Gardening and vegetable gardening are also developed along the middle and lower reaches of the river.
The Volga-Ural region is rich in natural gas and oil deposits. There are deposits of potassium salts near the town of Solikamsk. The famous lake Baskunchak on the Lower Volga is famous not only for its healing mud, but also for the deposits of table salt.
Upstream ships carry oil products, coal, gravel materials, cement, metal, salt and food. Downstream timber, industrial raw materials, lumber and finished products are supplied.

Animal world

Tourism and fishing on the Volga

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

Despite the fact that there are many different beautiful rivers in Russia, nevertheless, the Volga is most valuable for her, the population of the country calls her majestic, based on the fact that the Volga is the queen of all Russian rivers. Scientists geologists determine from deposits in the earth's crust that over the immeasurably long history of the Earth, significant areas of the present Volga region have repeatedly turned into the seabed. One of the seas slowly receded to the south about twenty million years ago, and then the Volga River flowed in its footsteps. The Volga began not at Valdai, but near the Ural Mountains. She seemed to cut off the corner, taking the direction from there to the Zhiguli, and farther carried the waters much farther east than now. The movements of the earth's crust, the formation of new heights and depressions, sharp fluctuations in the level of the Caspian Sea and other reasons forced the Volga River to change direction.

Origin of the name of the river

From the facts of ancient history it is known that the famous Greek scientist at that time by the name of Ptolemy in his "Geography" called the Volga River by the name "Ra". Not looking at the fact that he lived far from the Volga, on the coast of Africa, in the city of Alexandria, but there were rumors about this great river. It was in the 2nd century AD. Later, in the Middle Ages, the Volga was known as Itil.

According to one of the versions, the modern name of the Volga was acquired by the ancient Mari name of the Volgydo river, or, which in translation means "light". According to another version, the name of the Volga comes from the Finno-Ugric word Volkea, which means “light” or “white”. There is also a version that the name Volga came from the name Bulga, associated with the Volga Bulgarians living on its banks. But the Bulgarians themselves (the ancestors of the modern Tatars) called the reuk “Itil”, the word which means “river” (there is, however, another version that the meanings of the hydronyms Volga and Itil did not coincide with the modern ones at that time), it is believed that the origin of the ethnonym “Volga "From the Proto-Slavic word meaning volgly - vologa - moisture, thus the possible meaning of the name of the Volga is as" water "or" moisture ", if I can put it," big water "is also suitable, due to the huge size of the river. The presence of the rivers Vlga in the Czech Republic and Vilga in Poland speaks for the Slavic version of the origin of the name.

The source of the Volga

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

The geographical location of the river

The Volga originates from the Valdai Upland (at an altitude of 229 m) and flows into the Caspian Sea. The length of the Volga is 3530 kilometers. The estuary lies 28 m below sea level. The total drop is 256 m. The Volga is the world's largest river of internal flow, that is, it does not flow into the world ocean. The source of the Volga is a spring near the Volgoverkhovye village in the Tver region. In the upper reaches, within the Valdai Upland, the Volga passes through small lakes - Maloye 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.


The river can be conditionally divided into three main parts, these are:

the upper Volga, the largest tributaries of the upper Volga are Selizharovka, Tma, Tvertsa, Mologa, Sheksna and Unzha. After the Volga passed through the system of the Upper Volga lakes in 1843, a dam (Upper Volga beishlot) was built to regulate the flow of water and maintain navigable depths during low water periods. Between the cities of Tver and Rybinsk on the Volga, the Ivankovskoye Reservoir (the so-called Moscow Sea) with a dam and a hydroelectric power station near Dubna, the Uglichskoye Reservoir (a hydroelectric power station near Uglich), and the Rybinsk Reservoir (a hydroelectric power station 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-Chukhlomskaya uplands. Further, the Volga flows along the Unzha and Balakhna lowlands. Near Gorodets (above Nizhny Novgorod), the Volga, partitioned off by the dam of the Gorky hydroelectric power station, forms the Gorky reservoir.

The middle Volga, 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.


