Great Russian river Volga. Delta of the Volga River, including the Astrakhan State Biosphere Reserve

At the end of August, when our Astrakhan trip was almost over, we spent the whole day in the Volga Delta. Where it flows into the Caspian. There is no longer that big and deep river, there are dozens of duct-veins.

And around - amazing, wild, untouched nature. more reserved place I haven't met yet. Wild migratory birds, legendary lotuses. Add to this a fast boat, temperatures in the mid-30s, and great company. Well, not a buzz?

1. The main stream of tourists comes to the delta to go fishing. At the base "Ark" they are met with a glass of vodka, and ready-made boats are standing at the pier.

2. We are not fishermen, but photographers. Therefore, we were all loaded into one motorboat, under the control of an experienced helmsman.

3. This is our "huntsman", Alexander Matveich. Awesome man. All the way he told funny jokes, poisoned stories about fishermen. Then he switched to a story about the local nature and living creatures.

4. In these places, the delta is a border zone. Well, you can't come here without a pass. But its absence does not bother anyone, the main thing is not to fish without a license, but you can swim.

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6. There is no clear boundary between the river and the sea, it is very difficult to determine where the Volga ends and the Caspian begins.

7. The navigable part is not the Volga at all, but an artificial canal, which is called the "main bank". Ships from different parts of the world meet here. This one is Iranian.

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9. A variety of birds are found here, sometimes even pink flamingos. But we arrived unsuccessfully - there were only gulls and swans.

10. Swans are cool, with a big orange beak. It is a pity that it is very difficult to get close to them - they fly apart.

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13. One swan let us in.

14. He was wounded and could not fly away.

15. The second attraction of the Volga Delta is lotus fields. The fields are very conditional, since there is only water around here.

16. There are also water lilies.

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18. We were a little late with our arrival - many lotuses have already faded.

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20. When the flower sheds its pink petals, these "pods" that look like showers remain.

21. From this violet "soul" you can pick out seeds, lotus "nuts". They are very tasty, although peculiar. And they say it helps with constipation.

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23. Small "veins" are dangerous for motor boats. The depth here does not exceed 50-70 centimeters, and the engine nozzles are often clogged from dense vegetation on the bottom.

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25. A couple of times we still got stuck, and Matveich, swearing, climbed under the boat to clean the engine.

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27. If it were not for the boats that sometimes sail, one gets the feeling of complete unity with nature. Very, very quiet, beautiful, warm.

28. You feel free, like this seagull. And all the problems, the difficulties of the big city, which is now thousands of kilometers away, seem just as distant and trifling.

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31. The next morning, after breakfast, Matveich came up to us, and looking slyly, called us with him. On the pier lay a huge catfish in human height, caught by the "huntsman" early in the morning.

32. It was time for us to get ready for the return journey. And what we saw after the delta, you already know :)

It flows through the European part of the country, and its mouth is located in the Caspian Sea. Officially, it is believed that the length of the Volga is 3,530 km. But if we add some more reservoirs to this figure, it turns out that the length of the queen of Russian rivers will be 3,692 km. Volga is longest river throughout Europe.

The area of ​​its basin is 1 million 380 thousand square meters. km. Interestingly, there are already mentions of the Volga in the writings of the ancient Greek scientist Ptolemy. He calls it "Ra" in his studies. And the Arabs once called the Volga the word "Itil", which means "river".

Burlaki and Volga

For all times, the Volga entered history due to the use of heavy barge work. It was necessary only at a time when the movement of ships turned out to be impossible against its current, that is, during floods. During the day, the burlatskaya artel could travel up to ten kilometers. And the total number of working barge haulers for the entire season could reach six hundred.

Sources of the great river

The river originates at Not far from the village of Volgoverkhovye, several springs spring from the ground. One of these springs is recognized as the source of the great Volga. This spring is surrounded by a chapel. All springs in this area flow into a small lake, from which, in turn, flows a stream no more than a meter wide. The depth of the Volga (if we conditionally designate this stream as the beginning of a great river) here is only 25-30 cm.

It is believed that the Volga exists mainly due to snow. About 60% of all its nutrition is due to melting snow. Another third of the Volga is provided groundwater. And rain food accounts for only 10%.

