Which Siberian river has a lip. The largest and longest rivers in Russia. Rivers feeding and direction of flow

Russia is the largest state in the world (its area is 17.12 million km 2, which is 12% of the earth's land), about 3 million rivers flow through its territory. Most of them are not very large and have a relatively short length, their total length is 6.5 million km.

The Ural Mountains and the Caspian Sea divide the territory of Russia into the European and Asian parts. The rivers of the European part belong to the basins of such seas as the Black and Caspian, Baltic and the Arctic Ocean basin. Rivers of the Asian part - the basins of the Arctic and Pacific oceans.

Major rivers of Russia

The largest rivers of the European part are the Volga, Don, Oka, Kama, Northern Dvina, some originate in Russia, but flow into the seas on the territory of other countries (for example, the source of the Western Dvina River is the Valdai Upland, the Tver region of the Russian Federation, the mouth is the Gulf of Riga, Latvia). Rivers such as the Ob, Yenisei, Irtysh, Angara, Lena, Yana, Indigirka, and Kolyma flow through the Asian part.

The Lena River, 4400 km long, is one of the longest rivers on our planet (7th in the world), its sources are located near the deep-water freshwater Lake Baikal in Central Siberia.

Its basin area is 2490 thousand km². It has a western direction of flow, reaching the city of Yakutsk, it changes its direction to the north. Forming at the mouth of a huge delta (its area is 32 thousand km 2), which is the largest in the Arctic, the Lena flows into the Laptev Sea, the basin of the Arctic Ocean. The river is the main transport artery of Yakutia, its largest tributaries are the Aldan, Vitim, Vilyui, Olekma...

The Ob River runs through the territory of Western Siberia, its length is 3650 km, together with the Irtysh it forms a river system with a length of 5410 km, and this is the sixth place in the world. The area of ​​the Ob River basin is 2990 thousand km².

It originates in the Altai mountains, at the sources of the confluence of the Biya and Katun rivers, in the southern part of Novosibirsk, the constructed dam forms a reservoir, the so-called "Ob Sea", then the river flows through the Ob Bay (an area of ​​more than 4 thousand km²) into the Kara Sea, basin of the Arctic Ocean. The water in the river is characterized by a high content of organic matter and a low oxygen content. It is used for commercial fishing (valuable breeds - sturgeon, sterlet, nelma, muksun, chir, whitefish, peled, as well as small fish - pike, ide, burbot, dace, roach, crucian carp, perch), electricity production (Novosibirsk hydroelectric power station on the Ob, Bukhtarminskaya and Ust-Kamenogorskaya on the Irtysh), shipping ...

The length of the Yenisei River is 3487 km, it flows through the territory of Siberia, dividing it into the Western and Eastern parts. The Yenisei is one of the largest rivers in the world, together with the tributaries of the Angara, Selenga and the Ider River, it forms a large river system 5238 km long, with a basin area of ​​2580 thousand km².

The river begins in the Khangai Mountains, on the Ider River (Mongolia), flows into the Kara Sea of ​​the Arctic Ocean basin. The river itself is called the Yenisei near the city of Kyzyl (Krasnoyarsk Territory, Republic of Tyva), where the Bolshoi and Maly Yenisei rivers merge. It has a large number of tributaries (up to 500), about 30 thousand km long, the largest: Angara, Abakan, Lower Tunguska. Kureyka. Dudinka, etc. The river is navigable, it is one of the most important waterways in the Krasnoyarsk Territory of Russia, downstream there are such large hydroelectric power plants as Sayano-Shushenskaya, Mainskaya, Krasnoyarsk, timber rafting is carried out ...