The Lower Volga, where in the lower reaches, after the confluence of the Kama, the Volga becomes a mighty river. It flows here along the Volga Upland. A dam of the Zhigulevskaya hydroelectric power station was built near Togliatti, above the Samarskaya Luka, which is formed by the Volga, skirting the Zhiguli mountains; above the dam stretches the Kuibyshev reservoir. A dam of the Saratov hydroelectric power station was erected on the Volga near the town of Balakovo. The Lower Volga receives relatively small tributaries - Sok, Samara, Bolshoi Irgiz, Eruslan. 21 km above Volgograd, the left branch - Akhtuba (length 537 km) is separated 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 spills within this floodplain previously reached 20-30 km. On the Volga, between the beginning of Akhtuba and Volgograd, the Volzhskaya hydroelectric power station was built; above the dam stretches the Volgograd reservoir.

The Volga delta begins at the point where the Akhtuba separates from its channel (in the Volgograd region) and is one of the largest in Russia. There are up to 500 branches, channels and small rivers in the delta. The main branches are Bakhtemir, Kamyzyak, Staraya Volga, Bolda, Buzan, Akhtuba (of which Bakhtemir is maintained in a navigable state, forming the Volga-Caspian canal).

Territorial division of the river

Geographically, the Volga basin includes Astrakhan, Volgograd, Saratov, Samara, Ulyanovsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Yaroslavl, Ivanovskaya, Kostromskaya, Moscow, Smolensk, Tverskaya, Vladimirskaya, Kaluga, Oryol, Ryazan, Vologda, Kirovskaya, Penza, Tambov regions, Perm regions Udmurtia, Mari El, Mordovia, Chuvashia, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Kalmykia, Komi, Moscow, and some others.

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.


The main supply of the Volga River is melted external waters. Rainfall, which falls mainly in the summer, and the groundwater, due to which the river lives in winter, play a lesser role in its feeding. In accordance with this, in the annual level of the river, the following are distinguished: high and prolonged spring floods, a fairly stable summer low-water period and a low winter low-water period. The duration of the flood is 72 days on average. The maximum rise in water usually occurs in the first half of May, half a month after the spring ice drift. From the beginning of June to October - November, a summer low water period is established. Thus, most of the navigation period, when the Volga River is ice-free (200 days on average), coincides with the period of low low-water levels (2 - 3 m).

The history of the Volga river

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 about the campaign of the Persian king Darius against the Scythians, Herodotus reports that Darius, pursuing the Scythians across the Tanais (Don) river, stopped at the Oar river. They are trying to identify the Oar River with the Volga, although Herodotus also said that the Oar flows into the Meotida (Sea of ​​Azov). Sometimes they also see the Volga in another river, about which in the 1st century. BC NS. reported by Diodorus of Siculus.

At first, the Scythians lived in very small numbers near the Araks River and were despised for their dishonor. But even in ancient times, under the control of one warlike and distinguished by strategic abilities king, they acquired a country for themselves in the mountains up to the Caucasus, and in the lowlands of the coast of the Ocean and Meotian Lake - and other areas up to the Tanais River.


In written ancient Roman sources of the 2nd-4th centuries, the Volga is geographically identified as the river Ra - generous, in the Arab sources of the 9th century it is called Atel, a river of rivers, a great river. In the earliest Old Russian chronicle, "The Tale of Bygone Years", it is said: "From that Volokovsky forest the Volga will flow to the east and flow into ... the Khvalisskoe Sea." Volokovsky forest is the old name of the Valdai Upland. The Caspian Sea was called Khvalissky.

The geographical position of the Volga and its large tributaries determined by the 8th century its importance as a trade route between East and West. It was along the Volga road that a stream of Arab silver poured into the Scandinavian countries. Fabrics, metals were exported from the Arab Caliphate, slaves, furs, wax, honey were exported from the Slavic lands. In the 9th-10th centuries, such centers as the Khazar Itil at the mouth, the Bulgar Bulgar on the Middle Volga, the Russian Rostov, Suzdal, and Murom in the Vernem Volga region played a significant role in trade. 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, the role of such centers as Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Astrakhan has grown. The conquest of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates by Ivan the Terrible in the middle of the 16th century led to the unification of the entire Volga river system in the hands of Russia, which contributed to the flourishing of the Volga trade in the 17th century. New large cities arose — Samara, Saratov, Tsaritsyn; Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Nizhny Novgorod play an important role. Large caravans of ships (up to 500) go along the Volga. In the 18th century, the main trade routes moved to the West, and the economic development of the lower Volga was restrained by a weak population and raids by nomads. The Volga basin in the XVII-XVIII centuries was the main area of ​​action of the insurgent 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 connection of the Volga and Neva basins by the Mariinsky river system (1808); a large river fleet appeared (in 1820 - the first steamer), a huge army of barge haulers (up to 300 thousand people) was working on the Volga. Large shipments of bread, salt, fish, and later oil and cotton are carried out.


