Kama begins in the northeast of Udmurtia. Its source lies among the low hills of the Verkhnekamsk Upland, near the village. Karpushata, Kez district. It flows from a well dug under old birch, several keys - Far, Upper and others. Streams of springs merge into a small stream, which rushes along the bottom of a shallow ravine, overgrown with bird cherry and mountain ash.
The Kamsky stream, merging with the small river Bystrushka and the Yakunin Kama stream, becomes a small river that flows to the northwest for about 35 km and leaves the republic. In the middle course it returns to Udmurtia again and crosses its eastern and southeastern parts for 180 km. Here the Kama is a large river with a wide, well-developed channel and an extensive floodplain.
Kama length - 2032 km. Basin area - 522 thousand km2 (2 times more area Oka basin). In the European part of Russia, only three rivers exceed the Kama in length: the Volga, the Ural and the Dnieper. If the Kama flowed straight, its path would be 4.5 times shorter - from the source to the mouth in a straight line, only 445 km. In the upper reaches, the Kama forms something like a giant loop. This peculiar direction of its flow is explained by the influence of ancient glaciation, which resulted in a restructuring of the river network of the Kama basin.
Kama is a lowland river. The height of its source is 331 m above sea level, near the city of Sarapul - 64 m, at the mouth - 36 m. Average
its slope is small, about 0.11%, but it is almost 2 times greater than the Volga slope. The flow speed of the Kama (before the construction of the reservoir) at low summer (low-water) levels is 0.32-0.93 m/sec, at elevated levels - up to 1 m/sec or more.
But the fall of Kama is not the same in various parts currents. The river has not yet reached its full equilibrium profile and continues to deepen its channel.
The Kama is a high-water river. The average annual flow rate near the city of Sarapul, according to observations from 1914 to 1954, is 1730 m3/sec,
the largest - 2510 m3/sec, the smallest - 1070 m3/sec (before the construction of the Kama and Votkinsk hydroelectric power stations). After the creation of the Kama and Botkin reservoirs, the flow rate is 1820 m3/sec. The average annual flow at the river mouth is 3.8 thousand m3/sec.
In terms of water content among Russian rivers, the Kama ranks ninth.
The width of the Kama channel in the middle reaches ranges from 500 to 1500 m. Its channel is unstable due to the easy erosion of the rocks that make up the floodplain, so the Kama has many branches and channels that form islands, as well as starorsky and lakes in the floodplain. Many of these lakes become overgrown and turn into swamps.
The depth on the reaches ranges from 2.5 to 3 m, on the riffles - 1.6-1.8 m. In the area below the village. Mazunino to the village. Karakulino depths decrease to 0.4 m (Mazuninsky roll). Further downstream the depth increases and reaches 8-9 m. After the confluence of the river. The White Kama becomes wider and fuller. There are no shallow riffles here.
Average duration ice cover 5-5.5 months. Freezing in the upper reaches begins earlier than in the lower sections of the river; opening occurs in the opposite direction.
On average, in Udmurtia the Kama freezes on November 17 (with deviations in both directions by 11-14 days). The river becomes ice-free on May 2 (with a deviation of 10-14 days). The duration of the navigation period is approximately 180 days.
The spring level rise begins 2-3 days before the river opens. In the spring months, more than half of the total annual flow occurs. The average duration of the spring flood near Sarapul is 65 days. The water rise is sometimes more than 5 m above the chart zero. Often the river overflows its banks, flooding the entire width of the floodplain and spreading over 10-12 km. Water consumption increases by 80-100 and even 120 times. During low-water times, the water level in the river drops and it narrows in places to 600-700 m.
According to hydrologist D.L. Sokolovsky, who summarized centuries of observations on the Kama, during the three spring months the river carries 61% of the total water mass, and during the rest of the year - only 39%. Melted snow waters play a major role in feeding the river, and rainfall and ground nutrition play a secondary role.
The mineralization of water in the river varies from 132 to 328 mg/liter. The mineralization of the water of its tributaries is 100-200 mg/liter higher: up to 255-368 mg/liter.
According to the classification of O. A. Alekin, the Kama belongs to rivers of medium mineralization. The lowest water hardness is observed during the spring flood, the highest - at the end of winter.
Every year, the Kama carries 130 billion m3 of water and up to 500 thousand tons of sediment into the Volga.
The temperature of the Kama water gradually increases and reaches a maximum in July (but according to long-term data, the average July temperature is 4-20.4°). In channels and backwaters the temperature is higher than in the main channel.
On the territory of Udmurtia, many tributaries flow into the Kama: from right side- Siva, Nechinka, Bolshaya Sarapulka, Malaya Sarapulka, Izh, Toima, Vyatka and others: on the left - Bolshaya Uzhuikha, Sholya, Kambarka, Bui, Belaya and others.
The Kama and its tributaries have a very great importance in the development of the economy of Udmurtia. Up to 12% of the total population of the republic lives in the Prikamsky district of Udmurtia.
The largest cities of Udmurtia are located on the Kama and its tributaries: Sarapul, Izhevsk, Votkinsk, Kambarka. At the confluence of the Kama river. Big Sarapulki is the city of Sarapul, which has important industrial and transport significance. Sarapul is a large port. A railway bridge across the Kama River was built near the city, along which the Moscow-Ekaterinburg railway runs.
Sarapul is one of the most beautiful cities in the Kama region. The light line of the embankment under construction encloses the city from the Kama side; from the west, a dense wall of mixed forest approaches; Startseva Mountain rises from the north. This is one of the most picturesque places on the Kama. From a high ravine (more than 80 m above the river) the expanse of the Kama valley opens up. Its low left bank is covered with forests. The high right bank rises above the river with wooded slopes, often abruptly falling down to the water. This unique, well-preserved corner of the forested Kama region is a wonderful natural attraction of Udmurtia, subject to protection and study.
20 km below Sarapul on the left bank is the port of Kambarka - one of the largest transit points in the entire Kama basin. In terms of cargo turnover, Kambarka is second only to Perm. From Kambarka to the mouth of the river. White Kama flows for the most part in low floodplain banks. There are many archaeological and historical monuments. So, against the mouth of the river. Belaya, flowing into the Kama from the left, near the village. Cheganda are located multi-story deep caves dug into an almost vertical bank. Apparently, here in ancient times they mined copper ores; Later, the caves were used by robbers, since the flow of the Kama and Belaya can be clearly seen from the caves over a long distance. In case of a raid, a long underground passage was dug from the caves into a deep ravine overgrown with forest. Now the caves attract many tourists. Not far from here is the Chegandinskoye fortification of the Bronze Age. Items found here during excavations are stored in the Sarapul Museum of Local Lore. On the right bank of the Kama there are a number of historical monuments of the Kama region.
Nowadays, on the border of Udmurtia with the Perm region, a powerful Votkinsk hydroelectric power station (1 million kW) was built on the Kama River. The average long-term energy production is 2.3 billion kWh. The dam raises the level of the Kama to a height of 23 m. The Votkinsk reservoir has an area of 1125 km2, volume - 9.7 km3. In terms of volume and size, it is only slightly inferior to the Kama Sea. The maximum width of the reservoir is 10-12 km. Coastline has weak ruggedness, so the processes of destruction of the banks are less intense than in the Kama Reservoir.
57 hectares of water flow into the Votkinsk Reservoir big rivers. It has big influence pa Kama tributaries due to flooding of their estuarine areas. The backwater of the Votkinsk hydroelectric dam extends up the Kama for 365 km. The upper border of the sea came close to Perm, to the dam of the Kama hydroelectric station.
