Волга
Olga is one of the largest rivers in Europe. Among the rivers of Russia is in sixth place, behind by area catchment only Siberian rivers-the giants - the Ob, Yenisei, Lena, Amur and Irtysh. It originates in the Valdai hills, where the source accept a key, mounted in a wooden frame D. Volgin. Check the source 225 m above sea level. The Volga flows into the Caspian sea. The river's length is 3690 km, the basin area of 1380000 km2.
The dense River Network in the upper part of the basin is formed of two systems: the upper Volga and the Kama, below the confluence of the Kama river, in the forest-steppe and steppe parts of the basin, the Volga takes only a small shallow river, and Stalingrad has no tributaries.
Leaking within the East European plain, the Volga is a classic example of a lowland river. Longitudinal profile close to the so-called equilibrium profile. The average gradient is only 0.06°/OO. Especially small drop in the lower reaches, where it is not more than 0,02°/OO. From the point of view of the nature of the flow of the Volga is divided into three parts: upstream (Upper Volga) - from source to G. Shcherbakova, medium flow (Middle Volga) - Scherbakova from the city to the mouth of the Kama river and the lower reaches (lower Volga) - from the confluence of the Kama to the mouth.
In the upper reaches and within the Valdai hills, the Volga passes through a chain of upper Volga lakes - Verhit, Sterzh, vselug, Peno and Volgo. At the head of the lake. The Volga in the middle of the last century (1843) the dam was built - the vote of the upper Volga, is intended to strengthen the power of the river at low water and maintenance of navigable depths. The principal tributaries of the upper Volga - Selijarovka, Solid, Mologa and Sheksna. In the five-year plans of Stalin Upper Volga reconstructed, i.e. radically transformed. There are three powerful hydroelectric power stations Ivankovo, Uglich and scherbakovskaya. Dam those plants, turned the upper Volga, a chain of lakes-reservoirs, among which the Rybinsk reservoir is the largest in the world. Water: the reservoir flooded downstream RR. The Mologa and Sheksna and all Mologo-Sheksna interfluve.
In the middle reaches, below G. Shcherbakova, the river becomes even more affluent; here it falls into a number of large tributaries, the most important