Upper Volga: depth and other characteristics

Moving further, the stream becomes wider and then flows into a lake called Sterzh. Its length is 12 km, width - 1.5 km. And the total area is 18 km². The rod is part of the Upper Volga reservoir, the total length of which is 85 km. And already behind the reservoir begins called the Upper. The depth of the Volga here averages from 1.5 to 2.1 m.

The Volga, like most other rivers, is conditionally divided into three parts - the Upper, Middle and Lower. First Big city on the way of this river - Rzhev. It is followed by ancient city Tver. The Ivankovskoye reservoir, which stretches for 146 km, is located in this area. In its area, the depth of the river also increases to 23 m. The Volga in the Tver region stretches for 685 km.

There is a section of the river in the Moscow region, but on this territory it occupies no more than 9 km. Not far from it is the city of Dubna. And next to the Ivankovskaya dam, its largest tributary in the Moscow region, the eponymous one, also flows into the Volga. Here, in the 30s of the 20th century, a canal named after. Moscow, connecting the Moscow River and the Ivankovskoye reservoir, the waters of which are indispensable for the economy of the capital.

Further downstream is located. Its length is 146 km. The depth of the Volga Uglich reservoir- 5 meters. which is the most northern point Volga, has a depth of 5.6 m. Behind it, the river changes its direction from northeast to southeast.

The depth of the Volga and other indicators in the middle and lower sections

The section of the Middle Volga begins at the point where the Oka, the largest right tributary of the river, flows into it. At this place stands Nizhny Novgorod- one of the largest settlements in Russia. The width and depth of the Volga are as follows:

• the channel width is from 600 m to 2 km;
• maximum depth - about 2 m.

After the confluence with the Oka, the Volga becomes more and more wide. Near Cheboksary, the great river meets an obstacle - the Cheboksary hydroelectric power station. The length of the Cheboksary reservoir is 341 m, the width is about 16 km. Its greatest depth is 35 m, the average - 6 m. And the river becomes even larger and more powerful when the Kama River flows into it.

From this point begins a section of the Lower Volga, and now it flows into the Caspian Sea. Even further upstream, after the Volga goes around the Togliatti mountains, the largest of all its reservoirs, the Kuibyshevskoye, is located. Its length is 500 m, width - 40 km, and depth - 8 m.

What is the depth of the Volga in its delta? Features of the great river delta

The length of the delta near the Caspian Sea is about 160 km. Width - about 40 km. About 500 canals and small rivers are included in the delta. It is believed that the mouth of the Volga is the largest in all of Europe. Here you can meet unique representatives of the animal and flora- pelicans, flamingos, and even see the lotus. Here it is already difficult to talk about such a parameter as the depth of the Volga. Max Depth rivers in its delta is, according to various estimates, up to 2.5 m. The minimum is 1-1.7 m.

In size, this section of the Volga surpasses even the deltas of such rivers as the Terek, Kuban, Rhine and Maas. He, like the river itself, played a very important role in the formation of the first settlements in these territories. Here passed trade routes that tied Lower Volga with Persia and others Arab countries. The tribes of the Khazars and Polovtsy settled here. Presumably in the 13th century. here for the first time appeared a Tatar settlement called Ashtarkhan, which eventually became the beginning of Astrakhan.

What is unusual about the Volga Delta

The peculiarity of the Volga delta is that, unlike other deltas, it is not a sea, but a lake. After all, the Caspian Sea is inherently big lake, because it is not connected to the oceans. The Caspian is called the sea only because of its impressive size, which makes it look like a sea.

The Volga flows through the territory of 15 constituent entities of the Russian Federation and is one of the most important water arteries for industry, shipping, energy and other important areas of the state.

Delta BOlie- a unique geographical object with great natural resources and a rich history of development and research, the "pearl" of Russian nature, an attractive place for tourists, hunters and fishermen.

