What is the longest river is russia

Why the Volga is the main Russian river (PHOTOS)

The longest river in Europe

The Mother Volga monunent in Rybinsk.

Alexxx1979 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The place where the Volga begins, 1972.

It’s also the largest inland river in the world that is not connected to the global ocean. It flows into the Caspian Sea, which is located inside Eurasia.

“The river of the rivers”

The Volga in Saratov.

The name ‘Volga’ comes from the Slavic word ‘vologa’ meaning “moisture”. By the way, there are similar words in other Slavic languages. So, in Poland, for instance, there is the Wilga River.

The main trade route

The Volga in the Ivanovo Region.

Russians often call Volga “the mother”, as it’s the main river for the entire European part of the country. Since ancient times, the Volga-Baltic trade route connected not only the Slavic territories, but also allowed Scandinavians and Khazars to exchange goods, providing transit. Naturally, this made the banks of the Volga a very attractive place to live: cities with economic benefits for merchants quickly appeared.

Today, there are four cities with a million plus inhabitants in the Volga region (Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan and Volgograd), as well as large cities with a “merchant” past: Saratov, Kineshma, Tver, Rybinsk and many others. Tourist routes also pass through these cities on the Volga.

A change in stream and length

The Volga in the city of Rzhev. Tver Region, 1910.

Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky / Public Domain

The Volga is one of the oldest rivers on the planet. It began to form five million years ago and a lot of things have changed since then. In the mid-20th century, Soviet scientists came to the conclusion that the Volga changed its stream during periods of alternating ice ages. It was about 80 km to the east in the center, while its upper part was 10-15 km to the north.

Also, the Volga recently significantly changed its length, when ten large reservoirs and eight large hydroelectric power plants were built on it. As a result, the Volga became shorter by about 160 km.

«Boatmen on the Volga» monument in Samara.

One of the consequences of human intervention in nature was the almost complete disappearance of sturgeon in the south. Nevertheless, the benefits of hydroelectric power plants and safety for local residents during floods are also difficult to overestimate.

Which river falls into the other?

Abzacc (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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The longest river in Russia is the Ob

The longest river of the Russian Federation — Ob, is also the longest river in the world. There are several theories regarding the name of the river: there is an opinion that the name was given by the Nenets, and in their language it means snow, on the other hand it is believed that the name of the river was borrowed from the Iranian language and means water.

In Russia, there is no shortage of water, especially in rivers. On the territory of the Russian Federation there are more than a thousand short rivers and rivulets, and some of them still do not even have names. But among the great diversity of rivers, you can count 221 rivers, the length of which is more than 500 kilometers, but the distance of 4000 or more kilometers is only 4 rivers — Yenisei, Lena, Amur and Ob.

The length of the Ob is 5410 kilometers. In order to understand what this distance is, you need to travel by train or car from the European part of Russia to the Baikal region. The length of the Ob River surpassed the Yangtze, the Nile, Mississippi, Missouri, and of course the Amazon. But, despite its length, the Ob is not as full as Lena and the Yenisei.

Although on average for a year the Ob transfers 12 600 cubic meters of water per second only at the mouth, which is approximately twice as large as that of the Volga. You can not ignore the river basin. Throughout the Ob, it collects water from its tributaries, estimated by more than 150,000, and all of this occurs on the territory of almost 3 million kilometers, which is almost 5 times larger than the territory of France.

The Ob originates in the glaciers of Altai, and it is formed by the merger of two rivers: Biya and Katun, it further crosses the West Siberian lowland, and eventually flows into the Gulf of the Kara Sea, with a delta area of 4,000 square kilometers. In width, the Ob reaches 50 kilometers, and along its coasts there are such cities as Novosibirsk, Tobolsk, Tomsk, Tyumen.

Longest Rivers Of Russia

The Yenisei River in the forest on a quiet summer morning.

Russia’s Mighty Rivers

Russia has a vast geographical area, and has many rivers that flow through its expanses. Yenisei is the most prominent one that originates from the Sayan Mountains in the Southern Siberia. It flows into the Kara Sea, a part of the Arctic Ocean. Together with its headwaters tributaries, the Angara and Selenga rivers, it forms the longest river system in Russia and has an estimated length of 3,445 miles. The second one is the Ob-Irtysh river system that Russia shares with other countries, namely Kazakhstan, China, and Mongolia, with a length of 3,364 miles. Ob river forms due to the confluence of two rivers in the Atlay mountains and Irtysh is its principal tributary. Some other longest river systems to pass through Russia are the Amur-Argun, Lena, Volga, Nizhnyaya, and Vilyuy, respectively. All of these are more than 1,800 miles in length. There are also other rivers such as the Kolyma, Ishim, and the Ural which are also listed among the top ten longest rivers of Russia.