The creation of the reservoir provided seasonal regulation of the Kama flow below the dam of the Botkin hydroelectric complex. The average daily flow here is currently about 4000 m3/sec, which is 2.5 times higher than the flow of the Kama in its natural state at the site of the hydroelectric complex before the construction of the dam. The reservoir creates favorable opportunities for integrated use river water resources. Transport conditions on the Kama River within Udmurtia have improved over a distance of 100 km. After filling the reservoir with water, wide reaches with depths of up to 20-25 m were formed. The shipping channel was straightened and expanded to 300-400 m, which made it possible to organize two-way traffic of ships and rafts and shortened the direct water route between Perm and the ports of the lower Kama by several
tens of kilometers. The volume of transportation from Perm to Sarapul and further to the mouth of the river increased approximately 2 times. At the dam of the Votkinsk hydroelectric power station on the left bank of the Kama River arose new town- Chaikovsky.
Electricity from the Votkinsk hydroelectric power station is supplied via high-voltage lines to the Perm region and Udmurtia.
The Kama is one of the most important waterways in the European part of Russia. Navigation on it lasts more than 6.5 months. The Kama connects Udmurtia with the Urals, Volga region, Volga-Vyatka and Central Industrial regions. Every year, over 40 million tons of various cargoes are transported along the Kama, which makes up a fifth of the cargo turnover of Russian rivers. Millions of tons of timber, oil, bread, building materials and other goods are transported along the Kama. In terms of the volume of timber cargo transportation, Kama ranks one of the first places in the world. Water resources are used for domestic and technical purposes. There are dozens of cities and towns on the banks of the Kama River. The Kama is a river of a great past, a wonderful present and a wonderful future.
It is difficult to imagine a person who would not have an idea of such a Shishkin painting as “Morning in pine forest", who would not know Shishkin's "Rye" or "Ship Grove". On a number of his canvases, the painter depicted the surroundings of his native Yelabuga. At a short stop, go to the local museum. The museum has exhibitions of local history and a stand dedicated to the heroine of the Patriotic War
War of 1812 to Nadezhda Durova. The extraordinary fate of the “cavalry girl” attracted different time writers and playwrights. After retiring, Durova settled in Elabuga and wrote my own here
memories that Pushkin highly appreciated. Durova's grave is located in the old city cemetery.
The Belaya River comes to the Kama between the low-lying banks of the floodplain, and perhaps from a steamship the mouth of the tributary would be poorly visible if not for the color of the water. Here the difference in color is especially sharp and noticeable. The waters of the Belaya River crash into the Kama River and crowd them with its wide stream, over which seagulls circle. The length of the Belaya, the main tributary of the Kama, is 1,420 kilometers. Starting in the mountains of the Southern Urals, Belaya then rushes to the plains of Bashkiria, connecting a number of cities of this autonomous republic and its center Ufa with the Kama. Essentially, the Belaya basin contains almost all flat part Bashkiria. A lot of timber, grain and oil are transported along the river.
The steamer goes under the bridge of the Kazan railway, and almost immediately you can see the still distant Sarapul. The low island initially covers the low-lying part of the city. But then the island ends, and the whole of Sarapul is visible. This is one of the most attractively located cities in the Kama region. Against the backdrop of a dense green forest, the white blocks occupy the slopes of the valley of the Sarapulka River, which crosses the city. central part Sarapul is built up stone houses, among which the buildings of the City Council and the vocational school, with their facades facing us, stand out especially. All this is dominated by a mountain with steep slopes, ending in a sharply defined cape. Sarapul arose at the end of the 16th century. The riverine part of the city has preserved to the greatest extent the features of the distant past.
Here you can see traces of an ancient settlement, ancient monastery walls. By the way, the very name of the city in the language of the ancient inhabitants of the Kama region meant “yellow fish,” that is, sterlet, which, obviously, was found here in abundance. When walking around the city, you should pay attention to the wooden carved decorations of window frames, gates and even the walls of houses: Sarapul craftsmen were especially famous for wood carving.
In two hours the ship will complete its voyage at the Molotov River Station, but the proximity of the big city is clearly felt.
Here is the Zakamsk pier on the left. This is already the Kirovsky district of Molotov, located beyond the river. A pine forest stretches far along the coastal ravine. But take a closer look: pine trees remain only near the very shore, and further inland, everything is occupied by blocks of residential buildings and workshops of enterprises. In some places the pine trees are denser; under them there are either dacha-type houses or light buildings of pioneer camps. Overflights clearly loomed over the Kama
railway bridge, built more than half a century ago. Both before it and immediately after it, to the right of us the coast is occupied by piers industrial enterprises. Smoke from factory chimneys spreads over the river. The elevator rose up like a cliff. The cranes are visible again - this is one of the sections of the old Molotov port.
In this area there are still many unsightly houses and warehouses built by Kama steamship workers. But then the Molotov berths for suburban traffic began. The tower of the art gallery and the standing
at the very edge of the slope, a tall building with columns is the Hammerwood office. The city of Molotov, the largest industrial and cultural center of the Kama region, is much younger than many Ural cities.
The lock world of the Kama River. The ship goes to the lock. It doesn't look like any of the buildings that
meet on the way from the capital. The fact is that the Kama is the first sluice river in the country with a huge rafting of timber. A conventional gateway could never allow those 10-12 million to pass through for navigation.
cubic meters of wood that go through the “stairs” of the Kama hydroelectric complex. The right downstream, or, as it is called, the “Western thread” of the lock is intended exclusively for launching rafts along the Eastern, or left; Depending on the need, both ships and rafts are allowed through. All gateway structures stretch over 2.5 kilometers in length. Our ship is heading to the left "thread".
NIZHNEKAMSK - PRISTAN - RED KEY
LEGENDS ABOUT THE KAMA RIVER
This was in those distant times, when in the space from White Sea The ancient Vedic Gods lived to the Ural Mountains and from the Ural Mountains to the Black Sea. They were born, developed the land, enlightened people, and replaced each other. And what happened in heaven necessarily left traces on Earth. The time has come when Zlata Maya and God Vyshny, born from the rays of the Golden stars, had a son, Kryshen. It shone in his forehead, and in his hands Star book Ved. He revealed a lot of knowledge to the Gods and did many good deeds in heaven. Ra grew from the goddess of Waters Vodynya and the God of the sun beautiful daughter Glad. Kryshen and Rada met and fell in love. When their son Kama was born, all nature rejoiced, flowers bloomed, nightingales sang, there was a great feast in heaven. Once Kama was riding along a pole - the rider Oka sees in the field, the horse is playing, the helmet is sparkling, there is a nightingale on his arm. They began to shoot love arrows at each other. And in a love match, both died. Where the blood of the Kama flowed, the Kama River flows, where the blood of the Oka flows, the Oka River flows. In heaven, God Kama became the God of love. The star book of the Vedas was accepted by the Magi and passed it on to people. The roof appears in the sky as a light, golden cloud, the Rada turns around and brings joy to people. The Kama River has become a source and symbol of pure water, giving strength and pleasure. In the old days in Rus', a shaman was called Kam. Kamlanie is a ritual action of a shaman. Now there is a debate among scientists about where the Kama really begins. Some claim that in the neighboring village of Zhernokovo, others have found that the first right tributary of the Kama, the Kamka, is fuller and longer. But in Kuliga there is the most turbulent spring (a 6-meter well fills and flows out like a stream).
MOUTH RIVER ZAY- TATARSTAN
Myths and legends of the Slavs - Ra, Oka, Kama and Alatyrka
When the god Ra grew old, he said to the Heavenly Cow: “I live, only my heart is tired of living... Lift me up on your horns! I will become a heavenly river - the one that separates Yav and Nav.”
