The Volga River
The Volga River is the
longest river in Europe, about 2,300 miles (3,700 km). It originates at an elevation of
only 740 feet (225 m) in the Valday Hills northwest of Moscow, connects
with the Rybinsk Reservoir. The river heads east past Yaroslavl, Nizhny
Novgorod and Kazan. From there it turns south past Samara and Volgograd. Since
the initial elevation is so low, the river flows slowly, and finally enters the
Caspian Sea, below sea level in a wide delta near Astrakhan. Canals connect the river
with the Baltic Sea via the Rybinsk Reservoir. The Moscow Canal connects it with
the Moscow River and the Oka River. At Volgograd, it links, through canals, with
the Don River and Black Sea.
The Volga carries about half of all river freight in Russia. Numerous dams
(bypassed by locks) provide hydroelectricity and water
for irrigation. The river, known in Russian folklore as Mother Volga, has played an incalculable
part in the life of the Russian people.
The above picture and the comments are included here simply because my family name contains the word "Volga" and it is also the local name of an herbaceous plant (Filipendula) that grows in southern Russia and Georgia.
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