Which river is faster, the Yenisei or the Volga. What is the largest and longest river in Russia? The Volga River is the largest river system in Europe

There is a lot of water in Russia - across its vast territory, which occupies one seventh of the land, flow more than two and a half million rivers. Most of them are known and loved only by those who live (or vacation) on their shores. However, more interesting and important are rivers of a completely different order - giant water arteries 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 populated unevenly in different periods of time. And therefore, along its course, the river could change its name several times. Sometimes it happened that the supposed tributary of the “main” river turned out to be longer and fuller than the river itself. Therefore, in order to avoid confusion, for the ranking of the longest rivers in Russia, we chose only those that flow under the same name from source to mouth.

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

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

9. Ishim – 2450 km

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

8. Vilyui – 2650 km

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

Near one of the tributaries of the Vilyui there is a place of pilgrimage for ufologists, lovingly nicknamed by old-timers the “Valley of Death”. According to rumors, there are huge mysterious objects there, similar to cauldrons, measuring from six to nine meters in diameter, and made of an unknown metal.

7. Amur – 2824 km

“The clouds are gloomy over the Amur,” says an old Soviet song. It is on this river, separating the lands of the then USSR, and present-day Russia, from China that three tank crews, the heroes of the song, serve.

The very name of the river speaks about its size - “Amur” comes from the word “damur”, which means in the language local residents, Manchu, literally "big river". It begins in the steppes of Mongolia and flows into the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. The Amur is exceptionally rich in fish - it is home to up to 139 various types fish 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 into which it flows - the Yenisei. Although in summer months the river is full (water flow reaches 31 thousand m3/s), but in winter it barely gains a quarter of this amount. The reason is permafrost; frozen underground springs 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 move to the Yenisei itself. The river separates Eastern Siberia from Western. The beginning of the Yenisei, the confluence of two tributaries, is located near the city of Kyzyl, the capital of Tuva. And it flows several thousand kilometers to the north, into the Kara Sea, forming an entire bay named after it.

Throughout the Yenisei there are many cities, several hydroelectric power stations and a number of reservoirs. Also on the banks of the Yenisei there are several the most beautiful reserves Russia - such as the Krasnoyarsk “Pillars” and the Sayano-Shushensky nature reserve.

4. Volga – 3531 km

The longest river in Europe is without a doubt worthy of the title “mother”. Since ancient times, Slavs and peoples who would later become part of Russia settled on its banks. The Volga was first mentioned in his Notes by the ancient geographer Herodotus. In the Middle Ages and Modern times she served 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 stations on the Volga provided industrial enterprises young state with electricity.

The Volga begins with a modest, unremarkable spring, flowing on the Valdai Hills, 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 its size and full flow (during the flood period the Ob can overflow up to 30 km in width), most The Ob spends most of the year under ice. Along the entire length of the river there are many cities, including such large ones as Novosibirsk. The Ob flows into the gulf named after itself in the Kara Sea.

2. Irtysh – 4248 km

If the development of Siberia had gone a different way, the Irtysh would have been in first place in the ranking. 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 originates in China, where the Chinese take almost a third of the flow for their own needs, then flows through the territory of Kazakhstan, where the river is already so large that ships can navigate it.

The Irtysh feeds both industrial and agricultural enterprises of Kazakhstan and provides water to the country's capital, 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 is Lena (4400 km)

In the Yakut language, the name of Lena sounds like “ big river" The longest river in Russia stretches 4,400 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 virtually deserted areas. Like other rivers in conditions permafrost, Lena “feeds” almost entirely 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 a short 4-5 days. warm months. Although the navigation period is short, cargo is rafted along the Lena, cruises take place, people go boating, go on river trips and visit attractions. One of the most famous is the Shishkinsky Rocks, where the work of ancient people has survived to this day.

