The shortest river in the Russian Federation. The longest rivers in Russia

The rivers of Russia, like a web, have shrouded the entire territory of the country, because their total number, from small to large, is more than 2.5 million. We will not count all of them in this article. Let’s just make a list of the largest, longest, largest rivers in Russia and their names. And we will try to describe each of them separately, especially fishing. After all, rivers are of great interest from the angler’s point of view, and there are a lot of them.

Top 10 longest rivers in Russia flowing under one name:

№	River name	Total length km.	Where does it flow
1	Lena	4400	Laptev sea
2	Irtysh	4248	Ob
3	Ob	3650	Ob Bay Kara Sea
4	Volga	3531	Caspian Sea
5	Yenisei	3487
6	Lower Tunguska	2989	Yenisei
7	Amur	2824
8	Vilyui	2650	Lena
9	Ishim	2450	Irtysh
10	Ural	2422	Caspian Sea

Top 10 rivers of Russia by total area drainage basin thousand km2:

№	River name	Pool area: sq/km	Where does it flow
1	Ob	2 990 000	Ob Bay of the Kara Sea
2	Yenisei	2 580 000	Yenisei Bay of the Kara Sea
3	Lena	2 490 000	Laptev sea
4	Amur	1 855 000	Amur Estuary, Sea of Okhotsk
5	Volga	1 360 000	Caspian Sea
6	Kolyma	643 000	East-Siberian Sea
7	Dnieper	504 000	Black Sea
8	Don	422 000	Taganrog Bay Sea of Azov
9	Khatanga	364 000	Khatanga Bay of the Laptev Sea
10	Indigirka	360 000	East-Siberian Sea

List of the largest rivers in Russia and fishing on them:

A	Abakan	Agul	Ay	Aksai	Alatyr
	Amur	Anadyr	Angara	Akhtuba	Aldan
B	Barguzin	White (Agidel)	Bityug	Biya
IN	Volga	Vazuza	Vuoksa	Varzuga	Great
	Vetluga	Vishera	Vorya	Volkhov	Crow
	Vyatka
G	Rotten
D	Gum	Don	Dubna	Dnieper
E	Yenisei	Her
AND	Toad	Zhizdra	Zhukovka
Z	Zeya	Zilim	Zusha
AND	Izh	Izhma	Izhora	Ik	Ilek
	Ilovlya	Inga	Ingoda	Inzer	And the way
	Irkut	Irtysh	Iset	Iskona	Istra
	Ishim	Isha	And I
TO	Kagalnik	Kazanka	Kazyr	Kakwa	Kama
	Kamenka	Kamchatka	Kahn	Kantegir	Katun
	Kelnot	Kema	Kem	Kerzhenets	Kilmez
	Kiya	Klyazma	Kovashi	Cola	Kolyma
	Conda	Kosva	Kuban	Kuma
L	Laba	Lena	Lovat	Lozva	Lopasnya
	Meadows	Luh
M	Mana	Manych	Ursa	Mezen	Miass
	Mius	Moksha	Mologa	Moscow River	Msta
N

The Lena flows out of Lake Baikal, forms a bend and continues northward to the Laptev Sea, where it forms a large delta. The length of the river route is 4400 km, the basin area is 2490 thousand square meters. km., and water consumption - 16350 m3/s. In terms of length, the Lena ranks 11th in the world, and the longest river in Russia. The name comes from the language of the Evenks (“Eluene” - big river) or the Yakuts (“Ulakhan-Yuryakh” - big water).

The Ob flows along Western Siberia over a length of 3,650 km, flowing into the Kara Sea, where it forms a vast, up to 800 km long, bay called the Gulf of Ob. It is formed in Altai from the confluence of two rivers: Biya and Katun. It ranks first in terms of basin area, that is, the largest river in Russia (2990 thousand sq. km) and third in terms of water content (behind the Yenisei and Lena). Water consumption - 2300 m3/s. The name of the river comes from the language of the Komi people, in which “Ob” means “grandmother”, “auntie”, “respected elderly relative”.