And it flowed like the Ra River from the mountains, which were later called the Ural Mountains, because they are located near the Ra River. Nowadays this river is called the Volga, in the upper reaches - the Belaya Volozhka, in the lower reaches - the Don (in ancient times Volga and Don converged near the Volga-Don Canal).
On Sunny Island, Rada and Kryshny had a son - the god of love Kama. Black Raven stole Kama and carried him over the sea, and then dropped him from a height.
God Kama was swallowed by a whale, but Kama asked for help from the Almighty and was heard. The Almighty commanded, and the whale cast out the god Kama to Earth. And Kama went to Iriy. All the gods greeted him there.
Kryshen gave him a bow and stirrups,
Rada brought him a horse,
I Svarog gave Kama a ring.
Mother Lada - scarlet rose.
If Kama shoots in the heart -
the heart will flare up with love passion.
Kohl puts a ring on his finger -
This means they will have a wedding soon.
If he gives you a scarlet rose -
love will bloom forever!
“The Book of Kolyada”, 11th
One day, while driving through a clear pole, Kama met the beautiful goddess of love Oka. They fell in love with each other. And soon they got married.
At the wedding, Kama and Oka argued - whose love spell is stronger? Then Kama suggested going to the pole and shooting arrows at each other in order to find out who would kill whom with a love arrow. Their spell turned out to be so strong that as soon as the arrows, and they were Red roses, struck the hearts of Kama and Oka, they fell to the ground and died of love. Streams of blood flowed from their hearts and became the rivers Kama and Oka.
And the Alatyrka River was formed like this. One day Kryshen rode to Alatyr Mountain on a White-maned horse. Suddenly he saw that the Black Raven was sitting on Alatyr. Kryshen took out a golden arrow and pulled his bow. But Raven told him:
Don't hit me, don't shoot me! Listen to my message! The Almighty is calling you! The water has flowed out of the roof - and the time of the roof has ended! A different time is coming! The wheel of heaven has turned.
Kryshen did not listen and shot an arrow, but the arrow turned around and hit Kryshen’s heart. The blood flowing from the heart of the Roof became the Alatyrka River.
And when Rada and Maya came to Alatyr Mountain, they saw Kryshen ascending the mountainside to the throne of the Almighty.
Ra is the ancient Slavic name of the Sun God, as well as the name of the Ra River (Volga) in the Book of Veles, the Vedas of India (Rasa) and the Avesta (Rankha), in the works of the ancient Greeks and Romans (Ra, Ros).
The myth about the god Ra and his son Horse was most fully preserved by Egyptian mythology (“Book of the Cow”), which speaks of the common source of this myth for the Slavs and Egyptians, which lies in Atlantis. Ra was married to Amelfa when he flowed into the Black Sea, then flowed into the Caspian (Khvalyn) and became married to Volyn. The Wedding of Ra and Volyn (Vyalkani) is described in the “Veda of the Slavs” (I volume)
Kama and Oka are rivers flowing into the Volga. The text about Kama and Oka was restored from various accounts of epics about the Danube (option - Don) and his wife. Note that in ancient times the Don was often also called the Ra River, for there was a time when the Ra River flowed not into the Caspian Sea, but into the Black Sea. This means that the epic about the Don-Danube is related to the Volga, and to the Kama (the old name is Belaya Volozhka), and to the Oka. In ancient times, the source of the Ra River (Volga) was considered not to be a source near Lake Seliger, but to the Urals. That is, the Kama was then called the Volga (in the Avesta, the Rankha River flows from Mount Khukarya, that is, from the Urals), and the Kama was then called the river flowing from a source near Seliger.
In India, Kama is revered as the god of love. Oka is similar to the Indian Lakshmi (on the Klyazma, which flows into the Oka, today there is a city of Lakinsk).
MOUTH OF THE IZH RIVER Kama River
HISTORY OF NAVIGATION ON THE KAMA
Since ancient times, man has inhabited its shores, used it as a profitable and convenient transport route, and, finally, created legends and traditions about the Kama. Guides to the Kama of famous shipping companies not only invited gracious gentlemen to go on a trip along one of the most beautiful rivers East European Plain, but they talked about the history of the Kama cities, large villages and small towns. In these guidebooks they called the Kama the river of past legends, a formidable rival of the Volga...
“The Kama argued with the Volga for a long time - it didn’t want to flow into it. At first she wanted to beat off the water, she beat off half of it, but she couldn’t continue. Kama decided to use cunning. I made an agreement with the kite: “You, kite, shout when I’m on the other side so that I can hear, and I’ll fight near the Volga and come out somewhere else.” “Okay,” the kite answers. So Kama began to rummage under the Volga. She rummaged and rummaged, and meanwhile the golden eagle noticed the kite and chased after it. He got scared and screamed just above the middle of the Volga. Kama heard this cry, thought that she was already on the other side, jumped out of the ground and landed straight in the Volga.” This is how the Kama carries its waters into the distance, towards the Volga, just like hundreds of years ago.
RAF ON ROCK
The settlement of the region, the development of its riches - all this is inextricably linked with the river. Ancient chronicles mention that fourteen centuries ago, trade caravans from the Middle East sailed along the Kama to Perm the Great and Perm Vychegda. Although who can now say with confidence that this was precisely the beginning of navigation on the Kama. For the river itself is much older.
In Arabic sources it was usually called Kama - Agi-del. You can also come across the statement that in the old days the Kama bore the name Idel, and, moreover, hardly for the length that it is given now, that is, before meeting the Volga, but until the very end, until it flows into the Caspian Sea, where there was a famous city of the same name.
Along the Kama from the north, Novgorod and Moscow people came to the forest region. In Russian chronicles, the name “Kama” was first mentioned in 1220, when “Vasilko Konstantinovich from Rostov sent an ambassador’s regiment, and others from Ustyug to the top of the Kama.” But the most ancient settlers in the upper and middle reaches of the river were the Finno-Ugric tribes, and in the lower reaches of the Kama - the Bulgars.
bsp; KAMA RIVER NEAR THE GREAT BULGARS
Thanks to the Kama, the Urals, starting from the 14th century, supplied the Russian state with furs, and later with salt. With the fall of the Kazan Khanate in 1552, a through route along the Kama was opened. This contributed to the expansion of trade relations between the Urals and other Russian lands. And from the second half of the 16th century, the banks of the Kama began to be actively populated by the Russian population, largely thanks to the Stroganovs, who founded their saltworks here. In the upper reaches of the Kama, “towns” and “fortresses” appeared, and along with them monasteries (Pyskari Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery, founded on the site of the old Stroganov monastery in the city of Kangor). The founding of several monasteries in the middle and lower reaches of the river also dates back to this time. Thus, in the 17th century, the Assumption, formerly Likhotin, monastery was founded in the village. Yaromaska.
However, navigation in the 16th century along the Kama was associated with very great dangers. Robbery was commonplace at that time, as can be seen from the “Life of Saint Tryphon,” written in the 17th century: “Ships are robbed along the Kama River and merchants of all ranks are killed...” The voyage of Saint Tryphon took place on a plow in 1572 up the river to Pyskor. And the ships, which were then used mainly for transporting goods, were not self-propelled. The already mentioned plows, boats, planks, and belyans became widespread. And they were built here, on Chusovaya and on the Kama.
ARROW AT THE CONFERENCE OF THE KAMA AND CHUSOVAYA RIVERS
The river itself determined the nature of the rafting vessels: a short period of navigation - only six months a year, and the shallow waters of most of the tributaries of the Kama. The most advanced type of cargo ship for its time was well adapted for navigation on the Kama and Volga, both with and against the current, and was called the bark. The bark was spacious and carried from eight to twenty-five thousand pounds of cargo.