List of largest rivers in Russia

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

№	Name	Length, km	In Russia, km	Flows into
1	Yenisei – Angara – Baikal – Selenga – Ider	5550	4460
2	Ob – Irtysh	5410	3050	Ob Bay, Kara Sea
3	Amur – Argun – Kerulen	5052	4133
4	Lena – Vitim – Vitimkan	4692	4692	Laptev sea
5	Ob – Chulym – Bely Iyus	4565	4565	Ob Bay, Kara Sea
6	Amur – Argun – Hailar	4444	4133	Amur Estuary, Sea of ​​Okhotsk
7	Lena	4400	4400	Laptev sea
8	Ob – Katun	4338	4338	Ob Bay, Kara Sea
9	Yenisei – Small Yenisei (Kaa-Khem)	4287	3930	Yenisei Bay, Kara Sea
10	Cupid – Shilka – Onon	4279	3981	Amur Estuary, Sea of ​​Okhotsk
11		4248	1900
12	Yenisei – Big Yenisei (Biy-Khem)	4123	4123	Yenisei Bay, Kara Sea
13	Volga – Oka	3731	3731	Caspian Sea
14	Ob itself	3650	3650	Ob Bay, Kara Sea
15	Volga – Kama	3560	3560	Caspian Sea
16	Volga	3531	3531	Caspian Sea
17	Yenisei itself	3487	3487	Yenisei Bay, Kara Sea
18		2989	2989
19	Cupid actually	2824	2824	Amur Estuary, Sea of ​​Okhotsk
20		2650	2650	R. Lena
21	Kolyma – Kullu	2513	2513	East-Siberian Sea
22		2450	800
23	Ural	2422	1550	Caspian Sea
24	Olenyok	2292	2292	Olenyok Bay, Laptev Sea
25	Aldan	2273	2273	R. Lena
26	Dnieper	2201	485	Black Sea
27	Kolyma	2129	2129	East-Siberian Sea
28	Vitim – Vitimkan	1978	1978	R. Lena
29	Indigirka – Khastakh	1977	1977	East-Siberian Sea
30	Don - Voronezh - Polnoy Voronezh	1923	1923
31	Don	1870	1870	Taganrog Bay, Sea of ​​Azov
32	Podkamennaya Tunguska	1865	1865
33	Vitim	1837	1837	R. Lena
34	Pechora	1809	1809	Pechora Bay, Pechora Sea, Barents Sea
35	Kama	1805	1805	Volga river
36	Northern Dvina– Vychegda	1803	1803	Dvina Bay, White Sea
37	Chulym	1799	1799
38	Angara	1779	1779
39	Indigirka	1726	1726	East-Siberian Sea
40	Northern Dvina – Sukhona – Kubenskoye Lake – Kubena	1683	1683	Dvina Bay, White Sea
41	Khatanga – Kotui	1636	1636	Khatanga Bay, Laptev Sea
42	Ket	1621	1621
43	Argun – Hailar	1620	1487
44	Tobol	1591	1090
45	Alazeya	1590	1590	East-Siberian Sea
46	Oka	1500	1500	R. Volga
47	Yana – Sartang	1492	1492	Laptev sea
48	Amga	1462	1462	R. Lena
49	Olekma	1436	1436	R. Lena
50	Selenga – Ider	1433	409	Lake Baikal
51	White	1430	1430	Nizhnekamsk reservoir, Kama
52	Pelvis	1401	1401	Tazovskaya Bay, Kara Sea
53	Tavda – Lozva	1356	1356	R. Tobol
54	Northern Dvina – South	1318	1318	Dvina Bay, White Sea
55	Vyatka	1314	1314	R. Kama
56	Zeya	1242	1242
57	Taseeva – Uda (Chuna)	1240	1240	R. Angara
58	Uda (Chuna)	1203	1203	R. Taseeva
59	Markha	1181	1181
60	Demyanka	1160	1160
61	Omolon	1150	1150	R. Kolyma
62	Anadyr	1150	1150	Anadyr Bay, Bering Sea
63	Vychegda	1130	1130	R. Northern Dvina
64	Gum	1130	555	R. Dnieper
65	Conda	1097	1097
66	Om	1091	1091
67	Vasyugan	1082	1082
68	May	1053	1053	R. Aldan
69	Seversky Donets	1053	335	R. Don
70	Onon	1032	734	R. Shilka
71	Tura	1030	1030	R. Tobol
72	Pur – Pyakupur	1024	1024	Tazovskaya Bay, Kara Sea
73	Western Dvina (Daugava)	1020	325	Gulf of Riga, Baltic Sea
74	Biryusa (She)	1012	1012	R. Taseeva
75	Khoper	1010	1010	R. Don