The Volga is one of the largest rivers on Earth and the largest river in Europe. Its length is 3531 km and it crosses 4 republics and 11 regions of Russia before flowing into the Caspian Sea. The river basin occupies 1855 thousand square meters. km (one third of the European part of Russia) with a water flow of 8060 m3/s. There are 9 hydroelectric power stations with reservoirs on the Volga and up to half of all Russian industry and agriculture are concentrated. The Yenisei crosses Russia and Mongolia for 4,287 kilometers (of which 3,487 km are in Russia) and flows into the Yenisei Bay of the Kara Sea. There is a division of the river into the Big and Small Yenisei (Biy-Khem and Kaa-Khem). The river has a basin area of 2580 thousand square meters. km (second place after Lena) and water consumption 19800 m3/s. Sayano-Shushenskaya, Krasnoyarsk and Mainskaya hydroelectric power stations block the waters of the Yenisei in three places. The origin of the name is associated with the distorted Tungus name “enesi” (big water) or the Kyrgyz “enee-Sai” (mother river).

The Amur flows through Russia, Mongolia and China and flows into the Sea of Okhotsk (Amur Estuary). This Rossi River has a length of 2824 km, a basin area of 1855 thousand square meters. km and water consumption equal to 10900 m3/s. The Amur crosses four physical-geographical zones: forest, forest-steppe, steppe and semi-desert, and up to thirty people live on the banks of the river various peoples and nationalities. The origin of the name causes much debate, but the most common opinion derives it from “Amar” or “Damar” (Tungus-Manchu group of languages). In China, the Amur is called the Black Dragon River, and for Russia it is a symbol of Transbaikalia and the Far East.

The Kolyma begins at the confluence of the Kulu and Ayan-Yuryakh rivers (Yakutia) and flows into the Kolyma Bay after 2129 kilometers of its path. The river basin covers an area of 643 thousand square meters. km, and water consumption is 3800 m3/s. In the Magadan region it is the largest water artery.

The Don flows from the Central Russian Upland in the Tula region for 1870 kilometers and flows into the Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov. Being one of the largest rivers in the south of the Russian Plain, the Don has a basin area of 422 thousand square meters. km and water consumption 680 m3/s. According to scientists, some sections of the river bed are about 23 million years old. The ancient Greeks mentioned the Don under the name Tanais, and modern name belongs to the Iranian peoples of the Northern Black Sea region and simply means “river”. Khatanga is born from the confluence of the Kotui and Kheta rivers ( Krasnoyarsk region) and flows into the Laptev Sea, forming the Khatanga Bay. The length of the river is 1636 km with a basin area of 364 thousand square meters. km and water flow 3320 m3/s. The first mentions of Khatanga were based on reports from the Tungus and date back to the beginning of the 17th century.

The Indigirka is formed from the rivers Tuora-Yuryakh and Taryn-Yuryakh (Khalkan mountain range) and flows for 1,726 kilometers through the lands of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), flowing into the East Siberian Sea. The area of its water basin is 360 thousand square meters. km, and water consumption is 1570 m3/s. The word “Indigir” is of Evenki origin and means “people from the Indi clan.” The river is known for its attractions - the village of Oymyakon (the northern pole of cold) and the monument city of Zashiversk, the entire population of which died out from smallpox in the 19th century.

The Northern Dvina flows through the Vologda and Arkhangelsk regions from the south to the north and, before flowing into the Dvina Bay (White Sea) in the form of a wide delta, it travels a distance of 744 km. Two rivers, the Yug and the Sukhona, give rise to it, so that the river basin subsequently occupies an area equal to 357 thousand square meters. km, and the water consumption was 3490 m3/s. This is an important shipping artery, providing a water crossing between Severodvinsk and Veliky Ustyug, as well as the historical center of the beginning of shipbuilding in Rus'.

The Volga takes its sources on the Valdai Hills. This is one of the largest rivers in Europe, receiving up to one and a half hundred tributaries along its route, including the Kama and Oka, the largest of them. There are numerous reservoirs and hydroelectric power stations on the river. A system of water canals connects the river with the Baltic, White, Black and Azov seas. Akhtuba is the longest branch of the Volga. The total floodplain of these two rivers covers 7600 square meters. km.

The Kama is considered the fifth river in Europe in terms of channel length - 2030 km, as well as an important river highway. Being a tributary of the Volga, it also absorbs on its way the waters of smaller rivers, such as Vyatka, Vishera, Belaya, Chusovaya. Only major tributaries Kama has more than two hundred. The Kamskaya, Botkinskaya and Nizhnekamskaya hydroelectric power stations with reservoirs were built on the river.