The Amur River, 2824 km long, with a basin area of ​​1855 thousand km², flows in Russia (54%), China (44.2%) and Mongolia (1.8%). Its origins are in the mountains of western Manchuria (China), at the confluence of the Shilka and Argun rivers. The current has an eastern orientation and passes through the territory of the Far East, starting at the Russian-Chinese border; its mouth is located in the Tatar Bay (its northern part is called the Amur Estuary) of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, which belongs to the Arctic Ocean basin. Large tributaries: Zeya, Bureya, Ussuri, Anyui, Sungari, Amgun.

The river is characterized by sharp fluctuations in the water level, which is caused by summer and autumn monsoon precipitation, with heavy rainfall, a wide flood of water up to 25 km is possible, which lasts up to two months. Amur is used for shipping, large hydroelectric power plants (Zeyskaya, Bureyskaya) have been built here, commercial fish production is developed (Amur has the most developed ichthyofauna among all Russian rivers, about 140 species of fish live here, 39 species of them are commercial) ...

One of the most famous rivers flowing in the European part of Russia, for which the words from the song are composed "Torasavitsa folk, like a full-flowing sea"- Volga. Its length is 3530 km, the basin area is 1360 thousand km² (1/3 of the entire European part of Russia), most of it passes through the territory of Russia (99.8%), the smaller part is in Kazakhstan (0.2%).

This is one of the largest rivers in Russia and all of Europe. Its sources are located on the Valdai plateau in the Tver region, it flows into the Caspian Sea, forming a delta, along the way receiving water from more than two hundred tributaries, the most significant of them is the left tributary of the Volga, the Kama River. The area around the river bed (15 constituent entities of the Russian Federation are located here) is called the Volga region, there are four large millionaire cities: Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Samara and Volgograd, 8 HPPs of the Volga-Kama cascade ...

The Ural River, 2428 km long (the third place in Europe after the Volga and Danube) and a basin area of ​​2310 thousand km², is unique in that it divides the continent of Eurasia into two parts of the world, Asia and Europe, so one of its banks lies in Europe, the other - in Asia.

The river flows through the territory of Russia and Kazakhstan, begins on the slopes of Uraltau (Bashkortostan), flows from north to south, then changes direction several times to the west, then to the south, then to the east, forms at the mouth with branches and flows into the Caspian. For navigation, the Ural is used to an insignificant extent, in the Orenburg region on the river the Iriklinskoe reservoir and hydroelectric power station have been built, commercial fishing is underway for fish (sturgeon, roach, bream, pike perch, carp, asp, catfish, Caspian salmon, sterlet, nelma, kutum) ...

The Don River is one of the largest rivers in the European part of Russia, its length is 1870 km, the basin area is 422 thousand km², in terms of the volume of water flown it is the fourth in Europe after the Volga, Dnieper and Danube.

This river is one of the oldest, its age is 23 million years, its origins are in the small town of Novomoskovsk (Tula region), here begins a small river Urvanka, which gradually expands and absorbs water from other tributaries (there are about 5 thousand of them) spills into a wide channel and flows over large areas of the south of Russia, flowing into the Taganrog Bay of the Azov Sea. The main tributaries of the Don are the Seversky Donets, Khoper, Medveditsa. The river is rapids and shallow, has a typical flat character; such large cities with a population of one million as Voronezh and Rostov-on-Don are located here. The Don is navigable from its mouth to the city of Voronezh, there are several reservoirs, the Tsimlyanskaya hydroelectric power station ...

The Severnaya Dvina River, 744 km long and with a basin area of ​​357 thousand km², is one of the largest navigable rivers in the European part of Russia.

Its origins are the confluence of the Sukhona and Yug rivers under Veliky Ustyug (Vologda region), has a northern direction of flow to Arkhangelsk, then north-western and again north, near Novodvinsk (a city in the Arkhangelsk region) forms a delta, consisting of several branches, its area - about 900 km², and flows into the Dvina Bay of the White Sea, the basin of the Arctic Ocean. The main tributaries are Vychegda, Vaga, Pinega, Yumizh. The river is navigable along its entire length; the oldest paddle steamer, built in 1911, “N.V. Gogol "...