“...No offense to jealous admirers of the Volga, in my life I have not seen a river more magnificent than the Yenisei. The Volga may be an elegant, modest, sad beauty, but the Yenisei is a mighty, frantic hero who does not know what to do with his strength and youth.” This is how Anton Pavlovich Chekhov wrote about the great Siberian river.

There is perhaps no river on Earth whose banks are so diverse! Here are the snow-capped Sayan ridges, and the steppes of the Minusinsk Basin, and the endless Turukhansk swamps, and the wooded hills of the Yenisei Ridge, the bizarre rocks of the Krasnoyarsk Pillars and the black basalt cliffs of the Putorana polar plateau, the Taimyr tundra and pine forests Angara region...

And how beautiful and different the tributaries of the Yenisei are! Each of them is remembered for something special, unique to him: the calm, leisurely Lower Tunguska and the furious Big Pete, the taiga beauty Mana and the gloomy swampy Kae, the mighty Angara and the fast rapids Khamsara.

The Yenisei is the most abundant river in Russia. It carries six hundred cubic kilometers of water per year into the Kara Sea. This is three times more than the flow of the Volga, and more than all the rivers of European Russia carry into the sea.

So it is no coincidence that the Yenisei is called the brother of the ocean - it is so long and powerful, so swift. Flowing almost strictly along the meridian from south to north, the Yenisei divides Siberia approximately in half

In the upper reaches, the river is surrounded on all sides by mountains, and in the middle and lower reaches its bed serves as the border between low-lying Western Siberia and the Central Siberian Plateau. The source of the Yenisei is considered to be Lake Kara-Balyk in Sayan mountains. From here he rushes through rapids and rifts to the Tuva Basin. Here, in the intermountain depression, it merges with the Small Yenisei and forms the Yenisei proper.

The mighty river got its name from the Russian Cossacks. Kyzyl city is located exactly in the middle of the Asian part of the Eurasian continent. There is an obelisk with the inscription: “Center of Asia”. In the Tuva Basin, having briefly escaped from the mountains, the Yenisei temporarily calms down and breaks into many branches.

This place of the river is called p That's why "Forty Yeniseev". At the exit from the basin powerful river half a kilometer wide is forced to make its way through the Sayans again. The high rocky ridge of the Western Sayan leaves only one narrow gap for the Yenisei.

Now, at the exit from the mountains, a two-hundred-meter high Sayanskaya hydroelectric power station dam has been built, and the entire turbulent section of the upper Yenisei has become a reservoir. Below the dam, the river enters the Minusinsk Basin, where it is surrounded on both banks by the free Abakan steppes. The bed of the Yenisei branches again, islands appear, and the tributaries flowing in from the left and right continue to add water to the wide and deep stream.

Below the city of Abakan, the wide expanse of the reservoir begins again, this time at the Krasnoyarsk Hydroelectric Power Station, after which huge rocks of a bizarre appearance appear on the right bank, now peeking out from the green sea of ​​taiga, now approaching the very shore. These are famous Krasnoyarsk Pillars- one of the most interesting corners of Siberia.

Stolby is the last western outpost of Eastern Sayan. Having passed the mouth of the Kan, the Yenisei rushes north, collecting water from numerous new tributaries along the way and becoming a truly heroic waterway. Moreover, the main share in its “supply” comes from right tributaries. Of the nearly hundred rivers flowing from the east into the Yenisei, six are larger than the Oka.