The development of the Civil War of 1917-22 in Russia is largely associated with the establishment in 1918 in a number of cities of the Volga region of the authority of the Committee of the Constituent Assembly. The restoration of Bolshevik control over the Volga is considered an important turning point in the Civil War, as control over the Volga provided access to grain resources and Baku oil. An important role in the Civil War was played by the defense of Tsaritsyn, in which J.V. Stalin played an active role, which was the reason for the renaming of Tsaritsyn to Stalingrad.

During the years of socialist construction, in connection with the industrialization of the entire country, the importance of the Volga Way increased. Since the end of the 30s of the XX century, the Volga began to be used also as a source of hydropower. During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45, the largest Battle of Stalingrad took place on the Volga, which retained the name of the Volga in the history of the liberated region. In the postwar period, the economic role of the Volga increased significantly, especially after the creation of a number of large reservoirs and hydroelectric power plants.

The natural world of the Volga

In the basin of the upper Volga there are large forests, in the Middle and partly in the Lower Volga region, large areas are occupied by crops of grain and industrial crops. Melon growing and horticulture are developed. In the Volga-Ural region there are rich oil and gas fields. Near Solikamsk there are large deposits of potash salts. In the Lower Volga region (Lake Baskunchak, Elton) - table salt.

In terms of the variety of fish, the Volga is one of the richest rivers. The Volga River basin is home to 76 species of various fish and 47 subspecies of fish. Fish enter the Volga from the Caspian Sea: lamprey, beluga, sturgeon, stellate sturgeon, thorn, white fish, anadromous Volga or ordinary herring; from semi-anadromous: carp, bream, pike perch, roach, etc. Fish constantly live in the Volga: sterlet, carp, bream, pike perch, ide, pike, burbot, catfish, perch, ruff, asp. Beluga is the most legendary fish in the Caspian basin. Its age reaches 100 years, and its weight is 1.5 tons. At the beginning of the century, belugas weighing over a ton lived in the Volga; the weight of eggs in females was up to 15% of the total body weight. Red fish is the glory of the Astrakhan region. Five species of sturgeon fish live here - Russian sturgeon, stellate sturgeon, beluga, thorn and sterlet. The first four species are anadromous, and the sterlet is a freshwater fish. The farms also breed a hybrid of beluga and sterlet - bester. Herring-like fish are represented by the Caspian belly fish, sprat and black-backed sprat and Volga herring.


Of the salmon-like fish, the white fish is found, the only representative of the pike is the pike. The carp fish of the lower Volga include bream, carp, roach, rudd, gold and silver carp, asp, silver bream, gudgeon, grass carp, white and motley silver carp.

Perch fish in the Volga are represented by river perch, ruff, as well as pike perch and bersh. In stagnant shallow freshwater reservoirs of the Volga lower reaches, the only representative of the order of sticklebacks, the southern stickleback, is ubiquitous.

The influence of the Volga in creativity

In the figurative perception of the essence of the Russian people, the Volga plays an exclusive and central role, it is the root and core of the entire Russian people, a figurative ideal. She is always animated, human qualities are attributed to her, and the ideal Russian person must correspond to the image of this river. In literature and art, the Volga is not found too often, but truly cult works are associated with its image. In the culture of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the most "popular" representatives of culture are associated with the Volga: N.A. Nekrasov, Maxim Gorky, F.I. Shalyapin. Soviet art made full use of the image of the Volga, created by the democratic art of pre-revolutionary Russia. The Volga is identified with the Motherland, it is a symbol of freedom, space, breadth and greatness of the spirit of Soviet people. The film "Volga-Volga" and the song "The Volga Flows" performed by Lyudmila Zykina played a central role in the construction of this image.