The ships went downstream under sail and oars, and upstream they were pulled by tow barges. The coastal inhabitants of the Volga and its tributaries were engaged in barge hauling. In large cities such as Perm, Chistopol and others, there was even something like burlatsky bazaars. Typically, the owner of the ship hired barge haulers based on the total weight of the cargo. And for every thousand poods there were from two to six barge haulers, depending on the rafting conditions. And if the ship was large, then the size of the artel of barge haulers reached 60 - 100 people. The barge haulage industry received its greatest development in the first half of the 19th century, especially before the introduction of shipping.
MOUTH OF THE SHESHMA RIVER - TATARSTAN
Emergence and development in the 17th - 18th centuries. large factories and industries, the lack of other types of cargo transportation - all this forced talented engineers and mechanics to look for a way to mechanize the movement of ships. So, back in 1804 I.P. Kulibin proposed the idea of a “navigable vessel”, driving force for which would be the strength of the river current. However, this idea has not found practical application.
At the same time, the foreman of the Ogurdinsky sawmill on the Kama A.I. Durbazhev designed and built a “horse-drawn machine”. This “horse-drawn machine” is popularly called “horse-drawn machine”.
The “horse guide” consisted of a flat-bottomed vessel, in the middle of which a gate was installed in a vertical position. At the level of the lower deck, levers extended radially from the gate shaft, each of which harnessed several horses. Continuously moving in a circle, the horses rotated the shaft, on the upper end of which a rope was wound. The line was pulled up by the rope to the anchor, and at this time the second anchor was brought in. It was in this way that the ship moved upstream almost continuously. “Horse guides” often led a caravan of ships, and the number of horses they carried reached two hundred.
The invention of “horse wires” was also attributed to the French engineer Poudebar, who served at the Vsevolozhsky factories. Thus, in the “Chronicle of the provincial city of Perm” compiled by F.A. Pryadilnikov, it was said that in 1816, “during the rafting of salt caravans, horse-drawn vehicles appeared for the first time.”
However, the harnesses were soon replaced by capstans, in which steam (forty-power) gates replaced horse traction. The speed of movement of the capstans against the current was 2.5-3 versts per hour, which was only slightly more than the speed of the “horse guide” (on average about 2 versts per hour). The use of capstans also did not solve the problems of navigation and turned out to be short-lived.
The first half of the 19th century was marked by significant development of shipping. In 1815, the first steamship in Russia appeared on the Neva, built in St. Petersburg at the Berda plant. In 1817, the first steamship was built in the Volga-Kama basin at the Pozhevsky plant V.A. Vsevolozhsky. In the spring of 1819, residents of Perm were surprised by the appearance of two steamships from Vsevolozhsky on the Kama. It was V.A. Vsevolozhsky became the first builder and owner of steamships on the Kama and Pozhva. This event overturned the entire system that had existed before and marked the beginning of a new stage in the history of shipping.
The first Pozhevsky steamship had a narrow wooden hull. The car's power was only 24 horsepower. The use of steam ships has proven an advantage over horse guides and capstans. Soon two more steamships of 36 and 6 horsepower were built.
The first voyage of these ships (“steamboats” or “steamboats”, as they were called then), however, was unsuccessful. In August 1817 they set off on a voyage to the Volga. It was assumed that they would reach Nizhny Novgorod and proceed further to Moscow. But the early onset of winter forced the ships to return to the Kama, where they spent the winter. And in the spring of 1818 they were cut off by ice drift.
SOROCHI MOUNTAINS - THE LONGEST BRIDGE IN TATARSTAN
Often the pioneers of the steamship business were the merchants. Merchants and factory owners sought to have ships to provide their own cargo transportation. So, in 1839, one of the merchant Kiselev’s steamships with a load of goods rose from the Volga to the Kama to the city of Perm, and went back to the Volga. Kupets A.V. In 1841, Tatarinov carried grain on his ship “Experience”. Together with Tatarinov, his relative, the Sarapul merchant I.S., entered the company. Kolchin. And together they built the ship “Vera”. However, during the construction of the third steamship, the partners failed, as a result of which Tatarinov went bankrupt, and the contract he took to deliver 150 thousand bags of flour to Kronstadt by water was not fulfilled.
In 1846, the Perm Steamship Partnership was formed in Perm. This fact became significant because this steamship partnership built the Perm steamship, and an announcement was made about the opening of regular service down the Kama. Subsequently, the formation of shipping companies only gained momentum. Not a single year passed without a new shipping company or company appearing on the Kama. At the end of the 40s. XIX century opened their own shipping companies - I.S. Kolchin and P.A. Savage.
Soon, following the towing shipping company, in 1858 a passenger service was opened between Perm and Nizhny Novgorod, and in 1860 upstream the Kama - from Perm to Usolye. But it was difficult to find passengers on these ships. There was a belief that it was a sin to sail on such a “fiery self-propelled vehicle.” They didn't even agree for free. One of the first passengers to return to Sarapul in 1858 from a pilgrimage trip to Kyiv was the Sarapul merchant D.G. Izhboldin and tradesman V.I. Smagin. They traveled on the ship of the Caucasus and Mercury company.
By the way, the first passenger ships were not particularly comfortable. Up until the 70s. In the 19th century, steamships were built without a second deck. All cabins of both first and second classes were located in the building: one common for men and the second for women. The cabins were heated with iron stoves and lit with candles. It was more difficult for third class passengers - the ships did not provide any amenities for them. Passengers were accommodated on the open deck both in the summer heat and in the pouring rain. But perhaps the most significant inconvenience was the sparks, soot and small pieces of coal flying out of the chimney, burning through the hats and dresses of passengers. And only starting from the navigation of 1856, iron roofs began to be used on passenger ships, and at first they tried to cover the sides of steamships with canvas curtains, and later to block them with slats.
Constant competition between the owners of shipping companies and shipowners led to the improvement of the fleet, and, consequently, the creation of comfortable conditions for passengers. Over time, the wooden hulls of steamships were replaced by iron ones; firewood, used as fuel and previously loaded at almost every pier, was replaced by fuel oil. The total capacity of such ships was already about 80-100 passengers.
KAMA - NIZHNEKAMSKY - CHISTOPOLSKY AREAS
More and more large three-story steamships, illuminated by electricity, sailed along the Kama. These giants already offered their passengers the maximum possible range of services and necessary comfort at that time. Premises of classes I, II and III were heated with steam during the cold season. The most comfortable cabins of classes I and II, in addition to common rooms, also had separate single, double and triple cabins. Class IV, which appeared on passenger ships, provided accommodation for workers traveling on artel tickets. First class passengers were offered a piano as a service, which passengers could use from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The new ships already had baths and showers.
The buffets of steamships of that time are worthy of special attention. Typically, passengers were offered a 2, 3 or 4 course lunch with a choice of seven dishes from the daily lunch menu (including: 2 hot, 1 sauce, 2 fries and 2 cakes). And the menu was capable of surprising the most sophisticated gourmet. No less interesting is the fact that passengers who brought their own drinks to the buffet were charged...for each cork. And quite significant. Thus, passengers paid 2 rubles for a cork of foreign champagne, 1 ruble for Russian champagne, and 50 kopecks for a bottle of vodka. And this is at a cost of 1 ruble for a set lunch of 4 courses with a cup of coffee. 10 kopecks They also paid a fee to the buffet for playing cards with their own deck. This pleasure cost 40 kopecks.
KAMA - PERM REGION
Kama River
But all this did not mean that all the efforts of shipping companies were now aimed at developing only passenger traffic. Rafting of goods, especially timber, remained an important type of transportation. They tried to float round timber on rafts, and other types of timber (timber, boards, etc.) were transported on ships (belyans, nasads, barges).