The Oka is a tributary of the Volga (Nizhny Novgorod region). The river bed is characterized by differences in slope and width. Among the major tributaries are the Ugra, Moscow River, Klyazma and Moksha. Hydrological studies make it possible to divide the Oka path into three parts: upper (Aleksin - Shchurovo), middle (Shchurovo - mouth of Moksha), lower (mouth of Moksha - Volga).

The Don is a calm and slow river due to a slight slope along the entire route. Among its largest tributaries are the Seversky Donets, Manych and Sal. The river is actively used for electricity, navigation and irrigation of adjacent lands. The Dnieper in the European part of Russia ranks third (behind the Volga and Kama) in terms of the size of the basin, with an area of 503 thousand square meters. km. On a 2285 km route, the Dnieper follows from its source to the Black Sea (Dnieper-Bug estuary). This is a flat river with a wide floodplain and numerous branches and significant fluctuations in water level (up to 12 m in the Smolensk region). In ancient times, a section of the legendary route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” passed along the Dnieper (10th-12th centuries).

The Ural is one of the largest rivers in the European part of Russia and is located in the southeast of the Black Sea-Caspian slope. Its length is 2530 km from its source to its confluence with the Caspian Sea, and the basin area covers 220 thousand square meters. km. Due to the strong tortuosity of the riverbed, the Urals are usually divided into three parts: the upper (source - Orsk), middle (Orsk - Uralsk) and lower (Uralsk - mouth). A network of reservoirs has been built in the Urals, providing water to the cities and enterprises of the region.

The Yenisei is one of the largest rivers on Earth in terms of channel length and water basin area. On the territory of Russia, the Yenisei basin unites up to two hundred thousand rivers and up to one and a half thousand lakes. The width of the channel varies from 800 meters at the source (Angara area) to 2-5 kilometers in the area of Ust-Port and Dudinka, and the width river valley varies from 40 km (region Lower Tunguska) up to 150 km (Dudinki area). Research on the river began in the first half of the 18th century, thanks to the hydrographer Dmitry Ovtsyn, who was part of the Great Northern Expedition.

Lena is the largest river in northern Russia. It flows through the Central Yakut Lowland, forming a wide (up to 25 km) valley and fed by large number lakes, swamps, rivers and streams. The Kharaul Mountains and the Chekanovsky Ridge narrow the valley to two kilometers, and a hundred kilometers from the mouth of the Lena it expands again and forms a delta of 30 thousand square meters. km. The Great Northern Expedition marked the beginning of a systematic study of the river, and its first scientific and geographical description was made by naturalist Johann Gmelin.

The Ob has the largest water reserves in the north of the country. It unites the flows of the two rivers that form it: the Biya, which originates in Lake Teletskoye, and the Katun, which is fed by the glaciers of Mount Belukha (Altai). The channel, deep at the beginning of the flow, is divided into the Big and Small Ob, then merges into one stream (Salekhard region), and in the delta it again bifurcates into the Khamanel and Nadym Ob. The arrival of the ships of the Second Kamchatka Expedition at the mouth of the great river marked the beginning of the development of the Northern Sea Route.

The Kolyma flows through northeastern Siberia. After a deep and narrow upper valley, on a granite ridge the river forms the steps of the Great Kolyma Rapids. In the middle of its journey, the Kolyma breaks up into numerous (up to a dozen) channels, and as many as three rivers come to the Kolyma Bay: Kamennaya (Kolyma), Pokhodskaya and Chukochya. The river basin is famous for finds of fossil animal bones and gold deposits.

There are about 2.5 million rivers in Russia. Most of these rivers are relatively small and their length is usually no more than 100 kilometers. But as for large rivers, they are truly huge and reach shocking sizes.

the largest river in Russia

The Ob is a river in Siberia, formed by the confluence of the Katun and Biya rivers. If we count from the source of the Irtysh, then it has a length of 5410 kilometers, which makes it the most big river Russia by length. In the North, the river flows into the Ob Bay, a bay in the Kara Sea. The area of the Ob basin is 2,990,000 square kilometers (which is why the river takes first place in our ranking). The waters of this river are home to more than 50 species of fish, half of which are of industrial importance.

The Yenisei is a river in Siberia that flows into the Kara Sea. The length of the river from the sources of the Small Yenisei is 4287 kilometers. The Yenisei flows through two countries (Russia and Mongolia), its area is 2,580,000 square kilometers, which allows it to take second place among the rivers of Russia.