Volga delta

The Volga Delta is the place where the first biosphere reserve in Russia was created in 1919. Five years ago, another federal state natural reserve, Bogdinsko-Baskunchaksky, appeared in the Astrakhan region. We understand that nature reserves constantly have a lot of problems, the solution of which cannot be postponed, therefore the financing of their activities is mostly on the responsibility of the regional budget. Astrakhan residents are proud that Maly Zhemchuzhny Island received the status of a federal natural monument last year. This is one of the most valuable natural reserves in the North Caspian. In addition, 800 thousand hectares of the delta's territory have the status of a wetland of international importance. There are four state nature reserves of regional significance in our region.

The Volga Delta is recognized as the most ecologically safe delta in Europe. Our task, despite the fact that the territory for economic use is highly valued here, is to expand the boundaries of natural reserves. Now, for example, the idea of ​​creating so-called biosphere polygons in the region is being worked out. We are one of the first to do this in Russia. 300 thousand hectares of the Northern Caspian and the Volga delta will have to be reserved for them. In these areas, mainly water, modern methods of economic activity will be tested, which will not damage the unique environment. We are for the openness of environmental information and always promptly respond to any signals of emergency and problems.


The largest river valley in Europe, the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain and the Volga river delta, as well as the surrounding desert, have always attracted the attention of botanists. The first studies were mainly concerned with the species composition of the flora. At different times the region was visited by: P. S Pallas, K. K Klaus, E. A Eversmann, I. K Pachosky, A. Ya Gordyagin and many other outstanding travelers and botanists. At the end of the 1920s, more attention was paid to floodplain habitats. To one of the first researchers of the vegetation cover of the Lower Volga valley - S. I Korzhinsky (in 1888) - the floristic composition of its meadows and bogs initially seemed rather monotonous, but later these ideas began to change. G. Ramenskiy (in 1931) noted a change in the composition of the herbaceous communities of the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain and delta as we moved downstream of the river.

History

Until the 30s. of the twentieth century, the Volga was practically used only as a transport route and a fishing industry. The main organic shortcomings of the Volga trade route for many centuries were the absence of water connections with the World Ocean and the stepped depths. The first drawback was once tried to be overcome by organizing drags. But only very small ships could be transported by drag across the watersheds. Peter I organized work to connect the Volga with the Don and the Baltic Sea. However, due to the lack of equipment that corresponded to the scale of the work, the efforts expended to connect the Volga with the Don were not crowned with success. The fate of the works on the Upper Volga was different. In 1703 they began and in 1709 completed the construction of the Vyshnevolotsk system. Through the rivers Tvertsa, Tsnu, Metu, Volkhov, Lake Ladoga and Niva, cargo transported along the Volga got access to the Baltic Sea. The limited carrying capacity of this water system forced to look for other ways of developing water links between the Volga basin and the Baltic.

In 1810, the Mariinsky water system entered into operation, connecting the Volga with the Baltic through the rivers Sheksna, Vyterga, Lake Onega, r. Svir, Lake Ladoga and Neva, and in 1811 - the Tikhvin water system, which did the same through the rivers Mologu, Chagodoma, Syas and the Ladoga canal.

In 1828, the construction of the Württemberg (North-Dvina) system was completed, which connected the Volga basin through the Sheken River, the Toporninsky Canal, the Siverskoye and Kubenskoye lakes with the r. Sukhona, Northern Dvina and the White Sea. In the first half of the 19th century. work began to develop actively to overcome another major drawback of the Volga transport route - the stepped depths.


Along with shipping, fishing has been of great importance in the Volga basin since ancient times. The Volga has always been abundant in fish, semi-anadromous and anadromous. Sharp fluctuations in catches in the Volga basin were also noted in those times when the influence of human economic activity was practically insignificant. Mills were built on small tributaries of the Volga in pre-Petrine times. At the time of Peter the Great, the energy of water began to be used for metallurgical plants created in the Urals.

At the end of the XIX-beginning of the XX century. it became clear that the extremely favorable position of the Volga in the very center of the European part of Russia, the richest land, water and mineral resources, the enormous fish resources of the Volga basin, the availability of skilled workers in the industrial regions - Moscow, Ivanovsky, Nizhny Novgorod, Ural - cannot be used in fully without developing an adequate energy base.