Marinas were part of the entire shipping life of the Kama River. As on other rivers, they were simultaneously intended to serve river transport, and sometimes became centers of trade and fishing areas. There were both small marinas, which operated, as a rule, in the spring, and large marinas, which had multi-million dollar turnover. Over the long winter period, such piers accumulated a significant amount of goods intended to be sent with the beginning of navigation to Nizhny Novgorod, Rybinsk, Yekaterinburg and Siberia.
This was the Sarapul pier.
...They talked a lot about her, more often they scolded her. They were scolded for the dirt, lack of infrastructure and inattention of the city society to the needs of a large navigable river, which actually did not distinguish Sarapul from a number of other similar port cities.
Closer to the bank of the Kama there were wooden storage sheds, stone warehouses and shops, canvas tents, taverns, rows of fish and other food. In the summer, the fair was noisy, hawkers were scurrying around, a carousel with wooden horses was spinning, which delighted the local children. Here, on the pier, sailors and passengers stocked up on black bread produced in Sarapul, which has rightfully earned itself the reputation of being the best in this region, and made quite well open letters with views of the city and its surroundings. The Sarapul public flocked here as the ship approached.
The plan of the pier itself was approved by the Kazan District Administration of Communications in 1847. However, back in 1816, the documents of the range keeper Mungalov stated that the pier in Sarapul not only existed, but had the largest cargo turnover of all the piers included in the distance. Consequently, the pier existed before.
WINTER ON THE KAMA RIVER
According to the approved plan, the pier was located above the Yurmanka River, opposite the Opolzino settlement. Previously, on the site of the settlement, there were residential huts of fishermen, barge haulers, and longshoremen - all those whose lives were closely connected with the river. Here, almost right next to the water, there are also private piers (berths) with offices of shipowners and agents of shipping companies. Thus, forty fathoms of shore were allocated to each private pier. The Kamensky Brothers shipping company located its representative offices here. Joint-Stock Company"Lyubimov and Co" and others. A little below the Yurmanka River there were four public berths and city transportation.
Throughout the history of the pier, the topic of its improvement was the most important. In 1872, the Sarapul district police officer, Mr. Volkovich, addressing the City Duma, wrote: “The passage of the pier is cluttered, clogged, not leveled and not paved, the impassable dirt along the cluttered road and the stench unpleasantly affects every passenger who sets foot on the city land of Sarapul...”
And it will not be difficult for the respected reader to imagine all the dirt and disorder that characterized the city pier. Shipowners and merchants, who received significant capital from cargo transportation, were nevertheless in no hurry to invest in the improvement of the very pier on which they were so dependent. Until, finally, in 1878, the City Duma decided to “level the entrances and fill them with gravel and sand, and build two-board sidewalks for pedestrians.” From that moment on, at least its relative improvement began. Already in the 1890s. The entrances to the pier were partially paved with stones and the banks from the Yurmanka River to the carriage were strengthened with piles.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
SOURCE OF MATERIAL AND PHOTO:
Nomadic Archives
Wikipedia website
http://www.geocaching.su/
http://www.uraltravel.com/
http://nordural.ru/article/reka_kama/
http://clubs.ya.ru/
http://www.trip-guide.ru/
http://www.legendy.net/
photo by Mikhail Plotnikov, Vladimir Prokoshin, Dmitry Shchukin.
http://club.foto.ru/
http://fotki.yandex.ru/
http://mozhga18.ru/
http://www.pronk.ru/photo/
http://images.esosedi.ru/panoramio/
"The origin of the name of the Kama River"
Introduction
Memory has a wonderful property. Carefully collecting grains of the past, she helps us get to know ourselves better, understand the origins of national character, feel the richness of the centuries-old culture of the people, and find out how it was formed. It is memory that helps us preserve priceless folk traditions, encrypted in everyday habits, various rituals, holidays, games, in language - in the entire spiritual culture of the region. Academician D.S. Likhachev quite rightly asserted: “Memory is overcoming time, overcoming death. In that greatest significance memory... “Unmemorable” is, first of all, a person who is ungrateful, irresponsible, and therefore, to some extent incapable of good, selfless deeds.” The roads of knowledge often lead to historical distances - without knowledge of the past it is impossible to pave the way to the future.
“Discovering” a word means not only penetrating its meaning, but also at the same time comprehending the world of its ancient brother. “Kama” is a non-Russian word. But whose? What is the meaning behind it? Here's what the researchers write. The name of the word “Kama” in its origin comes from the tribes that lived in ancient times in the Kama region. The Komi-Zyrians call the Kama “Kama-Yas” - “bright river”, the Udmurts - “Bujim-Kama” - “long, big river”, the Chuvash - “Zhord-Adyl”, the Cheremis - “Chelman-Vis”, the Tatars - “ Cholman-idel” and so on.
From the materials of the abstract you can find out the meaning of the word “Kama” translated from different languages.
1. Geographical information about Kama
Kama is a river in the European part of Russia, the left and most major influx Volga River.
It ranks 6th in terms of length in Europe. Its length is 1805 km, the basin area is 507 thousand km². It originates in the central part of the Verkhnekamsk Upland from four springs near the former village of Karpushata, now part of the village of Kuliga, Kezsky district Udmurt Republic. Through the territory of the Perm region it flows in an easterly direction, and then turns south. More than half of its path the Kama flows through our region. It flows mainly between the heights of the High Trans-Volga region along a wide, sometimes narrowing valley. In the upper reaches (from the source to the mouth of the Pilva River) the channel is unstable and winding, on the floodplain of an oxbow lake. After the confluence of the river, the Vishera becomes a high-water river; the banks change: the right one remains low and is predominantly meadow in nature, the left one almost everywhere becomes elevated and in places steep. There are many islands in this area, and there are shoals and rifts. Below the confluence of the Belaya River at the Kama, the right bank becomes high and the left bank low.
In the lower reaches of the Kama flows in a wide (up to 15 km) valley, the width of the channel is 450–1200 m; breaks into sleeves. Below the mouth of the Vyatka River, the river flows into the Kama Bay of the Kuibyshev Reservoir (the backwater from which sometimes reaches the mouth of the Belaya River).
There are 73,718 rivers in the Kama River basin, of which 94.5% are small rivers less than 10 km long. The main tributaries on the left are South Keltma, Vishera with Kolva, Chusovaya with Sylva, Belaya with Ufa, Ik, Zai; on the right - Kosa, Obva, Vyatka. All right tributaries of the Kama (Kosa, Urolka, Kondas, Inva, Obva) and part of the left ones (Veslyana, Lunya, Leman, South Keltma) are lowland rivers, flowing from the north. Mountainous, cold and swift rivers originate in Ural mountains and flow into the Kama River from the left (Vishera, Yayva, Kosva, Chusovaya and a number of their tributaries).
3 reservoirs and hydroelectric power stations have been created on the river: from the mouth of the Urolka River (996 km from the mouth of the Kama) the Kama Reservoir (Kama Hydroelectric Power Station) begins, immediately below it is the Votkinsk Reservoir (Votkinsk Hydroelectric Power Station), followed by the Nizhnekamsk Reservoir (Nizhnekamsk Hydroelectric Power Station).