Economic and Cultural Significance

The river basin of the Yenisei-Angara-Selenga serves as a home to numerous prosperous cities buzzing with economic activities. The capital city of Russia, Moscow itself lies along the river Volga. There are also Hydroelectric power stations, shipping companies, rich mineral deposits, and much more in the river basin making it quite important for Russia and the people living in its vast basin. Rivers such as the Ob, Yenisei, and the Volga have immense economic importance because of their easy navigation. They have been in use for transportation since time immemorial.

There are many cultural groups residing on the banks of these rivers that have their roots going back to the Bronze Age. Many cultural communities residing in the upper reach of the river system have a distinctive language as well, including the Kets (or the Ostyaks) and the Dolgans. In fact, the Gorbunovskaya culture that flourished on the banks of the river Ob dates back to between 3,000 and 2,000 BC.

Riverine Habitats and Biodiversity

The Yenisei-Angara River System offers a rich habitat to an approximate 55 species of fishes, including the Siberian sturgeons, tenches, Arctic flounders, Sterfet sturgeons, Common roaches, and more. The system also supports taiga flora that comprised mainly of coniferous trees such as latches, firs, and cedars. One can also find Arctic tundra vegetation in the north characterized by mosses and lichens. For many animals and birds, the river system is a home. There are the Siberian musk deer, roe deer in the taiga forests along the banks of Yenisei and birds such as Black-billed capercaillies, Pallas’s rose–finches, and Siberian blue robins. Every year migratory birds such as ducks and geese, as well as swans, also make their ways into the river basin during the summertime.

Environmental Threats

As per recent reports published in local newspapers, the Yenisei River is under serious environmental threats due to contamination by radioactive discharge from a nearby factory. Added to these woes are other contaminants, namely sewage, industrial waste, and pesticides, which are gradually contaminating the longest river. There are high levels of hydrocarbons in the Ob River while the Volga is continuously facing threats from oil spills. Apart from a territorial dispute over Amur river with China, there are no territorial disputes regarding any of the other top ten longest rivers of Russia with any other countries.

What Is the Longest River In Europe and How Long Is the Volga River In Russia?

The Volga River, which flows entirely within Russia, is the longest river in Europe.

From its source in the hills northwest of Moscow, the Volga travels almost 2,300 miles (3,700 km) to the Caspian Sea.

Much of Russia’s freight is carried on barges on this river.

The Volga’s waters supply irrigation for the wheat farms along its banks and also power several hydroelectric plants.

The Danube River is Europe’s second longest, at almost 1,770 miles (2,860 km).

The Danube passes through Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and Romania before it empties into the Black Sea.

The Danube River flows through more countries than any other river in the world.

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About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist for zippyfacts.com. Born in New York, she loves interesting random facts from all over the world.

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Russia’s Largest Rivers

Russia is one of the largest countries in the world, where there are about 2.5 million rivers. Some of them are rather small, only about 100 kilometers long. However, in Russian there are rivers which are really large. In our today’s article, we’re going to tell you about largest rivers in Russia both in terms of the area of their river basin and length.

The Ob

The Ob River is the largest river in Russia. It flows in Western Siberia. Its length is 5,410 kilometers, and its catchment area is 2,990 thousand square kilometers. The Ob starts in Altai at the confluence of the Bi and the Katuyn rivers. In the northern part of Russia, the river flows into the Kara sea, forming the so-called Ob Bay, a bay which is 800 kilometers long.

The Yenisei

The Yenisei is the river which is located in Siberia and is the 7th largest river in the world. It is 4,287 kilometers long, and its catchment area is 2,580 thousand square kilometers. Therefore, the Yenisei is the 2nd largest river in Russia. Like the Ob, the Yenisei flows into the Kara sea. Moreover, Sayano-Shushenskya, Krasnoyarsk Dam, and Maininsk Water Power Plants are located on the Yenisei river.

The Lena

The Lena River is the 11th longest river in the world, and one of the largest rivers in Russia. It is located in Eastern Siberis and it flows in the Laptev sea. Its length is 4,400 kilometers, and its catchment area is 2,490 thousand square kilometers.

The Amur

The Amur is the 4th river in Russia in terms of its catchment area which comprises 1,855 thousand square kilometers. The river is 2,824 kilometers long. The Amur also flows through the territory of Mongolia and China. It’s interesting that in China, the Amur is called “The Black Dragon River”. The legend has it, that once upon a time, a black dragon, which impersonated the good spirit and protected people, used to live in the river.

The Volga

The Volga is the most magnificent river in Russia and the largest river in Europe. Its length is 3,530 kilometers, and its catchment area is 1,360 thousand square kilometers. The Volga river begins at Valday Hills in Tver Oblast. The Volga is a big traffic artery: every day a lot of cargo shipping is carried out along the river. There are also 9 water reservoirs with water power plants on the river.

That’s the end of our article. We’ve told you about 5 largest rivers in Russia, and we hope you’ll definitely visit them one day.