The Neva River, flowing through the territory of the Leningrad Region, connecting Lake Ladoga with the Gulf of Finland in the Baltic Sea, is one of the most picturesque and full-flowing rivers in Russia. The length is 74 km, the basin area of ​​48 thousand rivers and 26 thousand lakes is 5 thousand km². 26 rivers and rivulets flow into the Neva, the main tributaries are Mga, Izhora, Okhta, Chernaya Rechka.

The Neva is the only river flowing from the Shlisselburg Bay in Lake Ladoga, its bed flows through the territory of the Neva Lowland, the mouth is in the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland, which is part of the Baltic Sea. On the banks of the Neva there are such cities as St. Petersburg, Shlisselburg, Kirovsk, Otradnoe, the river is navigable throughout its entire length ...

The Kuban River in the very south of Russia originates in Karachay-Cherkessia at the foot of Mount Elbrus (Caucasus Mountains) and flows through the territory of the North Caucasus, forming a delta, and flows into the Sea of ​​Azov. The length of the river is 870 km, the basin area is 58 thousand km ², 14 thousand tributaries, the largest of them are Afips, Laba, Pshish, Mara, Dzheguta, Gorkaya.

The largest reservoir in the Caucasus is located on the river - Krasnodar, Kuban cascade of hydroelectric power stations, the cities of Karachaevsk, Cherkessk, Armavir, Novokubansk, Krasnodar, Temryuk ...

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There is a lot of water in Russia - through its vast territory, which occupies one-seventh of the land, flows more than two and a half million rivers... Most of them are known and loved only by those who live (or rest) on their shores. However, rivers of a completely different order are more interesting and important - giant waterways that can be seen from space. For centuries, these giants served our ancestors as sources of water, food, as transport routes and continue to serve people to this day.

Determining which is the longest river in Russia is not so easy. Historically, the lands east of the Urals were populated unevenly at different periods of time. And therefore, along its course, the river could change its name several times. Sometimes it happened that the alleged tributary of the "main" river turned out to be longer and fuller than the river itself. Therefore, in order to avoid confusion for the rating of the longest rivers in Russia, we have chosen only those that flow under the same name from source to mouth.

10. Ural - length 2428 km

The majestic Siberian Ural opens the rating of the longest rivers in Russia without tributaries. Although it occupies a modest tenth place, however, if you look only at Europe, in length it is second only to the Volga and Danube. Once the Cossacks, who began to explore the expanses of the Trans-Urals, called him Yaik. And until now, under the old name, he appears in numerous Cossack songs.

Ural is a capricious river; over the centuries it has repeatedly changed its course, leaving scattered oxbow lakes, lakes and a dense network of channels in abundance in its basin. The Ural, like the Volga, flows into the Caspian Sea.

9. Ishim - 2450 km

For neighbors, Ishim is more important. In Russia, on the banks of this river, there is a single city of Ishim. While there are several of them in neighboring Kazakhstan, including even the capital of this country. True, you have to pay for popularity - according to the latest data from ecologists, it is better not to swim in Ishim. The waters of the river carry, in addition to the usual household waste, also industrial waste - oil products, compounds of iron, oil and manganese. And all this wealth is also seasoned with pesticides washed into the river during the spill every year. Ishim flows into the Irtysh.

8. Vilyui - 2650 km

The Vilyui is the longest tributary of the Lena, which is not a small river in itself. It flows through the territory of Yakutia and the Krasnoyarsk Territory. There are two hydroelectric power plants on the river, launched back in Soviet times. They provide light, heat and energy to nearby mining facilities.

At one of the tributaries of the Vilyui, there is a place of pilgrimage for ufologists, affectionately nicknamed by the old-timers "The Valley of Death". According to rumors, there are huge mysterious objects, similar to cauldrons, ranging in size from six to nine meters in diameter, and made of an obscure metal.