The Lena River originates in the mountains of Siberia and flows into the Laptev Sea. Lena, one of the largest Russian rivers, has a length of 4,480 kilometers. Its area is 2,490,000 square kilometers, which rightfully makes it the third largest river in Russia. It is believed that the Russians first learned about this river in the 17th century, when they sent a detachment of Cossacks to search for it.

The Amur is a river flowing through the territory of three states (Russia, Mongolia and China). The area of the basin is 1,855,000 square kilometers, and the length of the river is 2,824 kilometers. There are many points of view about the origin of the name Amur, one of which is general basis Tungus-Manchu languages "amar" and "damur" (big river).

This river originates from the Valdai Plateau in the Tver region. The Volga is one of the largest rivers on Earth, its length is 3530 kilometers, and it is located on the territory of two states (Russia and Kazakhstan). The basin area is about 1,361,000 square kilometers, making it the largest river in Europe.

This is a river in Yakutia, the length of which is 2,129 kilometers. The Kolyma is formed by the confluence of two rivers (Ayan-Yuryakh and Kulu) and flows into the Kolyma Bay. The basin area is approximately 645,000 square kilometers. The discovery of Kolyma by the Russians was also accomplished by the valiant Cossacks.

The Don is a river in Russia, originating in the Central Russian Upland (Tula region). Its area is 422,000 square kilometers and its length is about 1,870 km. Don is one of ancient rivers Russia.

A river located in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Its length is 1636 kilometers. Khatanga is formed at the confluence of two rivers (Kheta and Kotuy) and flows into the Khatanga Bay. The basin area is about 364,000 square kilometers.

It originates on the slopes of the Halkan ridge, and its source consists of two rivers - Kuidusun and Omyokon. The area of Indigirka is 360,000 square kilometers.

It originates in the Vologda region, at the confluence of two rivers (Sukhona and Yug). The basin area is 357,000 square kilometers. It was on this river that the history of Russian shipbuilding began.

That's basically it! Now you know what they are, the most big rivers Russia.

Sailing regatta from the “Russian Seven”. Let's raft along the main rivers of Russia!

Volga. River flows

The main water brand in Russia is Volga. An incredibly popular river, although 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. This is roughly the same as from Moscow to Berlin and back.

The Volga is dedicated not only to the song known without exaggeration to all Russians and the film with the title title. The action of A. Ostrovsky's plays usually takes place 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 exoticism and the East, have long lived here on the Volga.

Oka. Not just a small car

The Oka River is the Great Russian River, and it is not for nothing that we write this word with capital letters! Almost all of it lies on the banks central Russia, 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 importance of the Nile for Egypt. It is no coincidence that in the 9th and 10th centuries foreigners called the Oka River the “Russian River”, “Rus River”.

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

Don. A thousand-year witness of Russian history

Don is a thousand-year-old witness of Russian history. This river appeared on Earth - it’s scary to say! - approximately 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 known as the habitat of the legendary Amazons. These female warriors also found their way into our epics, which often tell about fights between Russian heroes and daring horsewomen, the “Polyanitsa”.

Detail: Our “Father Don” has two younger namesakes in England: the Don River in the Scottish county of Aberdeen and the river of the same name in the English county of York.

Dnieper. Rarely does a bird fly to its middle

Dnieper has been known since ancient times! Herodotus also called it Borysthenes in his historical treatises (which means “river flowing from the north”).

Here is what the ancient Greek historian wrote: “The Borysthenes is the most profitable river: along its banks there are beautiful rich pastures for livestock; large quantities best fish; the water tastes good for drinking and is clear (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”); in those days, a waterway “from the Varangians to the Greeks” passed through 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 cross the river. And under rare bird meant a parrot, which is really difficult to find in these parts.

Yenisei. natural border between Eastern and Western Siberia

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

There are still 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 would be produced by burning 3 billion tons of fuel. If not for the rivers, the climate of the North would be more severe.