The most powerful of these tributaries, the Angara flowing from Baikal, flowing into the Yenisei, immediately doubles the amount of water in the already powerful stream, sometimes spreading four kilometers wide. But before meeting it, the mighty river manages to roar and splash through the Kazachinsky threshold bristling with stones. From the mouth of the Angara to the confluence of the Podkamennaya Tunguska, high wooded cliffs of the Yenisei Ridge stretch along the right bank.

In several places its rocks restrict the river, forming new rapids. The captains considered the Osinovsky rapids, the last barrier on the long path of the Yenisei to the sea, especially dangerous.

Waterfalls fly down from the tops of the coastal cliffs. From a distance it seems that the waterfall froze in midair. On the left bank the most ancient city on the river is Yeniseisk, founded almost four centuries ago.

And on the right, from under the gold-bearing hills of the Yenisei Ridge, Big Pete runs down to the Yenisei. It once led the way to the gold mines. It was not easy to navigate this river, which rose ten meters in high water and was not accidentally nicknamed “mad.”

And just below, from the left bank, the inconspicuous and quiet river Kas flows into the Yenisei. In its upper reaches, two hundred years ago, the Ob-Yenisei Canal was built, connecting it with the Ket River, the right tributary of the Ob. This waterway served Siberia a lot. The Yenisei, having broken through the Osinovsky threshold, finally calms down and slowly runs towards the ocean, receiving more and more new tributaries.

After the confluence of the Podkamennaya and Nizhnyaya Tunguska rivers, the width of the river is on average five kilometers, and in some places - fifteen! The depth of the Yenisei here reaches fifteen meters, and sea ​​ships climb along it to Igarka, located almost seven hundred kilometers from the sea. Igarka is a forest port, and everything in it is saturated with the smell of freshly sawn pine boards, sawdust and resin. The houses of Igarka are mostly wooden, and even the sidewalks are made of boards.

The enormity and endless expanse of the Yenisei in this area is not only stunning, but somehow it doesn’t even fit into the mind. A traveler sailing on a motor ship, looking from the deck at the shore, barely visible in the distance, thinks with admiration that he has never seen such a wide river in his life. And in the lower reaches, after Dudinka, the banks sometimes disappear completely. And no wonder: the width of the Yenisei here exceeds twenty kilometers! All along its length from Krasnoyarsk to the very mouth of the Yenisei, as already mentioned, it serves as the border between Western and Eastern Siberia.

Rivermen call the right bank “stone”: it is high and mountainous. And the left one is called “Polish”: fields and meadows stretch along it, and in the spring it is filled with hollow waters. On the left bank there are swampy forests of fir and spruce, but on the right bank there are almost no swamps; the light green Daurian larch, the northernmost tree, has firmly settled there globe, which can withstand frost and is not afraid of permafrost in the soil.

Below the mouth Lower Tunguska Two more tributaries, Kureyka and Khantaika, flow into the Yenisei from the right, flowing from the narrow and deep lakes of the mysterious Putorana plateau. Here, beyond the Arctic Circle, the taiga gradually becomes shallower, turning into forest-tundra, and near Dudinka it finally gives way to the Taimyr tundra covered with bluish lichen.

From here, from Dudinka, the world’s northernmost railway line was laid to Norilsk. Railway. Behind Dudinka everyone is already measuring naval measures. Even a traveler who has been here more than once will not be able to determine where huge stream pours into the waters of the Yenisei Gulf - such an endless expanse surrounds the ship...

Reindeer grazing on the banks... If the sky is gloomy, the bay is gloomy. But how wonderful is the play of pure, unclouded colors on a clear sunny day: sparkles of unmelted snow, rusty-red cliffs, blue of the sky, white of clouds and blue-gray tints of shades on the water...

Having passed the last pier on the Yenisei, the Northern Sea Route passes, the mighty nuclear icebreakers. Icebreakers also have enough work on the Yenisei: after all, already from mid-October the lower reaches of the river are covered with ice. Slowly but surely the ice edge moves up the river - to the south, until by mid-November the ice covers the entire river.