Volga Delta, like the river itself, played a huge role in the history of settlement and development of the south of Russia. The appearance of the first settlements in the Volga delta was facilitated by the peculiarities of its geographical position between major river and the Caspian Sea: water and caravan trade routes passed through these places, connecting the lower reaches of the Volga with Persia and the Arab countries. Khazar and Polovtsian settlements arose along these routes. It is believed that already in the XIII century. here appeared the Tatar settlement Ashtarkhan (Ashtarakhan), which later gave rise to Astrakhan. From the middle of the XV to the middle of the XVII centuries. Astrakhan was the capital of the Astrakhan Khanate, which in 1557 became part of the Russian state. The importance of this region increased especially during the reign of Peter I. The warm climate, the presence of fresh water, fertile silty soils, an abundance of fish in the river, delta arms and the sea.

The modern Volga delta has huge natural resources- water, land, biological. They are widely used by water transport, industrial and agricultural water supply, agriculture, and fisheries. IN Lately oil and gas production is actively developing. The Volga Delta is well developed. Most of areas of the delta are reserved for arable land, vegetable gardens, melons, orchards, hayfields, and spawning grounds.

Transit shipping routes river-sea and sea-river pass through the branches of the delta and the estuarine seaside. In the XVI century. the main navigable fairway went through the Bolshaya Bolda branch, in the 18th century. under Peter I - through the arm of the Old Volga, starting from the 19th century. - through the Bakhtemir branch and the Volga-Caspian shipping channel. In the Volga Delta, local shipping is developed, connecting numerous settlements in the streams of the delta. The Volga-Caspian fishing region was considered the main one in the country in the USSR. He gave about 1 million centners of fish per year, which was equal to almost half of all fish production in the country. At the same time, the sturgeon catch was 90% of the total in the country.

At present, Astrakhan is a major administrative, scientific and Cultural Center, a junction of water, road, rail and air routes, an important river and sea port, a center for the oil, chemical, and fishing industries. The Astrakhan fish processing plant (operating since 1931) and the Astrakhan gas condensate field (discovered in 1976, put into operation in 1986) are widely known.

In Astrakhan and the entire delta, tourism and recreational business is developed. There are many in the delta tourist bases and recreation centers, hunting reserves, bases of hunters and fishermen. Thousands of tourists and lovers of hunting and fishing come to the delta every year.

The Volga Delta is one of the most studied deltas in the world. Its study began in the 19th century. in connection with the selection and maintenance of a navigable fairway from the Volga to the Caspian.

Large-scale integrated studies of the delta began in the 1950s; them in different years conducted by the State Oceanographic Institute (GOIN), (GGI), the Faculty of Geography of Moscow State University, the Astrakhan Hydrometeorological Observatory (later the Astrakhan regional center on hydrometeorology and monitoring environment), (IWP RAS), Caspian Research Institute of Fisheries (CaspNIRKh), etc.

A great contribution to the study of the nature of the delta was made by the State Astrakhan Biosphere Reserve. The reserve was established back in 1919. Since 1975, it has been part of the Volga Delta wetlands, and since October 11, 1976, the Volga Delta and Astrakhan biosphere reserve were included in the list of wetlands of international importance of the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention). The Volga Delta complies with the following convention criteria (for a description of the criteria, see the article Convention on Wetlands): 1c, 2a, 2b, 2c, 3a, 3b, 3c, 4a, 4b . In 1984, by decision of UNESCO Astrakhan Nature Reserve included in the number of international biosphere reserves. The main tasks of the reserve are to preserve and enrich the nature of the Volga delta; Special attention At the same time, attention is paid to the protection of nesting and stopping places for migratory waterfowl, spawning grounds, and rare plants.

What is the uniqueness of the Volga Delta?

First, the Volga delta differs from other deltas in the world by its extremely dense and variable hydrographic network. In some periods of the "life" of the Volga delta, the number of mouths (outlets) of delta watercourses on the estuarine coast reached a thousand! Even such multibranch deltas as the deltas of the Lena, Orinoco, Niger, as the united delta of the Ganges and Brahmaputra cannot be compared in multibranch with the Volga delta. The number of mouths of branches on the sea edge of the Volga delta does not remain unchanged: during the lowering of the Caspian Sea level, their number decreases, during the rise - increases. The main reason for the exceptional multi-branching of the Volga delta is the shallow water of the coastal part of the delta and its strong overgrowth with aquatic vegetation. As a result, sea wind currents and waves do not reach the sea edge of the delta. Therefore, coastal sediments do not block the mouths of small watercourses, as usually happens in deltas with a shallow seashore.