Russia is located in eastern Europe and northern Asia, occupying about 1/3 of the territory of Eurasia and 1/9 of the earth's landmass. The European part of the country (about 23% of the area) includes territories west of Ural mountains(the border is conventionally drawn along the Urals and the Kuma-Manych depression); The Asian part of Russia, occupying about 76% of the territory, lies east of the Urals and is also called Siberia (however precise definition borders of Siberia is a controversial issue) and the Far East. The total length of Russia's borders is 60,933 km (of which 38,808 km are maritime boundaries); Russia's borders in the north and east are maritime, in the south and west they are mainly land. Despite the fact that Russia is the largest in terms of area largest country world, climatic and soil conditions in most of its territory are not favorable for agriculture.

Russia is one of the most water-supplied countries in the world. The country has some of the world's largest reserves fresh water. Surface waters occupy 12.4% of Russia's territory, with 84% of surface waters concentrated east of the Urals; Many densely populated areas of the European part of Russia experience a shortage of water resources. The structure of water use is dominated by industrial needs.

Russia has the most deep lake world (Baikal), the longest river in Europe (Volga) and largest lake Europe (Ladoga), pole of cold Northern Hemisphere(Verkhoyansk), as well as the highest peak in Europe (Elbrus) (when drawing the border between Europe and Asia along the Greater Caucasus Range, and not along the Kuma and Manych rivers 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, and Baikal. The Caspian Sea is the largest lake in the world by area, and the deepest is Lake Baikal. The lakes are distributed very unevenly. There are especially many of them in the Vilyui depression, on West Siberian Plains e 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 is decreasing sharply, and many lakes have salt or brackish water. Such large drainless lakes as the Caspian Sea, as well as lakes Elton and Baskunchak, where table salt is mined, are salty.
There are also 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 European northwest of the country, and Lake Chany (1.4-2 thousand sq. km.) in the southwest of Siberia.
Lakes also differ in the origin of their basins. Lakes of tectonic origin are located in troughs and depressions 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 glacier processing of tectonic depressions of the earth's crust: Imandra, Ladoga, Onega. In Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands, lakes are mainly of volcanic origin. In the north-west 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 in mountain valleys, dammed lakes appeared: 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. Oxbow lakes are located on floodplains lowland rivers. There are estuary lakes along the shores of the Black and Azov Seas.
All large and largest lakes Russia are widely used in national economy. They catch and raise fish there. Especially a lot of fish, including the most valuable sturgeon, are caught in the Caspian Sea. There is an omul fishery in Baikal. The lakes are also used for shipping. 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 sq. km., greatest depth- 1,025 meters.
Lake Baikal, area - 31,500 sq. km., greatest depth - 1,620 meters.
Lake Ladoga, area - 17,700 sq. km., greatest depth - 230 meters.
Lake Onega, area - 9,690 sq. km., greatest depth - 127 meters.
Taimyr lakes, area - 4,560 sq. km., greatest depth - 26 meters.
Lake Khanka, area - 4,190 sq. km., greatest depth - 11 meters.
Lake Peipus-Pskov, area - 3,550 sq. km., greatest depth - 15 meters.
Lake Chany, area - 1,708-2,269 sq. km., greatest depth - up to 10 meters.
White Lake, area - 1,290 sq. km., greatest depth - 6 meters.
Topozero, area - 986 sq. km., greatest depth - 56 meters.
Lake Ilmen, area - 982 sq. km., greatest depth - up to 10 meters.
Lake Imandra, area - 876 sq. km., greatest depth - 67 meters.
Khantayskoye Lake, area - 822 sq. km., greatest depth - 420 meters.
Segozero, area - 815 sq. km., greatest depth - 97 meters.
Kulundinskoye Lake, area - 728 sq. km., greatest depth - 4 meters.
Lake Teletskoye, area - 223 sq. km., greatest depth - 325 meters.

