The Volga is the largest river in Russia and Europe. It has 8 hydroelectric power plants, and on the banks there are more than 500 settlements, including 4 cities with a population of over one million: Nizhny Novgorod, Volgograd, Samara and Kazan.
Geographical position
The Volga is considered the central waterway of Russia, flowing along its European part through the Russian Plain. The river carries its waters through 15 constituent entities of Russia: from the Tver region to the Republic of Tatarstan.
Different peoples called her Ra, or Rav - "shedra", Atel - "river of rivers", "great river", Bulga. The Russian name familiar to us was recorded in the 12th century in the chronicle "The Tale of Bygone Years". Experts believe that it came from the ancient Slavic "vlga" - "moisture" (as they also said "vologa").
Length
Mother Volga, as it is popularly called, flows between swamps, steppes and forests for 3530 km. Together with 151 thousand rivers, streams and temporary streams that make up its basin, it irrigates fields, supplies cities and villages with electricity, water and fish on an area of 1.36 million square meters. km. This is about a third of the European part of the country.
Where is the source
The beginning of the Volga is considered to be a small spring on the territory of the state reserve on the Valdai Upland. The key beats in the protected forests near the village of Volgo-Verkhovye, which is near Tver. Spring water in it is the color of strong-brewed tea, but transparent and extremely pure.
At its source, the Volga is a small river. Flowing along the Russian Plain, it receives the waters of the Kostroma, Oka, Sunzha, Sura, Kama - only 200 tributaries. And due to this, it becomes so powerful and wide.
Where is the mouth
Many people mistakenly believe that the Volga flows into the Caspian Sea. This is true, but only in part. The mouth of the Volga is located just below Kazan, it connects with the Kama, and it already flows into the Caspian Sea.
Character
The Volga is constantly winding, but if you look at the map, you can see that halfway it passes mainly in the direction from west to east. Then, near the city of Kazan, it turns sharply and rushes mainly from north to south. Its entire course is divided into three parts: the Upper Volga (from the source to the confluence of the Oka), the Middle Volga (from the Oka to the confluence of the Kama) and the Lower Volga (from the Kama to the mouth).
Its banks are now gentle and low, now steep and high. Since the end of the 30s of the last century, the Volga began to be actively used as a source of hydropower. During the construction of 9 large reservoirs, an area equal to Switzerland was submerged. At the same time, its course became slow, the average speed is only 2-6 km / h. Because of this, the Volga looks more like a huge lake.
The construction of reservoirs and hydroelectric power plants had a significant impact on the environment. The flora and fauna of the Volga basin was disturbed. So, in the Volga, blue-green algae are actively growing, emitting poisons in the process of life and poisoning river inhabitants. There are frequent cases of various mutations in fish.