The significance of the Volga river

Nowadays, the river plays a significant role in the Russian economy, since a large number of hydroelectric power plants are located on it, and the river itself is necessary for various sea cargo transportation, which is now being successfully carried out.

In addition, the Volga is the main artery of the country, supplying it with water resources; it is also worth adding that many reservoirs have been created on the Volga. And for local residents, the villages of which are located near the Volga River makes it possible to feel like tourists, swimming along the river, and just admire the beautiful landscape, once again glancing at it.

There is no other place in the world with such a density of tourist sites as in the Bakhchisarai region! Mountains and sea, rare landscapes and cave cities, lakes and waterfalls, secrets of nature and mysteries of history. Discoveries and the spirit of adventure ... Mountain tourism is not at all difficult here, but any trail pleases with clean springs and lakes.

Adygea, Crimea. Mountains, waterfalls, herbs of alpine meadows, healing mountain air, absolute silence, snowfields in the middle of summer, the murmur of mountain streams and rivers, stunning landscapes, songs by the fires, the spirit of romance and adventure, the wind of freedom are waiting for you! And at the end of the route there are gentle waves of the Black Sea.

In Europe, the Volga is the largest river, but in Russia it is only in fifth place in size. In the Tver region there is a village called Volgoverkhovye. There is a chapel next to it - this is the place from which the Volga River originates.

Even before our era, the Egyptians, Greeks and Slavs who lived at that time called it Ra, the embodiment of the sun god, and the places where it flows - the sacred country of Iriy (Paradise).

In the Middle Ages, since the place where the Volga River originates is in Russia, it received a Russian name, which means "wetland" or "flowing stream". But the Turks living downstream gave it the name "Itil", that is, "endless", "river of rivers".

In total, she overcomes a path of 3530 km. And if the beginning of the Volga River is a tiny swampy stream, and the first bridge across it is only 3 meters long, then after 10 km it flows into Lake Sterzh, once the first of the Upper Volga lakes, which have now turned into one reservoir. Having passed the chain of former lakes, the river becomes full-flowing and flows to Tver in its original channel. A little lower, another reservoir begins, it is often called. However, the dô represents several man-made lakes, and only in the Caspian lowland does the Volga acquire its natural channel 500 km long. And before flowing into the Caspian Sea, it forms many branches that make up a vast delta (about 19,000 sq. Km).

Today the Volga is distinguished by a stately, measured current, in other places it is even difficult to notice it. Although earlier, when there were no dams and reservoirs on it, her temper was steeper, with ripples. The memory of this remained only in the names of coastal towns and villages and in old legends. But in the lower reaches and in places of reservoirs, it can be dangerous, in contrast to the places where it originates.

The Volga River has more than two hundred tributaries, which themselves are deep and large rivers. For example, the Kama tributary is the largest, it is even full of water and more along the length of its "mother". In total, the Volga basin has more than 150 thousand more or less large rivers (which have a length of over 10 km)

If you believe the guidebooks, then along the Volga you can get to almost any corner of the world. And being near the chapel, where the Volga River begins, you cannot say this at all.

With 100% accuracy, one can only say that it is realistic to go on a cruise from Moscow to Nizhny Novgorod, St. Petersburg or Astrakhan. The capital can be reached through the Moscow Canal. You will get to the Azov and Black seas with the help of A. The Volga-Baltic route will take you to

In addition to the fact that you can make cruises along the river, the Volga is a source of large fish resources. There are about 70 species of fish, most of which are commercial. These are herring, stellate sturgeon, roach, sterlet with sturgeon, and bream with pike. It is not for nothing that fishermen from all parts of our vast country, and also abroad, tend to go there.

And if you decide to go on a journey, then start from the places where the Volga River begins, where it is still just a small stream, which after a few hundred kilometers becomes a great Russian river, striking in its beauty and majesty.

Russia is the largest country in the world in terms of area. The largest rivers of the Earth flow over a huge territory: Ob, Yenisei, Lena, Amur. Among them is the longest river in Europe - the Volga. Its length is 3530 km, and the basin area is 1360 thousand m2.