The hydrographic network of the delta is dense and varied. First of all, large channel systems of five main main branches (from west to east) are distinguished: the main branch of the delta with the name Volga and its continuation Bakhtemir, Staraya Volga, Kizan (Kamyzyak), Bolshaya Bolda, Buzan. These arms break up into numerous smaller arms. Between the branches there are secondary streams - channels and very small streams - eriki. There are many large and small lakes inside the delta and on its periphery (here they are called ilmens). Part of the ilmens is heavily overgrown with aquatic vegetation. There are swamps (floodlands) and artificial watercourses in the delta - irrigation and watering canals.

Large branches (Bakhtemir, Belinsky Bank) continue on the seashore with shipping channels - respectively, the Volga-Caspian Marine Navigation Canal (VKMSK) and the Belinsky Shipping Canal. Small branches continue on the seashore with the so-called fish passages and swaths among aquatic vegetation; the purpose of such channels and swaths is to facilitate the passage of fish from the Northern Caspian to spawn in the delta and further to the Volga.

In the delta branch of the Volga (the continuation of the river within the delta) slightly below the top of the delta in 1966–1973. a unique and complex hydraulic structure was built - the Volga water divider. It was intended to partially block the flow in the Volga branch and redistribute it to the adjacent Buzan branch. The purpose of such a redistribution of runoff was to maintain sufficient watering of the eastern part of the delta (including the spawning grounds located here) in the conditions of the expected low water of the Volga due to natural and anthropogenic causes. However, the water divider operated only a few times in 1970–1980. One of the reasons for the low efficiency of the water divider is the unfulfilled forecasts of a significant decrease in the water flow of the Volga: the end of the 20th century. turned out to be abounding on the Volga.

At the same time, the water regime of the delta was noticeably affected by the regulation of the river flow by the Volga-Kama cascade of reservoirs. The volume of runoff during the flood period decreased on average from 130 to 100 km 3 . Levels in the delta increased from September to March and decreased from April to August. The flooding of the delta during the flood period decreased.

Secondly, an important feature of the Volga delta is that, unlike most large deltas on the coasts of the oceans and seas, the Volga delta is not a sea, but a lake. The Caspian Sea, into which the Volga flows, has no connection with the World Ocean in the modern geological era and therefore is not really a sea. The Caspian is a drainless lake, and it is called the sea due to its large size and regime similar to that of the sea. Like all closed drainless water bodies, the Caspian Sea is very sensitive and quickly reacts to changes in moisture in its catchment area and, above all, in the Volga basin. During humid climatic periods, the water supply of the Caspian increased, the volume of its waters increased, and the level rose. In dry climatic periods, the level of the Caspian Sea, on the contrary, decreased.

These secular and long-term fluctuations in the level of the Caspian Sea were faster than in the ocean. They led not only to the flooding of the Volga delta and its retreat, or, conversely, to its advance into the sea, but also to a change in its geographical position. According to paleogeographers, the modern Volga delta began to form in the maximum stage of the sea, i.e., 5-6 thousand years ago.

We will not consider here the complex geological history of the evolution of the Volga delta, we will focus only on its changes in the last about 180 years. Since 1837, these changes in the delta have been studied using data from instrumental observations of the water level, delta maps, and since the 1970s. - and satellite images.

A significant drop in the level of the Caspian began in the 1880s. and amounted to about 4 m by 1977, when the sea level dropped to -29.01 m abs., the lowest in the last at least 400 years. This drop in the level of the Caspian was accompanied by a rapid advance of the Volga delta into the sea. This advance was especially intense during the period of rapid sea level fall in 1929–1940. At that time, the rate of protrusion of the sea edge of the delta into the sea reached 400–600 m/year. This nomination was mostly "passive", ie. due not to the deposition of river sediments, but to the drainage of the near-delta areas of the seashore. The protrusion of the delta, in turn, was accompanied by a slight decrease in water levels in the lower parts of the delta branches and their slight erosion.