Rivers of Russia

Russia occupies a vast geographical area, and it is not surprising that numerous rivers stretch across its expanses, which played an important historical role in the settlement and development of new lands. Almost everything is located on rivers Largest cities countries. Within Russia there are about 3 million rivers with a total length of almost 10 million km. Most of the rivers in Russia belong to the Northern basin Arctic Ocean. It makes up over 66% of the country’s area; up to 80% falls within its borders. atmospheric precipitation. Rivers flowing into northern seas, the longest and deepest in Russia. The longest river is Lena - 4400 km. The most deep river- Yenisei (623 km3 per year). In terms of drainage area, the Ob River ranks first in the country (2975 sq. km.). The rivers of the Arctic Ocean basin are freezing. In winter, a winter road is installed along them for about four months - roads for the movement of cars and sleighs.
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, 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, in all rivers of the Arctic Ocean basin, high water rises occur in the middle and lower reaches in the spring. IN southern parts The rivers of Siberia are swift and rapid. On these segments of the valleys, large hydroelectric power stations have been built and are being built: Krasnoyarsk and Sayano-Shushenskaya on the Yenisei, Novosibirsk on the Ob, Bukhtarminskaya and Ust-Kamenogorskaya on the Irtysh, Irkutsk, Bratsk and Ust-Ilimskaya on the Angara, on the tributaries of the Lena - Vilyue and Vitim - Vilyuiskaya was built and Mamakan hydroelectric power station. On the northern plains, the flow of these rivers is calm and smooth. In summer they are used for timber rafting and shipping, 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 Siberian rivers. They flow entirely across the plains and therefore have a calm current.
To the pool 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 have predominantly rain power. In the monsoon climate in the Pacific Ocean, little snow falls in winter, so there are no spring floods, but there are very significant floods due to summer monsoon rains. The water in the Amur and its tributaries rises by 10-15 m and floods vast areas. Catastrophic spills usually occur in early autumn. At this time, the Far Eastern regions of the country are often hit by sudden and violent downpours of cyclones - typhoons. River floods reach several tens of kilometers and cause enormous damage agriculture, cities and towns.
The Amur and its tributaries have a large fall and are rich in hydroelectric power. The Zeya hydroelectric power station was built on the Zeya River. The Amur is the main river highway of the Far East, which connects remote interior areas with the seas. The Russian state border with the Argun, Amur and Ussuri rivers People's Republic China.
The rivers of Chukotka and the Sea of Okhotsk basin are predominantly fed by snow. Therefore, they are full of water in late spring and early summer, which is favorable for movement salmon fish, rising up rivers and streams to spawn.
The Caspian basin is called endorheic, since the rivers carry their waters not to the World Ocean, but to an internal endorheic reservoir - 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 rivers Volga, Ural, Araks, Terek, Emba and others flow into the Caspian Sea. The largest river is the Volga. Its basin occupies 34% of the East European Plain. Most of the Volga's tributaries are located in a temperate continental climate with sufficient moisture. The food is predominantly snowy. In the spring, when the snow melts, there is a significant rise in water in the river. In summer the main source of power is The groundwater and rains. Some rise in water in the riverbed also occurs in autumn, when evaporation decreases significantly. Below the mouth of the large left tributary of the Kama, the Volga flows through the steppe and semi-desert zone, where there is very little precipitation and therefore there is 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 breaks up into branches, the largest of which is Akhtuba. Below Astrakhan, the channel is divided into 80 branches, forming a vast delta. Nowadays, almost the entire Volga has turned into a cascade of dams and reservoirs. On the Upper Volga near Tver there is the Ivankovskoye Reservoir. The channel named after him begins from here. Moscow, through which Volga water is pumped for water supply to Moscow. Below, the entire Volga to Volgograd has 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 water to cities, and irrigate dry lands. Thanks to reservoirs, the movement of large river vessels is possible. Nowadays the river is connected by the Volga-Don shipping canal with the Black and Azov seas, and the Volga-Baltic with the Baltic and White seas. Half of all river cargo and passengers in the country are transported along the Volga. But the reservoirs were flooded large areas fertile floodplain lands. The dams led to a slowdown in the flow of the Volga. As a result, water began to accumulate in reservoirs. a large number of pollutants that come here from fields, as well as industrial and domestic wastewater. 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. The Western Dvina, Neman, Neva and others flow to the west. To the south - the Dnieper, Don and Kuban. All rivers of the Atlantic Ocean basin are deep all year round, since most of their watersheds are located in areas of sufficient moisture. They feed primarily on snow, and in summer - underground and rain. For rivers flowing into the Baltic Sea, flow fluctuations are very small, since precipitation falls evenly throughout the year. Only small spring floods and autumn floods are observed. 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 begins 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. Floods are caused by surges of water from Baltic Sea, which gird the Neva. As a result, the water in the river rises by 2 - 3.5 m and splashes out from the granite embankments onto the streets and squares of the city.
The rivers of the southern Atlantic 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 Dnieper and Don are fed predominantly by snow, which is why they experience high spring floods. A cascade of waterworks and reservoirs was built on the southern rivers. The reservoirs are used both to generate electricity and to irrigate the arid lands of the southern East European Plain. In the Azov region and the Northern Caucasus, thanks to the waters of the Don and Kuban, rice and other agricultural crops are grown.