7. Amur - 2824 km

“Clouds are walking gloomily over Cupid” - is sung in an old Soviet song. It is on this river, separating the lands of the then USSR, and of today's Russia, from China, where three tankmen, the heroes of the song, serve.

The very name of the river speaks of its size - "Amur" comes from the word "Damur", which means in the language of local residents, Manchus, literally "big river". It begins in the steppes of Mongolia and flows into the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. Cupid is exceptionally rich in fish - up to 139 different species of fish live in it. But only one quarter of this abundance is of commercial value.

6. Lower Tunguska - 2989 km

The lower Tunguska is almost as long as the river, where it flows into - the Yenisei. Although the river is full-flowing in the summer months (water discharge reaches 31 thousand m3 / s), in winter it barely collects a quarter of this amount. The reason is permafrost; Underground springs shackled with cold barely support the life of the river. But when the snow melts, Tunguska crushes rocks and uproots trees.

5. Yenisei - 3487 km

From the tributary of the Yenisei we pass to the Yenisei itself. The river separates Eastern Siberia from Western Siberia. The beginning of the Yenisei, the confluence of two tributaries, is located near the city of Kyzyl, the capital of Tuva. And it flows into the Kara Sea several thousand kilometers to the north, forming a whole bay of its own name.

Along the entire length of the Yenisei, there are many cities, several hydroelectric power plants and a number of reservoirs. Also on the banks of the Yenisei there are several of the most beautiful nature reserves in Russia, such as the Krasnoyarsk "Pillars" and the Sayano-Shushensky nature reserve.

4. Volga - 3531 km

The longest river in Europe is undoubtedly worthy of the title of "mother". Since ancient times, Slavs and peoples settled on its banks, which in the future became part of Russia. The Volga was first mentioned in his "Notes" by the ancient geographer Herodotus. In the Middle Ages and Modern Times, it served as a trade route connecting the north of the country with the south, and during the years of industrialization after the establishment of Soviet power, hydroelectric power plants on the Volga provided industrial enterprises of the young state with electricity.

The Volga begins with a modest, unremarkable spring, gushing on the Valdai Upland, and ends with a delta more than 170 km wide.

3. Ob - 3650 km

The third longest river in Russia is the Ob. It would be the first, if we count it together with the longest tributary, the Irtysh. Then its length would be an impressive 5410 km. The Ob basin is the largest in Russia - its total area is 2990 thousand km2.

Despite the size and high water content (during the flood period, the Ob can spread up to 30 km wide), the Ob spends most of the time in the year under the ice. All along the river there are many cities, including such large ones as Novosibirsk. The Ob flows into the bay named after itself in the Kara Sea.

2. Irtysh - 4248 km

If the development of Siberia went the other way, the Irtysh would be in the first place in the rating. But it happened as it happened, and the much longer Irtysh is considered only a tributary of the Ob, and together they occupy 6th place in the list of the longest rivers in the world.

The Irtysh begins in China, where the Chinese take almost a third of the flow for their needs, then flows through the territory of Kazakhstan, where the river is already so large that ships can walk on it.

Irtysh feeds both industrial and agricultural enterprises of Kazakhstan and provides water to the capital of the country, Astana. On the territory of Russia, the river also does not have to rest - there are many cities and several power plants on it.

1. The longest river in Russia - Lena (4400 km)

In the Yakut language, Lena's name sounds like “ big river". The longest river in Russia stretches 4400 km from the Baikal ridges to the Arctic Ocean and flows into the Laptev Sea. It flows in harsh conditions - the surrounding lands are bound by permafrost. Therefore, there are few cities on the Lena, and the largest of them is Yakutsk.

For many hundreds of kilometers, the river flows through an almost deserted area. Like other rivers in permafrost conditions, Lena "feeds" almost completely on melted snow and rain, so in winter the water level in it is low. Lena spends most of the year under a thick layer of ice, freeing herself from it only for short 4-5 warm months. Although the navigation period is short, the Lena river is used to float cargo, take cruises, people go boating, go on river trips and visit sights. One of the most famous is the Shishkin Rocks, where the works of ancient people have survived to this day.