Only near Krasnoyarsk, below the hydroelectric dam, does a hundred-kilometer ice-free polynya persist throughout the winter. Six months, and in the north the Yenisei sleeps under strong white armor. And in early May the river begins to free itself from its ice captivity. Ice drift on the Yenisei is a grandiose spectacle. Sometimes on steep bends the ice gets stuck and powerful jams form. Like dams, they hold back the flow and the river overflows its banks. Taking a huge mass of warm water out of your pool fresh water, The Yenisei desalinates and warms the adjacent part of the Kara Sea. The Yenisei heat would be enough to melt a “cube” of ice four kilometers long, wide and high! The Yenisei, of course, is not only picturesque water flow. It works in the turbines of hydroelectric power stations, waters cities and even melts ocean ice. It’s not for nothing that it’s called “the main blue road of Siberia.”

And those who decide to travel along this route, two and a half thousand kilometers long, will have enough impressions for the rest of their lives. Such is the charm of this largest and most beautiful Russian river, crossing half of the greatest continent on Earth from south to north.

The rivers of Russia are water arteries that feed a huge “body” great country. More than 2.5 million rivers flow through Mother Rus', making it one of the most water-rich countries in the world. Thanks to its numerous rivers and lakes, Russia occupies one of the leading places in terms of reserves of usable fresh water; it owns more than 20% of the world's reserves. There are about 28 thousand cubic meters per resident of our country. m of river flow per year, which is 14 times more than in China. Disputes about which of Russian rivers the greatest, they have been going on for a long time. Each region has its favorites: in the south - Don and Kuban, in central Russia– Volga, in Ural mountains- Ural. But the most grandiose rivers are in Siberia - the Ob and Irtysh, the Yenisei and Lena; on Far East Father Cupid flows.

Each of these rivers is unique and large, but the longest river in Russia is officially the Ob, or rather, its watercourse together with the left tributary Irtysh is 5410 km in length. However, not everyone agrees with this decision and believes that the largest rivers in Russia are the Lena, Yenisei or Amur.

Great Ob

A mighty river is born at the confluence of two rivers - Katun and Biya, and flows into the Northern Arctic Ocean, forming a giant bay 800 km long - the Gulf of Ob.

Square drainage basin The Ob River ranks first in Russia - about 3 million km². The river flows in several channels and crosses many geographical zones. If watermelons and melons ripen in the upper reaches of the river, then in the lower reaches of the Siberian beauty there is the harsh tundra landscape of the Arctic. The banks of the river are mostly covered with forests and swamps.

The waters of the Ob River are home to dozens of valuable species of fish - sturgeon, sterlet, nelma, omul, grayling, taimen, etc.

Ob - the most important highway Western Siberia, hundreds of barges and ships sail along it.

Big and harsh Lena

The largest river in Siberia, and possibly in all of Russia, is the Lena, it is the tenth longest river in the world. All 4400 km of its length it flows in permafrost areas.

The Lena can be called the longest of the rivers in Russia, if the determining factor is the constant name of the river along its entire length. The Lena (unlike the Ob and Irtysh) flows entirely through the territory of Russia.

Lena begins in small swamp, located on the Baikal ridge 12 km from Lake Baikal, and flows into the Arctic Ocean.

Lena is the main transport artery Irkutsk region and Yakutia, it carries out “northern delivery” - providing necessary products and materials to remote areas.

Global warming is gradually changing the course of the river: floods are becoming more widespread, and powerful ice drifts are destroying the banks.

In the upper reaches of the Lena River there are the famous Shishkinsky paintings - petroglyphs of the ancient peoples who once inhabited this region.

According to one version, the name of the river comes from the Tunguska “Elyu-Ene”, which translates as “big river”.

Mighty Yenisei

The Yenisei is the deepest river in Russia. Its annual flow is 624 cubic meters. km, which is 3 times more than the Volga flow. With its flow, the Yenisei divides Siberia into Western and Eastern. The length of the Yenisei itself is 3487 km, but if the Angara tributary, Lake Baikal and the Selenga flowing into Baikal are included in the river system, then its length will reach 5075 km, which makes it the second longest river in Russia.