Food is predominantly snow, as well as underground and rain; During the spring flood (March - June) more than 62.6% of the annual flow passes, in summer and autumn - 28.3%, in winter - 9.1%. The range of level fluctuations is up to 8 m in the upper reaches and 7 m in the lower reaches. The average consumption at the Kamskaya hydroelectric station is 1630 cubic meters. m/sec, at the Votkinsk hydroelectric station about 1750 cubic meters. m/sec, at the mouth about 3500 cubic meters. m/sec, the largest is about 27,500 cubic meters. m/sec. Freezing is accompanied by abundant formation of inland ice and ice drift for 10 to 20 days. Freeze-up occurs from early November in the upper reaches and late November in the lower reaches until April. Spring ice drift from 2–3 to 10–15 days. The creation of reservoirs improved navigation conditions. The Kama is navigable to the village of Kerchevsky (966 km) - the largest raft roadstead, and in high water - another 600 km. Navigable depths on the lower Kama are maintained by dredging.
Main ports and marinas: Solikamsk, Berezniki, Levshino, Perm, Krasnokamsk, Tchaikovsky, Sarapul, Kambarka, Naberezhnye Chelny, Chistopol. From Perm there are regular passenger flights to Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Astrakhan and Ufa. The picturesque banks of the Kama attract a large number of tourists.
The river is inhabited by sterlet, sturgeon, bream, carp, crucian carp, asp, silver bream, ide, chub, bleak, pike perch, perch, ruff, pike, burbot, catfish, etc. In the upper reaches (and in places in tributaries) taimen and grayling are found. Aquatic vegetation is well developed, especially in numerous bays and backwaters.
Kama river origin tributary
2. Origin of the word “Kama”
Many languages of the world have the word “Kama”. For each nation it has its own meaning. It is known for certain that “Kama” is a non-Russian word. Let's try to analyze different points of view on the origin of this word and its connection with the name of a large European river.
The origin of the name Kama is lost in the same unimaginable depths of human history, when peoples and their languages were united. Kama – in a number of Finno-Ugric languages means “river”. With the same meaning, but in a slightly different vocalization - by whom, known whole line hydronyms and toponyms on the territory of Eurasia. For example, there is a river called Kem in Karelia and Eastern Siberia. The Kema River flows into the protected Beloozero in the Vologda region. But with exactly the same “river” meaning, this root base is used by the Chinese and Mongols. Tuvans and Khakassians also call the Yenisei - Kem. In Altai, Ak-Kem (“White Water”) is a tributary of the Katun, and in the vicinity of the sacred Belukha Mountain - the whole complex with the same name: two lakes, a melting glacier, a pass...
Similar hydronyms are found in Central Asia and Europe. At the same time, linguists claim that the root “kem” is of Indo-European origin. In this case, the name of the Ural Kama not only accidentally coincides with the name of the ancient Indian god of love Kama (after whom the treatise “Kama Sutra” is named), but also certainly has common source origin. One cannot help but remember Kamchatka...
Moving mentally in the footsteps of the ancient Indo-Europeans to Europe, we find similar place names here too: Cambridge (“City on the River”, and this river is called Cam) - in England; Quimper (from the Old Breton name meaning "Confluence of Rivers") - in France; Kemeri is an ancient settlement (and now a famous resort) on the site healing spring in Latvia. It is no coincidence, apparently, that one of the self-names of the ancient Egyptians - Kemi - is associated with the flood of the Nile. But that's not all. It is known that in ancient times a shaman in Rus' was called kam. The word was borrowed from the Polovtsians, who professed shamanism. Hence the word kamlanie, which has survived to this day - a ritual action of a shaman. Perhaps the ancient Aryan god of love Kama was once a shaman?
Humanity has compiled myths, fairy tales, and legends about the origin of the names of many geographical objects. The legend of the Komi-Permyak people is interesting.
About the origin of the main water artery Perm region - Kama River legend says that once it rained all summer and there was not a single sunny day. The rivers all overflowed, their banks collapsed, and the earth became liquid. People, animals and beasts fled to the high mountains. Only Kama the hero (mythological hero of the Komi-Permyak) people could move through the area flooded with water. He walked around all the surroundings and discovered that the flow of the rivers was blocked by a mountain that had collapsed from erosion. The hero lassoed a huge stone and dragged it through the dam, plowing the ground like a plow. A new channel was formed, water poured into it and a new river appeared - the mighty Kama, named after the hero.
The word “Kama” is also found in the ancient Indian language and means “love”. In ancient times, there were huge connections between the Kama region and Iran and India. Perhaps the word “Kama” was brought from there.
Kama, the most significant river in the Urals, a left tributary of the Volga. It was first mentioned in Russian chronicles in 1220. There are many explanations, and among them, for example, Kama is from the Old Russian “kama” - “stone”.
From the Zyryan-Permyak language it is translated as “fell strongly,” that is, “water that has a strong fall” (originally Kamva). But the Kama River is flat. Therefore, this assumption can be considered absurd.
It is no better to assume that Kama from the Udmurt “kam” means “long”, “long”, if only because in Udmurt “long”, “long” is not “kam”, but “kema”.
IN mid-19th century, the opinion was expressed that Kama was of the same origin as “Kommu” - “Komi Country”. This version was later repeated by many, but Professor V.I. Lytkin proved that the word “Komi” is related to the Mansi “hum”, “kum”, that is, “man” and has nothing in common with the hydronym Kama.
There are several other possible ways to explain this word. The Kama, like the Volga, is called by the Turkic peoples Idel - “river”, and since the names of large rivers often simply mean “River”, it may be that precisely this meaning is hidden in the toponym Kama. Then the name Kama is very ancient and is associated with some unknown language. The name of the Kama River also has the following interpretations: “Kama” is derived from the Udmurt word “kam”, which means “water”. According to another version, the name Kama is based on the Ob-Ugric (Khanty) “kam” - “transparent”, “pure”, that is, Kama - “Pure”.
The reasoning of Academician N. Marr is close in meaning. He suggested that the river was called ancient tribe who inhabited its shores. And translated into Russian, Kama means “white, bright, long and big river.”
The river's drainage basin is larger than the area of any European country except France, and in terms of its length, the Kama ranks seventh in Europe, behind the Volga and Danube, the Dnieper and Don, Pechora and the Urals. The number of tributaries of the river is more than 70 thousand.
Kama is main river Perm region, its symbol and pride. Residents of the Western Urals call it Pebble and the beauty, the blue road of the Kama region. The river is a transport artery, a source of water and energy, fish and good mood.
Kama is more ancient river than the Volga: even before ice age it flowed into the Caspian Sea, and the Volga was then a tributary of the Don.
On the banks of the river there are such big cities like Solikamsk and Berezniki, Perm and Krasnokamsk, Tchaikovsky and Sarapul, Nizhnekamsk and Naberezhnye Chelny.
There are still disputes about whether the Kama flows into the Volga or vice versa. The Kama arose earlier than the Volga, its source is located much higher and it reaches significantly larger number tributaries All these factors indicate that the Volga flows into the Kama. But there is a folk memory, because the development of Russian lands came from the Volga and it is this that is primary for the Russian people.
Name
There are several versions of the origin of the name of the river:
- In some languages, including Udmurt, the word “kam” or “kama” is translated as “river” or “water”
- According to another version, the name of the river comes from the name of a mythological character - the hero Kam, who, according to legend, saved humanity from the flood by breaking a canal in the ground. The hero dragged a huge stone on a strong rope, leaving behind a deep furrow through which the water drained.
It should be noted that the name of the river is not unique: there is also a river with the same name in the Sverdlovsk, Tyumen and Novosibirsk regions.
Main characteristics
- The length of the river is 1805 km, of which 1600 km are navigable. The channel is winding, this is evidenced by this figure - in a straight line, the distance from the source to the mouth is only 450 km
- The height above sea level at the source is 331 meters, at the mouth - 36 meters, the average slope of the river is 0.1%
- The width of the river is 450 – 1200 meters.