List of largest rivers in Russia

The table shows 75 rivers with a length of at least 1000 km.

Russia occupies a vast geographic area, and it is not surprising that numerous rivers stretch across its expanses, which have played an important historical role in the settlement and development of new lands. Almost all the largest cities in the country are located on the rivers.

In total, there are about 3 million rivers on the territory of the Russian Federation, and all of them are an important component of the life of many people, animals and plants. Rivers provide us with food, water, electricity, places to rest, and also serve as transport routes connecting different settlements. It is an irreplaceable source of water for agriculture and industry.

In this article, you can get acquainted with the largest rivers in Russia, get their brief description and see the geographical location on the map of the country.

Rivers of the Russian Federation

Map of the largest rivers of Russia

The country's territory is divided into European and Asian parts. The dividing line is usually considered the Ural Mountains and the Caspian Sea. The rivers of the European part flow into the Arctic Ocean, the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. The rivers of the Asian part flow into the Arctic and Pacific oceans.

The largest rivers in European Russia are the Volga, Don, Kama, Oka and Northern Dvina, while some rivers originate in Russia but flow into other countries, such as the Dnieper and Western Dvina. The following large rivers flow through the Asian expanses of the country: Ob, Irtysh, Yenisei, Angara, Lena, Yana, Indigirka and Kolyma.

Of the five main drainage basins: the Arctic, Pacific, Baltic, Black Sea and Caspian, the first, located in Siberia and including the northern part of the Russian Plain, is the most extensive. To a greater extent, this basin is filled with the three largest rivers of Russia: the Ob (3650 km), which, together with its main tributary, the Irtysh River, forms a river system with a length of 5410 km, the Yenisei (3487 km), and the Lena (4400 km). The sum of their catchment areas exceeds 8 million km², and the total water consumption is about 50,000 m³ / s.

The large rivers of Siberia provide transport arteries from the interior to the Arctic Sea Route, although they are blocked by ice for a long period each year. The small slope of the Ob River makes it slowly meander along the huge floodplain. Due to the northward current, from the headwaters to the lower boundaries of the thaw, extensive flooding occurs quite often, resulting in the development of huge swamps. The Vasyugan bogs in the Ob-Irtysh interfluve cover an area of ​​more than 50,000 km².

The rivers of the rest of Siberia (about 4.7 million km²) flow into the Pacific Ocean. In the north, where the watershed is close to the coast, numerous small, fast rivulets flow down the mountains, but most of southeastern Siberia is drained by the Amur River. For a greater stretch of its length, the Amur forms the border separating Russia and China. Ussuri, one of the Amur tributaries, forms another significant border line between the countries.

Three large catchments are located in European Russia south of the Arctic Basin. The Dnieper, only the upper reaches of which are in Russia, as well as the Don and Volga, is the longest European river, originating in the northwest of the Valdai Upland and flowing into the Caspian Sea. Second only to the Siberian rivers, the Volga basin covers an area of ​​1,380,000 km². The rivers of the East European Plain have long served as important transport arteries; in fact, the Volga river system provides two-thirds of the traffic of the entire Russian inland waterway.

10 largest and longest rivers in Russia

Many mighty rivers flow through the territory of the Russian Federation, but the size of some of them is truly impressive. Below is a list and maps of the country's largest rivers, both in length and in catchment area.

Lena

The Lena River is one of the longest rivers on the planet. It originates near Lake Baikal in southern Russia and flows to the west, and then, above Yakutsk, smoothly turns north, where it flows into the Laptev Sea (basin of the Arctic Ocean). Near its mouth, the river forms a huge 32,000 km delta, which is the largest in the Arctic and the most extensive protected wilderness area in Russia.