The largest rivers in 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.

The river coast is favorite place holidays and travel for many people. On your day off, you can have a picnic on the shore with friends or family, enjoy fishing, swimming, boating, kayaking and enjoying the beauty of the surrounding nature.

In contact with

The largest water arteries

A huge number of people live along river banks, which often become the population’s only means of subsistence: they are sources of drinking water, food and energy. Industrial enterprises and river ports operate uninterruptedly, and they also carry a significant supply of fresh water. Russia is a rich country water resources. It is difficult to count how many rivers there are in Russia.

Important! According to experts, there are up to 2.5 million rivers on the territory of the Russian Federation. A special catalog has been compiled, where they are all arranged alphabetically for ease of search.

The table shows the longest and deepest:

Large rivers differ not only in names, but also in length, area, speed and type of flow, landscapes, inhabitants and fauna, and among them there are obvious “record holders”. Each of them is unique in its own way.

The longest river in Russia is the beautiful Lena. It is believed that she is the fastest. Its length is 4,400 km, and the basin area is 2,490,000 sq. km.

It originates not far from, and its mouth is in the Laptev Sea in Yakutia. The main tributaries are the Mama, Aldai, Chaya, and Vilyui. It is located 10th in the world in terms of total length and 8th in terms of depth.

It feeds mainly on melt and rainwater. It flows through the territory of the Irkutsk region, the Republic of Yakutia, residents of Transbaikalia admire its beauty, Khabarovsk Territory and Buryatia. The pool is entirely located in Russia.

Its resources are truly inexhaustible: There have never been dams here, so there is enough food in the water for fish and comfortable living conditions have been created. The flora and fauna are rich, even species listed in the Red Book live here: Siberian sturgeon, sterlet. And on the banks there is a beautiful national park“Lena Pillars”, which is often visited by foreign tourists.

The smallest and most tortuous

Now let's see what it's called the shortest river in Russia. The opposite of Lena is Reiroa, which is located in Abkhazia in the Gagra region and is a record holder. The length of the river is only 6-17.7 m - these are the smallest figures in the world, depending on the time of year and proximity coastal strip. It feeds on the waters of the Krubera-Voronya underground cave, so the water temperature is constantly low and equal to 11 degrees even in the summer.

The river is quite deep, the water flow is about 2 cubic meters per second, and not a single case of drying out has been recorded. It is a current from a karst cave that crosses the beach and flows into the Black Sea.

The most winding river in Russia Piana with the largest number of turns, loops, bends. Located in the Nizhny Novgorod region and Mordovia. The length is approximately 400 km, while from the beginning to the end the distance is no more than 60 km. A large number of tributaries flow into the Piana, the largest of which are:

Vadok,
Eat,
Kelya,
Couples,
Rauja.

The width varies along the entire length, at the source it is equal to 90 m, in the middle - about 50 m, and towards its end - 10-20 m. The average depth is 3 m, and in the deepest places it reaches 6 m. The banks are quite steep, with cliffs, and high. Not far from the village of Pilekshevo there is an interesting and even mysterious place - Devil's Turn. Here the riverbed turns sharply 90 degrees, and at this turn a small river flows into Piana.

Attention! Local residents attribute the area near Piana mystical properties, associated with the appearance of evil spirits on the shores and other mysterious events.

Along the banks there are numerous settlements, as well as the famous Ichalovsky forest with karst caves, and in the Perevozsky district in the village of Ichalka the Ichalkovskaya hydroelectric power station was built.

Let's climb the mountains

Let's consider How are mountain rivers different? Their main feature is the speed of the flow; they do not form large valleys and meanders, but flow, as a rule, along mountain gorges with steep banks.

Most originate in and only then descend to the plains.

They are characterized by a slope, a large number of waterfalls and rapids.

In our country, many rivers are mountainous; even more rivers are mountainous in only one part, and when they descend to meadows and steppes, they become flat. By territorial basis they are divided into:

Crimean,
Ciscaucasia,
North Caucasian,
Far Eastern,
East Siberian.

In the mountainous part of the Crimean peninsula there is a very developed river system, from its southern part the drainages are short, stormy, with many waterfalls: Uchan-Su, Uzkn-Bash. In the western part Belbek, Chernaya, Alma, flowing into the Black Sea.