The Volga River flows in the European part of Russia: from the Valdai Upland in the west, along the eastern side - to the Urals, in the south of the country it flows into the Caspian Sea. A small part of the delta enters the territory of Kazakhstan.

The source of the river is located on the Valdai Upland, in the village of Volgoverkhovye, Tver Region. A small brook, accepting about 150,000 tributaries, including 200 small and large rivers, is gaining strength and strength and turns into a mighty river. A special monument to the river was erected at the source.

The fall of the river along its length does not exceed 250 m. The mouth of the river lies 28 m below sea level. The territory of Russia adjacent to the Volga is called the Volga region. Along the banks of the river there are four million-plus cities: Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Samara and Volgograd. The first large settlement on the Volga from the source is the city of Rzhev, and the last in the delta is Astrakhan. The Volga is the world's largest river of internal flow, i.e. not flowing into the world's oceans.


The main part of the Volga area, from the source to Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan, is located in the forest zone, the middle part of the basin to Samara and Saratov is in the forest-steppe zone, the lower part is to Volgograd in the steppe zone, and to the south in the semi-desert zone.

It is customary to divide the Volga into three 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 confluence with the Caspian Sea.

History of the river

For the first time a Greek scientist spoke about the river. Then information about the Volga is found in the notes of the Persian king Darius, who described his campaigns against the Scythian tribes. Roman sources speak of the Volga as a "generous river", hence the name - "Ra". In Russia, the river is mentioned in the famous Tale of Bygone Years.

Since the time of Russia, the Volga was an important trade link - an artery where the Volga trade route was based. Through this path, Russian merchants traded in oriental fabrics, metal, honey, wax.


After the conquest of the Volga basin, trade began to flourish, which peaked in the 17th century. Over time, a river fleet appeared on the Volga.

In the 19th century, an army of barge haulers worked on the Volga, to which the picture of the Russian artist is dedicated. At that time, huge reserves of salt, fish and bread were transported along the Volga. Then cotton was added to these goods, and later oil.

During the Civil War, the Volga was the main strategic point, which provided the army with bread and food, and also made it possible to quickly transfer forces with the help of the fleet.


Painting by Ilya Repin "Barge Haulers on the Volga", 1872-1873

When Soviet power was established in Russia, the river began to be used as a source of electricity. In the 20th century, 8 hydroelectric power plants were built on the Volga.

During World War II, the Volga was the most important river for the USSR, since armies and food supplies were transferred through it. In addition, a major battle took place on the Volga, at Stalingrad (now Volgograd).

Nowadays, oil and natural gas reserves are being extracted in the Volga basin, which support the Russian economy. In some areas potash and table salt are mined.

Flora and fauna of the river

The Volga is mainly fed by snow (60%), part of it is fed by rain (10%), and groundwater feeds the Volga by 30%. The water in the river is advantageously warm, in summer the temperature does not drop below + 20-25 degrees. The river freezes in late November in the upper reaches, and in the lower reaches - in December. The river is frozen 100-160 days a year.


The river is inhabited by large populations of fish: crucian carp, pike perch, perch, ide, pike. Catfish, burbot, ruffs, sturgeons, bream and sterlet also live in the waters of the Volga. In total, there are about 70 species of fish.

Birds settle in the Volga delta: ducks, swans, herons. Flamingos and pelicans live on the Volga. And the famous lotus flowers also grow. Although the Volga is heavily polluted by industrial enterprises, aquatic vegetation (lotus, water lily, reed, water walnut) is still preserved in it.

Volga tributaries

About 200 tributaries flow into the Volga, and most of them are on the left side. The left tributaries are much richer than the right ones. The largest tributary of the Volga is the Kama River. Its length reaches 2000 km. The tributary begins at the Verkhnekamsk Upland. The Kama has more than 74 thousand tributaries, 95% are rivers up to 10 km long.


Hydraulic engineering research also suggests that the Kama is older than the Volga. But the last ice age and the construction of reservoirs on the Kama seriously reduced its length.

In addition to the Kama, there are tributaries of the Volga:

  • Sura;
  • Tvertsa;
  • Sviyaga;
  • Vetluga;
  • Unzha;
  • Mologa and others.

Tourism on the Volga

The Volga is a picturesque river, so tourism flourishes on it. The Volga makes it possible to visit a large number of Volga cities in a short time. Cruises on the Volga are a common type of recreation on the river.