The name of the river comes from the Evenk “ionesi” - big water.

The Yenisei is born in the Tuva Basin and carries its waters through Khakassia and Krasnoyarsk region. On the Kyzyl embankment there is an obelisk in honor of the recognition of the confluence of the Big and Small Yenisei as the geographical center of Asia.

The Yenisei basin has interesting feature: its left bank is almost six times lower than the right.

The Yenisei is rich in fish resources; beluga, sterlet, vendace, sturgeon, whitefish and other species of fish are found in its waters.

The Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station, the largest in Russia, is located on the river.

The Yenisei is the most important waterway of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The port of Igarka can even receive sea vessels.

Cupid-father

The length of the Amur, together with the Argun tributary, is 4444 km, and this is fourth in the list of the longest rivers in Russia. Cupid – border river, its bed separates two states - and Russia.

There are 4 geographical zones along the river, and more than 30 different peoples live on its banks.

Cupid is the richest fish river Russia. It is home to about 110 species of fish, which is 2-3 times more than in other rivers of Russia. Kaluga live here - largest representative sturgeon; valuable species fish - Amur whitefish, snakehead, sea sturgeon, lamprey. The Amur is one of the largest salmon rivers in Russia and Asia: chum salmon, pink salmon, salmon, sockeye salmon, and mykiss spawn in it.

Volga is a symbol of Russia

Despite the greatness of the Siberian rivers, the symbol of Russia was and remains the longest river in Europe. Its length is 3530 km. This river is sung in songs, its beauty and power are reflected in films, literature, and fine arts.

The name of the river comes from the Proto-Slavic “vologa, moisture”, and on its banks great states flourished and faded into the past - Khazaria, Great Bulgaria, the Golden Horde.

The Volga is the largest river in Russia and the world, flowing into an inland body of water - the Caspian Sea. The river area occupies about 1/3 of the entire territory of the European part of Russia.

The Volga is the largest transport artery connecting many cities and villages: on its banks there are more than 1,400 ports and marinas, as well as 4 million-plus cities - Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Samara, Volgograd.

The Volga is one of the richest rivers in Russia in terms of the number of fish species. Everyone knows the beluga - largest fish Volga. Its length can reach 4 meters.

The rivers of Russia fill millions of kilometers of this great country with life, connect cities and villages, and give beauty.

On the territory of our country there are great amount rivers (2.5 million). Most of them are small, their length usually does not exceed 100 kilometers. Then the question arises: what are the largest rivers in Russia? We will try to answer it in this article.

To begin with, we will present you with a list of these rivers:

1. Yenisei.
2. Lena.
3. Amur.
4. Volga.
5. Kolyma.
6. Khatanga.
7. Indigirka.
8. Northern Dvina.

Now let's tell you more about them.

River Ob

The largest river in Russia, which is located in Western Siberia. It is formed by the merging rivers Biya and Katun. From the source of the Irtysh its length is 5410 kilometers. In the North it flows into the Ob Bay. The river's water basin occupies a huge area - 2,990 thousand square meters. km. According to this indicator, it rightfully occupies a leading position on our list. In terms of water content, the Ob is in third place, second only to the Lena and Yenisei.

The Ob feeds mainly melt water. During the spring and summer floods, the largest river in Russia receives most of its annual flow. The flood begins in April upper reaches, in the second half of April it begins in the middle reaches, and in early May this process occurs in the lower reaches. The water level rises even during freeze-up. When the river opens up, short-term minor rises in levels occur as a result of the resulting congestion.

The flood in the upper reaches ends in July. In September - October, a rain flood begins, which continues until freeze-up in the lower and middle reaches. Ice cover remains on the Ob for an average of 220 days a year.

The main tributary of the Ob is the Irtysh. The length of this river from its source, which is located on the border of China and Mongolia, to its confluence with the Ob is 4,248 km.

Fishing has long developed on this river. Also in late XIX century in river waters There were a lot of ruff, perch, sculpin, pike, shokur, muksun, nelma and other types of fish. Today there are fewer fish in the waters of the Ob, but nevertheless there are about 50 species.