Source of the Kama
The source of the river is located near the village of Karpushata, where two streams merge - Kamsky and Bystrushka. The Kama spring gushes out from under the roots of old birch trees; a wooden frame with a gable plank roof was built in this place and water was drained through a pipe. A small babbling stream runs and meets its sister - the Bystrushka River. Having united, they give rise to the river.
Bed of the Kama
On its way from source to mouth, the river changes its direction several times, meanders and looks on the map like a question mark.
In the upper reaches its channel is winding, and the banks are low-lying and swampy. In many places they are covered with taiga spruce-pine and spruce-fir forests. In the area of the village of Gayny, the width already reaches 200 meters, and after the Vishera flows into it, the river becomes truly full-flowing.
The banks are flat, only occasionally there are hills; below the mouth of the Vishera, the river is already experiencing backwater from the Kama Reservoir.
The Kama, Votkinsk and Nizhnekamsk hydroelectric complexes are part of the Kama cascade of hydroelectric power stations.
Kama hydroelectric complex
The Kama hydroelectric complex is the oldest part of the hydro cascade. The decision to build it was made back in 1933, but in 1937 construction was suspended and resumed only after the Great Patriotic War.
The launch of the first hydroelectric complex took place on September 18, 1954, then it was the most large hydroelectric power station in the Ural region. The hydraulic system includes a reinforced concrete spillway dam, earthen dams, and a navigable double-line lock.
Kama Reservoir
Residents of the Kama region often lovingly call the Kama Reservoir the Kama Sea.
- Its area is 1915 sq. km
- At the confluence of the Obva and Kosva rivers with the Kama, the distance between the opposite banks reaches 27 kilometers
- The maximum depth of the reservoir is observed next to the dam and is 30 meters.
The reservoir was formed in 1954, when a dam was built in the Perm region, raising the water level by 22 meters. The large rivers of the Perm region Yayva and Inva, Kosva and Obva, Chusovaya and Sylva flow into the reservoir, and many of them form long bays.
Votkinskaya HPP
Later, in 1955 - 1963, the Votkinsk hydroelectric complex was built; it is located near the city of Tchaikovsky in the Perm region and includes a hydroelectric power station building with 10 hydraulic units, a concrete and earthen spillway dam, as well as a navigable two-line single-chamber lock.
During the construction of the hydroelectric complex, the working settlement of Tchaikovsky appeared on the left bank of the Kama, named after the composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, who was born in the Udmurt city of Votkinsk, located 37 km from the settlement. In 1962, the village of Tchaikovsky received city status.
The Votkinsk reservoir stretches across the area from Perm to Tchaikovsky, its backwater reaches the Kama hydroelectric complex.
Nizhnekamsk HPP
The Nizhnekamsk hydroelectric complex is located above the mouth of the Vyatka River, in the Republic of Tatarstan, near the city of Nizhnekamsk. The first unit was launched in 1979. The hydroelectric complex includes a combined hydroelectric power station building, an earthen dam and a two-line single-chamber sluice.
There is a railway crossing across the dam and the M-7 federal highway passes through. Currently, the water level in the reservoir is at 63.3 meters, with a design level of 68 meters.
The creation of reservoirs has improved navigation conditions on the Kama and its tributaries and provides reliable water supply to cities and settlements in nearby regions and republics.
Fishing on the Kama
The Kama is rich in many species of fish; the river is home to sterlet and sturgeon, carp and crucian carp, asp and bream, ide and pike perch, perch and pike, catfish and burbot, ruffe and other types of fish. At the mouths of the tributaries, as well as in the upper reaches of the river, grayling and taimen live. But the best places for fishing are located in the upper reaches, since below Solikamsk great amount industrial enterprises and the environmental situation in the middle and lower reaches of the Kama River is unfavorable.
Kama and northern rivers
From the 18th to the end of the 20th century, the Russian authorities raised the issue of connecting the Kama with the rivers of the northern basin.
Back in 1721, Vasily Tatishchev developed a project for a canal connecting Northern and Southern Keltma with the Kama. The idea was embodied in the construction of the North Catherine Canal, which took 35 years to build and was opened in 1822. The canal connected the Dzhurich River, a tributary of the South Keltma, which, in turn, is a tributary of the Kama, and the Northern Keltma River, a tributary of the Vychegda, a tributary of the Northern Dvina.
It should be noted that local residents, the Komi-Zyryans prevented the normal movement of ships along the canal. They planted it with willow trees and threw logs into the water so that the rafters would turn to the “natives” for help, and they would willingly help them, of course, for a fee.
The North Catherine Canal served only 16 years and was officially closed in 1838 due to the loss economic significance and technical wear and tear. Despite this, local residents used it until the 1920s, when it was completely abandoned and became shallow.
During Soviet times, the issue of connecting the Kama with the northern rivers was again raised several times, which was caused by a lack of water in the Volga-Kama basin. This problem arose especially acutely after the construction of reservoirs, from the area of which more than 11 cubic kilometers of water evaporate.
Located on the territory of Tatarstan National Park“Lower Kama”, on the territory of which excursions are organized, including the routes “Krasnaya Gorka” and “Shishkinsky Territory”, “Antiquities of the Kama Region” and “Holy Spring”, as well as water trips along the rivers Toima, Kama and Kriusha.
“Discovering” a word means not only penetrating its meaning, but also at the same time comprehending the world of its ancient brother. “Kama” is a non-Russian word. But whose? What is the meaning behind it? Here's what the researchers write. The name of the word “Kama” in its origin comes from the tribes that lived in ancient times in the Kama region. The Komi-Zyrians call the Kama “Kama-Yas” - “bright river”, the Udmurts - “Bujim-Kama” - “long, big river”, the Chuvash - “Zhord-Adyl”, the Cheremis - “Chelman-Vis”, the Tatars - “ Cholman-idel” and so on.
Geographical information about Kama
The Kama is a river in the European part of Russia, the left and largest tributary of the Volga River.
It ranks 6th in terms of length in Europe. Its length is 1805 km, the basin area is 507 thousand km². It originates in the central part of the Verkhnekamsk Upland from four springs near the former village of Karpushata, now part of the village of Kuliga, Kezsky district of the Udmurt Republic. Through the territory of the Perm region it flows in an easterly direction, and then turns south. More than half of its path the Kama flows through our region. It flows mainly between the heights of the High Trans-Volga region along a wide, sometimes narrowing valley. In the upper reaches (from the source to the mouth of the Pilva River) the channel is unstable and winding, on the floodplain of an oxbow lake. After the confluence of the river, the Vishera becomes a high-water river; the banks change: the right one remains low and is predominantly meadow in nature, the left one almost everywhere becomes elevated and in places steep. There are many islands in this area, and there are shoals and rifts. Below the confluence of the Belaya River at the Kama, the right bank becomes high and the left bank low.
Photo active tours
In the lower reaches of the Kama flows in a wide (up to 15 km) valley, the width of the channel is 450–1200 m; breaks into sleeves. Below the mouth of the Vyatka River, the river flows into the Kama Bay of the Kuibyshev Reservoir (the backwater from which sometimes reaches the mouth of the Belaya River).
There are 73,718 rivers in the Kama River basin, of which 94.5% are small rivers less than 10 km long. The main tributaries on the left are South Keltma, Vishera with Kolva, Chusovaya with Sylva, Belaya with Ufa, Ik, Zai; on the right - Kosa, Obva, Vyatka. All the right tributaries of the Kama (Kosa, Urolka, Kondas, Inva, Obva) and some of the left ones (Veslyana, Lunya, Leman, South Keltma) are lowland rivers flowing from the north. Mountain, cold and fast-moving rivers originate in the Ural Mountains and flow into the Kama River from the left (Vishera, Yaiva, Kosva, Chusovaya and a number of their tributaries).