Such processes proceeded until the early 1960s, when, despite the continuing drop in the level of the Caspian Sea, the protrusion of the delta on the seashore sharply slowed down, and then stopped altogether. This was unexpected and at first seemed inexplicable. And only new studies of the State Oceanographic Institute and the Faculty of Geography of Moscow State University in 1970–1990. made it possible to explain such an unusual and anomalous "behavior" of the Volga delta.

The reason for this, as it turned out, is in the features of the huge and shallow estuarine coast of the Volga. At present, not a single delta on the oceanic and sea coasts has such a coastline. It was found that this shallow water at a low level of the Caspian (below -27.0 ... -27.5 m abs.) blocks the penetration into the delta of both long-term and short-term surge fluctuations in the Caspian level.

In the 1960s–1970s the estuary seashore became even more shallow and overgrown with aquatic vegetation. This required significant dredging of the shipping channels and the construction of fish channels to facilitate the passage of fish from the sea to the delta and river to spawn.

During the rise in the level of the Caspian Sea in 1978–1995. by 2.35 m to the mark of -27.66 m abs. the shallow zone of the seaside began to be gradually flooded by the sea. The connection of the delta with the sea began to recover and the levels in the lower reaches of the branches began to rise.

At present, the levels of the Caspian Sea and the lower part of the delta have begun to rise again.

And, finally, the third important feature of the Volga delta is an amazing combination of the great economic development of the delta and its huge natural biodiversity and high bioproductivity. The Volga Delta is a kind of oasis against the background of almost lifeless dry steppes and semi-deserts of the Caspian lowland.

The delta has an extremely rich flora and fauna. Willows (willow genus) grow along almost all branches and channels. The rest of the vegetation is characterized by some "zoning": it changes from the top of the delta to its seaside and estuarine coast. Poplar forests have been preserved in some areas.

The upper (near-top) zone of the delta is dominated by meadow vegetation - cereals, forbs. Of the wetland plants, there are rare thickets of reeds and cattails. In the middle zone of the delta, the nature of the vegetation is the same, but reed and cattail occupy a noticeably larger area. The hillocks in the middle zone are dominated by semi-desert vegetation typical of the landscape zone outside the delta. Irises and tulips bloom on hillocks in spring. The lower (coastal) zone of the delta is dominated by reeds, often forming dense thickets 4–4.5 m high (“krepi”), cattail (chakan), water chestnut (chilim), and nymphaeum. On the estuarine seaside, surface vegetation is represented by reeds, cattails, susaks, burrows, chilims, and underwater vegetation is represented by pondweed, vallisneria, and urutya.

Of the rare plant species at the mouth of the Volga (especially in the lower zone of the delta and in the coastal zone of the delta), the most remarkable is the walnut lotus. It is this type of lotus that is considered a sacred plant in India and China. In addition to the lotus, plants of rare species grow in the delta: bubbly aldrovanda, Egyptian marsilea.

The background species of ichthyofauna in the watercourses and reservoirs of the delta are freshwater fish, mainly cyprinids and perch: carp, bream, roach, tench, rudd, silver bream, asp, bleak, as well as pike, catfish, perch, pike perch, crucian carp, some species of gobies, more rare podust, sopa, sabrefish, bursh. A significant part of the fish population is made up of anadromous and semi-anadromous species that make spawning migrations to the delta, and marine fish species. Anadromous fish - sturgeon and herring - are found in the delta mainly during migration from the sea to spawning grounds in the Volga and return to the sea.

On the territory of the delta, the most numerous species of amphibians include the lake frog, which inhabits numerous channels, eriki, ilmeni, etc. Of the reptiles, the most widespread species in the delta are the common snake and the water snake, the patterned snake, the marsh turtle, and the nimble lizard.

There are 33 species of mammals in the fauna of the Volga delta, including insectivores (for example, the Russian muskrat is a rare relict species), bats (Mediterranean bat, Nathusius bat, etc.), hare-like (Russian hare), rodents (river beaver, muskrat, etc.). ), predatory (raccoon dog, wolf, fox, jackal, etc.), pinnipeds (Caspian seal) and artiodactyls (saiga, elk, wild boar).