The Lena Delta, which floods every spring, serves as an important nesting and migration area for birds and also supports a rich fish population. The river is home to 92 planktonic species, 57 benthos species and 38 fish species. Sturgeon, burbot, chum salmon, whitefish, nelma and albula are the most commercially important fish species.

Swans, dippers, geese, ducks, plovers, sandpipers, snipe, phalaropes, terns, skuas, birds of prey, sparrows and gulls are just some of the migratory birds that nest in the Lena's productive wetlands.

Ob

The Ob is the seventh longest river in the world, stretching over a distance of 3650 kilometers in the West Siberian region of the Russian Federation. This river, which is of great economic importance for Russia, arises at the confluence of the Biya and Katun rivers in Altai. It mainly passes through the country, although many of its tributaries originate in China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan. The Ob is connected to its largest tributary by the Irtysh River, about 69 ° east longitude. It flows into the Kara Sea of ​​the Arctic Ocean, forming the Ob Bay. The river has a huge catchment area of ​​about 2.99 million km².

The habitat surrounding the Ob consists of endless expanses of steppe and taiga flora in the upper and middle reaches of the river. Birch, pine, fir and cedar are some of the famous trees found in these areas. Thickets of willow, wild rose and bird cherry also grow along the watercourse. The river basin is replete with aquatic flora and fauna, including more than 50 species of fish (sturgeon, carp, perch, nelma and peled, etc.) and about 150 species of birds. Minks, wolves, Siberian moles, otters, beavers, ermines and other native mammals. In the lower reaches of the Ob, the arctic tundra is characterized by snow-covered landscapes for most of the year. Polar bears, arctic foxes, snowy owls and arctic hares represent this region.

Volga

The longest river in Europe, the Volga, which is often considered the national river of Russia, has a large basin covering almost two-thirds of European Russia. The Volga originates in the north-west of the Valdai Upland, and flows to the south, overcoming 3530 km, where it flows into the Caspian Sea. About 200 tributaries join the river along the entire route. Eleven large cities of the country, including Moscow, are based along the Volga basin, which covers an area of ​​1.36 million km².

The climate in the river basin changes along its course from north to south. The northern regions are characterized by a temperate climate with cold, snowy winters and warm, humid summers. The southern regions are characterized by cool winters and hot dry summers. The Volga Delta is one of the richest habitats, home to 430 plant species, 127 fish species, 260 bird species and 850 aquatic species.

Yenisei

The mouth of the Yenisei River is located near the city of Kazyl, where it merges with the Small Yenisei River, which originates in Mongolia and flows northward, where it drains a huge territory of Siberia, before flowing into the Kara Sea (Arctic Ocean), having made a path of 3487 km. The Angara River, which flows out of Lake Baikal, is one of the main tributaries of the upper reaches of the Yenisei.

The waters of the Yenisei are home to about 55 species of local fish, including Siberian sturgeon, flounder, roach, northern pike, Siberian gudgeon, tench and sterlet. A large part of the river basin is surrounded by, mainly consisting of the following species of conifers: fir, cedar, pine and larch. In some areas of the upper reaches of the Yenisei, there are also steppe pastures. In the north, boreal forests give way to arctic ones. Musk deer, elk, roe deer and Japanese mouse are some species of mammals that live in the taiga forests along the river. Also, there are such birds as Siberian blue robin, Siberian lentils, wood grouse and wood snipe. Ducks, geese and swans are found in the lower reaches during the summer season.

Lower Tunguska

The Lower Tunguska is a right tributary of the Yenisei, flowing through the Irkutsk Region and the Krasnoyarsk Territory of Russia. Its length is 2989 km, and the basin area is 473 thousand km². The river stretches near the watershed between the Yenisei and Lena river basins and flows north and then west through the Central Siberian Plateau.

In the upper reaches, the river forms a wide valley with numerous shoals, but after turning to the west, the valley narrows, and numerous gorges and rapids appear. The vast Tunguska coal basin lies in the river basin.