The Stavropol Upland divides the entire water system of the region into the western group of the Azov Sea and the eastern group, belonging to the Caspian Sea. The most famous and largest in the Caucasus are Kuban and Terek. They begin in the mountains, near the Kuban not far from the famous Elbrus, and the Terek - on Mount Zilgahokh. Less extended: Kagalnik, Beisug, Chelbas, Kuma.

Far Eastern rivers are also interesting for their flow patterns. The famous Amur in the upper part is mountainous, flows through rocky gorges and develops a high flow speed, gradually decreasing towards the city of Blagoveshchensk. On the Sikhote-Alina ridges Many mountain streams flow down from the eastern side, the largest being Tumnin, 270 km long. To the north - east coast There are numerous rivers flowing down from the ridges: Anadyr, Okhota, Uda.

Most of the rivers Eastern Siberia belongs to the mountains. Such is the beauty of the Yenisei, Lena, Indigirka, Kolyma. They abound with rapids and whirlpools.

Central part of the country

Among the rivers of the European part of Russia The Volga occupies a dominant position. This territory contains the most famous and largest rivers with ancient history, rich in flora and fauna.

The Volga, of course, is considered the largest, its length is 3888 km, area - 1360 sq. km. It is clearly visible on the map. It begins on a hill from an underground source and flows into the Caspian Sea.

The Volga has a lot of tributaries, 200 streams and rivulets, the largest of them are the Kama and Oka. Artificial reservoirs and hydroelectric power stations are installed here:

Kuibyshevskaya.
Volgogradskaya.
Cheboksary.

Along the banks of the Volga there are protected natural and national parks Samara Luga. Conditionally The Volga is divided into 3 parts:

top,
average,
lower

The upper section flows in a forest area from the beginning of the Volga to Nizhny Novgorod, middle part flows mainly through forest-steppe and steppe, and the lower flows in conditions of semi-desert and endless steppes. Temperature differs from natural due to the construction of reservoirs and hydroelectric power stations. In summer, the water temperature stays at 23-26 degrees; in winter, the surface is almost always covered with a layer of ice.

Volga shipping, because there are large port cities along the coast. The lower part of the Volga is the richest in flora and fauna; unique insects, animals, fish and plants along the banks are represented here in large quantities.

What other rivers of the European part are included in this list.

Kama. It is located in 5th place in terms of length, approximately 200 tributaries flow into it, the largest: Vyatka, Belaya, Chusovaya.

Dams, reservoirs and hydroelectric power plants constantly regulate and control water. At the source it is surrounded by mountainous terrain and steppes, and when it flows into the Volga, birch groves and forest-steppes begin along the banks.

Oka. The second significant tributary of the Volga. The length of the Oka is 1480 m. The source is near the village of Maloarkhangelsk, and in the Nizhny Novgorod area it flows into the Volga.

The change in landscape along different banks is interesting: the right bank is high, with cliffs and steep slopes, and the left bank is low, behind which there are numerous flooded meadows and fields. Toward the mouth, nature transforms a little, here the river becomes wider, faster-flowing, and pine trees and deciduous groves appear along the banks.

Don. The length is 1970 km, and the area is impressive - 450 thousand square meters. km. The source is located in the Tula region, flows from the Urvanka stream, and the mouth is the Sea of Azov in the Taganrog Bay. It is characterized by a slow, sedate flow, so that the expression “quiet” fully corresponds to the character of the Don, the valley is wide, flat with a high right bank. At the lower reaches, the width is 15 km, the depth reaches 12-15 meters. The Don has a lot of tributaries, about 5200. Khoper, Medveditsa, Manych, Northern Donets, Sal are the most significant.

The Don is fed by meltwater, groundwater and rain make up a third. On the banks you can see forest-steppes, where several large cities, river ports, nature reserves and hydroelectric power stations are concentrated. Water flow plays a significant role in the life of the region and industry.

The largest rivers in Russia - names, locations

Toponomics of Russian rivers

Conclusion

In our country there are many beautiful, unique, large and small, flowing through mountain ranges and gently sloping rivers and streams, containing huge reserves drinking water and creating a unique landscape, natural natural conditions for human life, animal growth and development and flora. We must try to preserve this natural beauty of the Russian rivers and leave a legacy for future generations.