The Volga Delta is the habitat and temporary residence of a number of rare and endangered bird species listed in the Red Books of the World Conservation Union (IUCN Red list–2006) and Russian Federation. Birds of 27 species listed in the Red Book of Russia nest here, in particular, the curly pelican, spoonbill, Egyptian heron, osprey, white-tailed eagle, saker falcon, little bustard, stilt, sultan. During periods of seasonal migrations and wanderings, black-headed gull, small cormorant, lesser white-fronted gull, stilt, peregrine falcon, red-throated goose, golden eagle, steppe eagle, Siberian Crane, Avocet, Avdotka, bustard, pink pelican are common. Black stork, flamingos fly in. In the group of wetland birds, the most species-rich and numerous are Anseriformes. Many mute swans, gray geese, mallards and red-nosed pochards nest here.

V.N. Mikhailov, M.V. Mikhailova

- [de], delta, female. 1. The name of the fourth letter in Greek. alphabet (D). 2. The mouth of the river branching into separate branches (geographic). Delta of the Volga. Dictionary Ushakov. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

This term has other meanings, see Delta (meanings). Photograph of the Nile Delta from space Delta is a lowland in the lower reaches of the river, composed of river sediments, cut through by an extensive network of branches and channels. Deltas are usually ... ... Wikipedia

- (Greek). Part of the land located at the mouths of rivers, between their branches; this name came from the fact that such a piece of land usually has the shape of the Greek letter delta (?). Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

1. DELTA [de], s; and. The mouth of a large river with its branches into separate branches and the land adjacent to it. D. Volga. ◁ Delta, oh, oh. D s deposits. ● From the name of the Greek letter, in the shape of a triangle. 2. DELTA [de], s; … encyclopedic Dictionary

- [de], s, female. The mouth of a large river with its branches into separate branches and the part of the land adjacent to it. D. Volga. | adj. deltaic, oh, oh. Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 ... Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov

A complex relief form that forms in the zone of interaction between land and sea, at the mouth of rivers, at the place where they flow into a shallow sea or lake basin. It has mixed alluvial accumulative and coastal maritime origin due to... ... Geographic Encyclopedia

UNESCO World Heritage Site No. 588 rus. ... Wikipedia

Map of the Kuban Delta, 1870 The Kuban Delta is one of the largest deltas in Russia, located at the mouth of the Kuban River. The area of ​​the Kuban delta is about 4,300 km² (1/4 of the size of the Volga delta, the largest in Europe). Kuban del ... Wikipedia

A lowland in the lower reaches of the river, composed of river sediments, cut through by a more or less branched network of branches and channels. The name D. comes from the capital letter of the Greek alphabet Δ (delta), by the similarity with which it was given in ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

delta- [de /], s, f. 1) The name of the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet: Δ, δ. 2) trans. The mouth of a large river with an alluvial plain formed by river sediments and cut through by numerous branches and channels. Danube Delta. The Anyui River at the mouth ... ... Popular dictionary of the Russian language

Books

• Delta. Photo album, . The authors of the album "Delta" are inquisitive biologists who are not indifferent to fate unique area the main water artery of Russia - ...
• New Atlas of Russia, . Your attention is invited to the Atlas, the main content of which is maps of the regions of Russia, which are of particular interest. This and curonian spit, and Lake Ilmen, and Meshchera, and Delta ...

(of which Akhtuba and Bakhtemir are navigable). They form systems of smaller streams (up to 30–40 m wide and with a water flow rate of less than 50 m³/s) that form the basis of the channel network.

The main flows of the Volga delta

The complexity of the structure large systems determined by a combination of processes of crushing and confluence of watercourses. The number of streams increases in the direction from the upper to the lower part of the delta. The upper part is dominated by large streams. Small bodies of water are relatively rare here; ducts and eriks die off. The number of small streams increases towards the sea edge of the delta. The watercourses of the Volga delta (in the upper and middle parts of the delta) have a meandering channel. In the coastal part, the main morphodynamic type of the channel is relatively straight.

An excerpt characterizing the Volga Delta