Amur

Amur is the tenth longest river in the world, located in East Asia and forms the border between the Far Eastern District of the Russian Federation and Northeast China. The river originates at the confluence of the Shilka and Argun rivers. The Amur flows for 2825 km to the northwestern Pacific Ocean and empties into the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

The river has many vegetation zones in various parts of its basin, including taiga forests and swamps, Manchu mixed forests, Amur meadow steppes, forest-steppe, steppes and tundra. The wetlands along the Amur Basin are some of the most valuable ecosystems that are home to a huge variety of flora and fauna. It is an important home for millions of migratory birds, including white storks and Japanese cranes. The river basin is home to over 5000 species of vascular plants, 70 species of mammals and 400 species of birds. It is home to rare and endangered species such as the Amur tiger and the Far Eastern leopard, the most iconic mammalian species in the region. A wide variety of fish species live in the waters of the Amur: about 100 species in the lower reaches and 60 in the upper. Chum salmon, burbot and whitefish are some of the most commercially important northern fish species.

Viluy

Vilyui is a river in Central and Eastern Siberia, flowing mainly through the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in the east of Russia. This is the largest tributary of the Lena, 2650 km long and a basin area of ​​about 454 thousand km².

Vilyui originates in the Central Siberian Plateau and first flows eastward, then south and southeast, and again eastward to the confluence with the Lena (about 300 km northwest of the city of Yakutsk). The river and adjacent reservoirs are rich in commercial fish species.

Kolyma

With a length of more than 2,100 kilometers and a basin area of ​​643 thousand km², the Kolyma is the largest river in Eastern Siberia, flowing into the Arctic Ocean. The upper reaches of this river system began to develop in the Cretaceous period, when the main watershed between the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and the Arctic Ocean was formed.

At the beginning of its journey, Kolyma makes its way through narrow gorges with numerous rapids. Gradually, its valley expands, and below the confluence with the Zyryanka River, it flows through the wide swampy Kolyma Lowland, and then flows into the East Siberian Sea.

Ural

The Ural is a large river flowing in Russia and Kazakhstan, 2428 km long (1550 km on the territory of the Russian Federation), and a basin area of ​​about 231 thousand km². The river originates in the Ural Mountains on the slopes of the Kruglaya Sopka and flows in a southerly direction. In the city of Orsk, it turns sharply to the west through the southern outskirts of the Urals, past Orenburg, and again turns south, heading towards the Caspian Sea. Its flow has a large spring maximum, and freeze-up lasts from late November to April. The river is navigated to the city of Oral in Kazakhstan. The dam and hydroelectric power station were built on the Iriklinsky reservoir, south of the city of Magnitogorsk.

The wetlands in the Ural Delta are especially important for migratory birds as the main refuge along the Asian flyway. The river is also important for many species of fish in the Caspian Sea that visit its deltas and migrate upstream for spawning. In the lower reaches of the river, there are 47 species from 13 families. The family of cyprinids accounts for 40% of the species diversity of fish, sturgeon and herring - 11%, perches - 9% and salmonids - 4.4%. The main commercial species are sturgeon, roach, bream, pike perch, carp, asp and catfish. Rare species include Caspian salmon, sterlet, nelma and kutum. In the Urals delta and the surrounding areas, there are about 48 species of animals, of which 21 species are taught to the detachment of rodents.

Don

The Don is one of the largest rivers in the Russian Federation and the 5th longest river in Europe. Its basin is located between the Dnieper-Donetsk depression in the west, the Volga basin in the east, and the Oka river basin (a tributary of the Volga) in the north.

The Don originates in the city of Novomoskovsk 60 km southeast of Tula (120 km south of Moscow), and flows about 1870 km to the Sea of ​​Azov. From its source, the river goes southeast to Voronezh, and then southwest to its mouth. The main tributary of the Don is the Seversky Donets.

Table of the largest rivers of the Russian Federation