Yenisei

Today we present to you the largest rivers in Russia. The list goes on mighty Yenisei. This river is considered the natural border between the West and East of Siberia.

Its length is 4287 km. The Yenisei flows through the lands of two neighboring states - Mongolia and Russia. The total area of ​​the river is 2,580 thousand square kilometers. This indicator allows this huge river to take second place in Russia.

On the left bank of this Siberian river there are plains, and on the right there is endless mountain taiga. In this regard, there is a sharp asymmetry of the banks of the Yenisei. The right bank is more than 5 times higher in height than the left bank. On its way from source to mouth, the river crosses all climatic zones of Siberia. That is why camels are found in the upper reaches of the Yenisei, and polar bears are found in the lower reaches, closer to the ocean.

Lena river

It cannot be said that this is the largest river in Russia, although its size is impressive. The length of the river is 4480, and its total area- 2490 thousand sq. km. The Lena River is rightfully in third place among large rivers our country.

The river is mainly fed by water from the melting of glaciers and snow - approximately 50% of total number. Precipitation gives the river about 38% of its water and about 13% is underground recharge, more typical of the upper reaches.

In mid-October, the Lena freezes in its upper reaches. It opens in mid-April. Ice cover remains on the river for about 270 days a year.

Amur

The topic of our article was the largest rivers in Russia. The names of many are known not only to Russians, but also to our neighbors from other countries. For example, Cupid. This is one of the longest rivers in our country and the largest in the Far East. It flows on the border of Russia and China and carries its waters through the territory of Mongolia. The Amur flows into the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

The basin area of ​​this river is 1,855 thousand square kilometers, and its length is 2,824 km.

Volga

Glorified by poets and composers, which inspired artists to create immortal paintings, this is, of course, the Volga River. And although this is not the largest river in Russia, it is a symbol of our country.

The source of the Volga is located on the Valdai Plateau of the Tver Region. The Volga is considered one of the largest rivers on our planet. The length of the river is 3530 km. Total area - 1361 thousand square meters. km. The river flows through the lands of Russia and Kazakhstan.

Kolyma River

This river is located in Yakutia. Its length is 2,129 km. Water pool - 645 thousand square meters. km. Kolyma was formed as a result of the merger of two big rivers Kulu and Ayan-Yuryakh. The Kolyma flows into the bay of the same name.

Don

This river is considered the oldest in Russia. The Don originates in the Tula region on the Central Russian Upland. Its length is 1870 km, the water basin is 422 thousand sq. km.

The current is very slow, for which the Cossacks call this leisurely and majestic river"quiet Don" This is explained by the flat profile in which the channel runs. The slope towards it is quite insignificant, on average this value does not exceed 0.1 degrees. In some areas the width of the valley reaches 13 km. The right bank is steep and high, and the left bank is low.

Khatanga River

This river is located in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Its length is 1636 km. Water pool with an area of ​​364 thousand square meters. km. It is formed by two rivers Kotui and Kheta.

This river flows through a wide valley in the North Siberian Lowland. There are more than 112 thousand lakes in the Khatanga basin. Their total area is 11.6 thousand sq. km.

Indigirka

In Yakutia, on the slopes of the Khalkan Range, there is the source of the Indigirka River. Its length is 1,726 km, its water basin covers an area of ​​360 thousand square meters. km. Its source is made up of two medium-sized rivers - Omyokon and Kuidusun.

Indigirka is the coldest river in Russia. IN winter time in the lower reaches it freezes through. In summer, it becomes covered with ice and turns into a sparkling icy stream flowing picturesquely among the mountains. Since the end of September, the river has been frozen in ice, which does not go away until June.

Northern Dvina

Our list of the 10 largest rivers in Russia has come to an end. It is completed by the Northern Dvina, which flows through two large areas- Arkhangelsk and Vologda.

Its length is 744 km, area - 360 thousand square meters. km. At its source the small rivers Sukhona and Yug connect. This northern river famous for the fact that the history of Russian shipbuilding began on it.