The largest rivers of Russia

Russia has the richest reserves of fresh water in the world. On its territory there are about 2 million rivers with a total length of more than 6,5 million km. The length of many does not exceed 100 km. But among them there are those that are rightfully considered the largest water arteries of the country. The largest rivers of Russia are famous not only for their length, but also for the area of ​​their drainage basin.

A list of the largest water arteries of the Russian Federation is presented to the attention of readers.

10 Ural | The basin area is 231 thousand square meters. km

Urals opens the top ten largest Russian rivers. Its length is 2422 km, and the basin area is 231 thousand square meters. km. The Ural flows into the Caspian Sea. In terms of its length in Europe, the river is second only to the Volga and the Danube. Until 1775, one of the largest water arteries in the country was called Yaik, which means “wide”. By order of Catherine II the river was renamed, and received the name Ural. Now it serves as a natural water border between Europe and Asia.

9. Kolyma | The basin area is 645 thousand square meters. km

Kolyma with a length of 2129 km is one of the largest Russian rivers and the largest in the Magadan region. The area of ​​its basin is 645 thousand square meters. km. Kolyma is formed from the confluence of Ayan-Yuryakh and Kulu, which originate in the Okhotsk-Kolyma highlands. The main food of the Kolyma is snow water, about 40% of the river receives from rain water. The Kolyma hydroelectric power station, built on its expanses of water, provides electricity to almost the entire Magadan region. The Kolyma is a navigable river. There are gold deposits in its basin.

8. Vilyuy | The basin area is 454 thousand square meters. km

Vilyuy ranks eighth among the largest rivers in Russia and is the largest left tributary of the Elena. The total length of the river is 2650 km, and the basin area is 454 thousand square meters. km. The Vilyui basin has about 70 thousand lakes, the largest of which are Nidzhili (119 sq. km.), Baratalakh (110 sq. km.), Mastakh (80 sq. km.) and others. In the waters of Vilyui, a huge variety of different types of fish live: sturgeon, taimen, lenok, nelma, ide, perch, burbot, dace, tugunok, sorog, etc. The main tributary of the river is the river. Markha. 2 hydroelectric power stations were built on Vilyui. The river basin is rich in deposits of diamonds, iron ore, gas, etc. Considered a navigable river.

7. Lower Tunguska | The basin area is 473 thousand square meters. km

Lower Tunguska – one of the largest rivers in Russia. It is a right tributary of the Yenisei. Its length is 2989 km, and the basin area is 473 thousand square meters. km. The Lower Tunguska is a navigable river. It feeds on melted snow water and rain. The main tributary of the Tunguska is the Kochechum River with a length of 733 km and a basin area of ​​about 100 thousand square meters. km. At the beginning of the 20th century, a project was being developed, as a result of which the Lower Tunguska was supposed to connect with the Lena near the city of Kirensk. But soon the construction of the canal was deemed inexpedient due to the complexity of the work and the high cost. In the near future, it is planned to build a hydroelectric power station here, which will become the largest hydroelectric power station in the Russian Federation.

6. Volga | The basin area is 1 million 361 thousand square meters. km

Volga is one of the largest rivers in Russia and the world. Its length is 3531 km, and the basin area is 1 million 361 thousand square meters. km. One of the main Russian water arteries flows on the territory of 11 regions and 4 republics. The navigable river is of great agricultural and industrial importance for the country. About 20% of all fish caught in Russia comes from the Volga. The river is also used as a source of hydropower: about 10 reservoirs with hydroelectric power stations are concentrated here. The largest tributary of the Volga is the Kama.

5. Irtysh | The basin area is 1 million 643 thousand square meters. km

Irtysh – one of the largest rivers in Russia and the largest tributary of the Ob. Its length is 6 km, which exceeds the length of the largest river. Together they form a length of 4248 km. The area of ​​the Irtysh basin is 5410 million 1 thousand square meters. km. The water artery flows on the territory of three states: Russia, Mongolia and China. The Irtysh belongs to the rivers with mixed nutrition. The underwater world of the tributary is quite rich in various fish species: representatives of sturgeon, carp, whitefish, pike, etc. live here. The waters of the river are used for irrigation and water supply.

4. Cupid | The basin area is 1 million 855 thousand square meters. km

The fourth largest river in Russia by area is Cupidlocated in the Far East and East Asia. Its length is 2824 km. The river flows through three countries: Russia, Mongolia and China. The area of ​​its basin is 1 million 855 thousand square meters. km. The Amur flows into the waters of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. There is a version that the name of the water artery comes from the common basis for the Tungus-Manchu languages ​​”amar”, “damur”, which means “big river”. In China, Amur is called as the “Black Dragon River”. One of the legends says that earlier a black dragon lived here, which was the personification of goodness. He defeated the white dragon, which flooded human boats on the water and ate all living things. After that, the hero remained to live in these expanses of water.

3. Lena | The basin area is 2 million 490 thousand square meters. km

Lena is considered the longest river in Russia and one of the largest in the world with a length of 4400 km. It is located on the lands of Yakutia and the Irkutsk region. Its source begins near the deepest Russian lake Baikal, and then its waters rush into the Laptev Sea. The area of ​​the Lena basin is 2 million 490 thousand square meters. km. There is a version that the name of the river came from the Evenian language. The Evenki called Lena as “Elyu-Ene”, which means “big river”. The Russians, who first discovered the river in the 17th century, recorded its name as Elyuene. Then the name Lena was fixed among the people. Its largest tributaries are Aldan and Vilyuy. Lena is the main transport artery of Yakutia.

2. Yenisei | The basin area is 2 million 580 thousand square meters. km

Yenisei – one of the greatest and largest rivers in Russia, the length of which is 3487 km. One of the main water arteries flows through the territory of the Russian and Mongolian states. It is considered the most abundant river, the area of ​​​​its basin is 2 million 580 thousand square meters. km. About 600 cubic km. The Yenisei takes it to the Kara Sea. The name comes from the Evenk “Ionessi”, which means “big water”. The Yenisei feeds on snow and rain waters. More than 500 rivers flow into it, the largest of them are the Angara and the Lower Tunguska. Three hydroelectric power stations are concentrated on the Yenisei.

1. Ob | The basin area is 2 million 990 thousand square meters. km

Ob – the largest river in Russia with a length of 3650 km. The total area of ​​its basin is 2 million 990 thousand square meters. km. The largest freshwater artery flows into the Kara Sea. The main food for the Ob is melted snow. In terms of water content, the river ranks third, after the Lena and the Yenisei. The main and largest tributary of the river is the Irtysh. About 50 species of fish are found in the Ob, so fishing is developed here. The valuable species that live here include the following river representatives: sturgeon, sterlet, tugun, nelma, etc.