Volga river Russia | Volga river history (Documentary, Discovery, History) | 伏尔加河俄罗斯 | Rio volga
The Volga is the longest river in Europe with 3,531 km (2,194 mi) length and a catchment area of 1,360,000 km2 (530,000 sq mi). It is also Europe's largest river in terms of discharge and drainage basin. The river flows through Central Russia and into the Caspian Sea, and is widely regarded as the national river of Russia. Due to its geographical situation the Volga played an important role in the movement of people between east and west (from Asia to Europe) as well as south and north. Historically, it was an important meeting place of Eurasian civilizations.The river flows in Russia through forests, forest-steppes and steppes. Eleven of the twenty largest cities of Russia, including the capital, Moscow, are located in the Volga's drainage basin.Subscribe to a channel
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Nomenclature Volga
The Turkic peoples living along the river formerly referred to it as Itil or Atil. In modern Turkic languages, the Volga is known as İdel (Идел) in Tatar, Атăл (Atăl) in Chuvash, Idhel in Bashkir, Edil in Kazakh, and İdil in Turkish. The Turkic names go back to the ancient Turkic form “Etil/ Ertil”, the origin and meaning of which are not clear. Perhaps this form has a connection with the hydronym Irtesh.
The Turkic peoples associated the Itil's origin with the Kama. Thus, a left tributary to the Kama was named the Aq Itil White Itil which unites with the Kara Itil Black Itil at the modern city of Ufa. The name Indyl (Indɨl) is used in Adyge (Cherkess) language.
Among Asians, the river was known by its other Turkic name Sarı-su yellow water, but the Oirats also used their own name, Ijil mörön or adaptation river. Presently the Mari, another Uralic group, call the river Jul (Юл), meaning way in Tatar. Formerly, they called the river Volgydo, a borrowing from Old East Slavic.
Description Volga
The Volga is the longest river in Europe, and its catchment area is almost entirely inside Russia, though the longest river in Russia is the Ob–Irtysh river system. It belongs to the closed basin of the Caspian Sea, being the longest river to flow into a closed basin. Rising in the Valdai Hills 225 meters (738 ft) above sea level northwest of Moscow and about 320 kilometers (200 mi) southeast of Saint Petersburg, the Volga heads east past Lake Sterzh, Tver, Dubna, Rybinsk, Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, and Kazan. From there it turns south, flows past Ulyanovsk, Tolyatti, Samara, Saratov and Volgograd, and discharges into the Caspian Sea below Astrakhan at 28 meters (92 ft) below sea level. At its most strategic point, it bends toward the Don (the big bend). Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, is located there.
The Volga has many tributaries, most importantly the rivers Kama, the Oka, the Vetluga, and the Sura. The Volga and its tributaries form the Volga river system, which flows through an area of about 1,350,000 square kilometres (521,238 square miles) in the most heavily populated part of Russia. The Volga Delta has a length of about 160 kilometres (99 miles) and includes as many as 500 channels and smaller rivers. The largest estuary in Europe, it is the only place in Russia where pelicans, flamingos, and lotuses may be found. The Volga freezes for most of its length for three months each year.
The Volga drains most of Western Russia. Its many large reservoirs provide irrigation and hydroelectric power. The Moscow Canal, the Volga–Don Canal, and the Volga–Baltic Waterway form navigable waterways connecting Moscow to the White Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. High levels of chemical pollution have adversely affected the river and its habitats.
The fertile river valley provides large quantities of wheat, and also has many mineral riches. A substantial petroleum industry centers on the Volga valley. Other resources include natural gas, salt, and potash. The Volga Delta and the Caspian Sea are fishing grounds. Astrakhan, at the delta, is the center of the caviar industry.
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