The journey lasts from 3-5 days to a month. It includes a visit to the most beautiful cities in the country, located along the Volga. A favorable period for traveling along the Volga is from early May to late September.

  • On the Kama, a tributary of the Volga, an annual sailing competition is held - the largest in Europe.
  • The Volga appears in the literary and artistic works of Russian classics: Repin.
  • Feature films were shot about the Volga, including "Volga, Volga" in 1938, "A bridge is under construction" in 1965.
  • The Volga is considered to be the "homeland of barge haulers". Sometimes 600 thousand barge haulers could work hard on it at the same time.
  • Controversial point: it is considered that the Kama is a tributary of the Volga River. But geographers and hydrologists are still arguing which of the rivers is the main one. The fact is that at the confluence of the rivers, the Volga carries 3100 cubic meters of water per second, but the "productivity" of the Kama is 4300 cubic meters per second. It turns out that the Volga ends just below Kazan, and then the Kama River already flows, and it is the Kama that flows into the Caspian Sea.

  • The Arabs, impressed by the scale of the Volga, named it "Itil", which means "river" in Arabic.
  • The Volga daily pours 250 cubic kilometers of water into the Caspian Sea. Nevertheless, the level of this sea continues to drop steadily.
  • On May 20, Russia celebrates Volga Day.

Where does the Volga flow? Perhaps, almost any student of a comprehensive school can answer this question. However, this river plays such an important role in the life of a huge country that it is necessary to dwell on its characteristic features in much more detail.

Section 1. Where does B fall intoolga? general description

If you look at the list of the largest and deepest rivers in the world, then the Volga will be almost the very first point in it. It flows along and its length is about 3.5 thousand kilometers.

The Valdai Upland is the source of the mighty river. As you know, the Volga flows into, exchanging water resources along its length with numerous rivers and springs. The Volga basin occupies 8% of the entire territory of the Russian Federation.

The Volga is divided into three parts: upper, middle and lower. The first begins from the source and stretches to the mouth of the Oka, then the middle one, which ends at the place where the Volga flows into the And the lower part ends with the Caspian Sea.

The water supply in the river is replenished by groundwater, rainfall and snowmelt. In April, the time of spring floods begins, low water is observed in summer, the flood period occurs in autumn, and in winter the river level reaches its lowest point. The water in the Volga begins to freeze in late November or early December.

Section 2. Where does the Volga flow? Interesting historical facts

The first mention of the Volga is in the 2nd century BC in the "Geography" of Ptolemy, where it has the name Ra, which translates as "generous". Itil is her name in the Middle Ages, and in the chronicles of the Arabs she is called "the river of the Rus".

In the 13th century, the river becomes famous thanks to the Beginning of the Volga, which provides connections with European states, and a direct route to the East opens across the Caspian Sea. Where the Volga flows, the map will show quite accurately, however, not everyone knows that forests have been rafted along this river a long time ago, it is here that fishing begins to develop.

At the moment, in comparison with past centuries, its possibilities are simply endless.

Fertile soils near the banks of the Volga have long been famous for their fertility, and around the middle of the 19th century, metallurgical and machine-building plants began to be built here. In the 20th century, the development of oil fields began in the lower part of the river. At the same time, the construction of hydroelectric power plants on the I was going on. Every year it became more and more difficult for the river to replenish its resources.

Section 3. Where does the Volga flow? Features of flora and fauna

Due to the close proximity to the Caspian Sea, the climate near the Volga is humid and warm, during the hot period the air temperature rises to + 40 °, but during the frost period it drops to -25 °.

The river is inhabited by over 44 species of fauna, among them there are endangered specimens that are under protection. A huge number of waterfowl is striking. Mammals prefer to settle near the coast: foxes, hares and raccoon dogs.

More than 120 species of fish live in the waters of the river: carp, roach, bream, sturgeon and others. These places have long been favorite among fishermen. But if earlier the world catch of sturgeon was more than 50%, today the situation has changed dramatically.

The negative influence of civilization has not spared the Mother River. A large number of hydroelectric power plants and reservoirs has a strong negative effect on the state of local flora and fauna. In addition, the quality of the water itself in the river has greatly deteriorated.