3 reservoirs and hydroelectric power stations have been created on the river: from the mouth of the Urolka River (996 km from the mouth of the Kama) the Kama Reservoir (Kama Hydroelectric Power Station) begins, immediately below it is the Votkinsk Reservoir (Votkinsk Hydroelectric Power Station), followed by the Nizhnekamsk Reservoir (Nizhnekamsk Hydroelectric Power Station).
Food is predominantly snow, as well as underground and rain; During the spring flood (March - June) more than 62.6% of the annual flow passes, in summer and autumn - 28.3%, in winter - 9.1%. The range of level fluctuations is up to 8 m in the upper reaches and 7 m in the lower reaches. The average consumption at the Kamskaya hydroelectric station is 1630 cubic meters. m/sec, at the Votkinsk hydroelectric station about 1750 cubic meters. m/sec, at the mouth about 3500 cubic meters. m/sec, the largest is about 27,500 cubic meters. m/sec. Freezing is accompanied by abundant formation of inland ice and ice drift for 10 to 20 days. Freeze-up occurs from early November in the upper reaches and late November in the lower reaches until April. Spring ice drift from 2–3 to 10–15 days. The creation of reservoirs improved navigation conditions. The Kama is navigable to the village of Kerchevsky (966 km) - the largest raft roadstead, and in high water - another 600 km. Navigable depths on the lower Kama are maintained by dredging.
Main ports and marinas: Solikamsk, Berezniki, Levshino, Perm, Krasnokamsk, Tchaikovsky, Sarapul, Kambarka, Naberezhnye Chelny, Chistopol. From Perm there are regular passenger flights to Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Astrakhan and Ufa. The picturesque banks of the Kama attract a large number of tourists.
The river is inhabited by sterlet, sturgeon, bream, carp, crucian carp, asp, silver bream, ide, chub, bleak, pike perch, perch, ruff, pike, burbot, catfish, etc. In the upper reaches (and in places in tributaries) taimen and grayling are found. Aquatic vegetation is well developed, especially in numerous bays and backwaters.
Origin of the word "Kama"
Many languages of the world have the word “Kama”. For each nation it has its own meaning. It is known for certain that “Kama” is a non-Russian word. Let's try to analyze different points of view on the origin of this word and its connection with the name of a large European river.
The origin of the name Kama is lost in the same unimaginable depths of human history, when peoples and their languages were united. Kama – in a number of Finno-Ugric languages means “river”. With the same meaning, but in a slightly different vocalization - kem, a whole series of hydronyms and toponyms are known on the territory of Eurasia. For example, there is a river named Kem in Karelia and Eastern Siberia. The Kema River flows into the protected Beloozero in the Vologda region. But with exactly the same “river” meaning, this root base is used by the Chinese and Mongols. Tuvans and Khakassians also call the Yenisei - Kem. In Altai, Ak-Kem (“White Water”) is a tributary of the Katun, and in the vicinity of the sacred Belukha Mountain there is a whole complex with the same name: two lakes, a melting glacier, a pass...
Similar hydronyms are found in Central Asia and Europe. At the same time, linguists claim that the root “kem” is of Indo-European origin. In this case, the name of the Ural Kama not only accidentally coincides with the name of the ancient Indian god of love Kama (after whom the treatise “Kama Sutra” is named), but also certainly has a common source of origin. One cannot help but remember Kamchatka...
Moving mentally in the footsteps of the ancient Indo-Europeans to Europe, we find similar place names here too: Cambridge (“City on the River”, and this river is called Cam) - in England; Quimper (from the Old Breton name meaning "Confluence of Rivers") - in France; Kemeri is an ancient settlement (and now a famous resort) on the site of a healing spring in Latvia. It is no coincidence, apparently, that one of the self-names of the ancient Egyptians - Kemi - is associated with the flood of the Nile. But that's not all. It is known that in ancient times a shaman in Rus' was called kam. The word was borrowed from the Polovtsians, who professed shamanism. Hence the word kamlanie, which has survived to this day - a ritual action of a shaman. Perhaps the ancient Aryan god of love Kama was once a shaman?
Humanity has compiled myths, fairy tales, and legends about the origin of the names of many geographical objects. The legend of the Komi-Permyak people is interesting.
About the origin of the main water artery of the Perm region - the Kama River, the legend says that once it rained all summer and there was not a single sunny day. The rivers all overflowed, their banks collapsed, and the earth became liquid. People, animals and beasts fled to the high mountains. Only Kama the hero (mythological hero of the Komi-Permyak) people could move through the area flooded with water. He walked around all the surroundings and discovered that the flow of the rivers was blocked by a mountain that had collapsed from erosion. The hero lassoed a huge stone and dragged it through the dam, plowing the ground like a plow. A new channel was formed, water poured into it and a new river appeared - the mighty Kama, named after the hero.
The word “Kama” is also found in the ancient Indian language and means “love”. In ancient times, there were huge connections between the Kama region and Iran and India. Perhaps the word “Kama” was brought from there.
Kama, the most significant river in the Urals, a left tributary of the Volga. It was first mentioned in Russian chronicles in 1220. There are many explanations, and among them, for example, Kama is from the Old Russian “kama” - “stone”.
From the Zyryan-Permyak language it is translated as “fell strongly,” that is, “water that has a strong fall” (originally Kamva). But the Kama River is flat. Therefore, this assumption can be considered absurd.
It is no better to assume that Kama from the Udmurt “kam” means “long”, “long”, if only because in Udmurt “long”, “long” is not “kam”, but “kema”.
In the middle of the 19th century, the opinion was expressed that Kama was of the same origin as “Kommu” - “Komi Country”. This version was later repeated by many, but Professor V.I. Lytkin proved that the word “Komi” is related to the Mansi “hum”, “kum”, that is, “man” and has nothing in common with the hydronym Kama.
There are several other possible ways to explain this word. The Kama, like the Volga, is called by the Turkic peoples Idel - “river”, and since the names of large rivers often simply mean “River”, it may be that precisely this meaning is hidden in the toponym Kama. Then the name Kama is very ancient and is associated with some unknown language. The name of the Kama River also has the following interpretations: “Kama” is derived from the Udmurt word “kam”, which means “water”. According to another version, the name Kama is based on the Ob-Ugric (Khanty) “kam” - “transparent”, “pure”, that is, Kama - “Pure”.
The reasoning of Academician N. Marr is close in meaning. He suggested that the river bore the name of the ancient tribe that inhabited its banks. And translated into Russian, Kama means “white, bright, long and big river.”
Translated from Bulgarian “Kama” means “love”. But such an interpretation is unlikely to be connected with the name of the river.
Such reasoning cannot be ignored. Kama (German, singular Kamm, literally - ridge) - hills and ridges in areas of anthropogenic continental glaciation. They are found singly and in groups, mainly in the north-west of the European part of Russia (Karelia, Baltic states, Leningrad region). Height from 2–5 to 20–30 m. Composed of sands with lenses and interlayers of clays with inclusions of individual boulders and their clusters. It is characterized by enveloping layering, approximately following the contour of the transverse profile of the Kama River; the top is often covered with loams, often with boulders. The question of the origin of Kama is not entirely clear. According to one of the most common hypotheses, the Kama arose as a result of the accumulating activity of streams that circulated on the surface, inside and in the bottom part of large blocks of dead ice during the period of glacier degradation. Glaciers played an important role in soil formation and the formation of the relief of the Perm region. Therefore, the origin of the word “Kama” from the German “Kama” is quite plausible.
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