The Caspian Sea is one of the largest saline reservoirs of the Earth, located at the junction of Europe and Asia. Its total area is about 370 thousand square meters. km The reservoir receives more than 100 water streams. The largest rivers flowing into the Caspian Sea are the Volga, Ural, Emba, Terek, Sulak, Samur, Kura, Atrek, Sefidrud.
The Volga River - the pearl of Russia
Volga - a river flowing on the territory of the Russian Federation, partially crosses Kazakhstan. Belongs to the category of the largest and longest rivers on Earth. The total length of the Volga is more than 3500 km. The river originates in the village of Volgoverkhovye, Tver Region, located on the Valdai Upland. After that, she continues her movement through the territory of the Russian Federation.
The Volga River flows into the Caspian Sea, but does not have a direct outlet to the World Ocean; therefore, it is referred to as internal effluent. The watercourse receives about 200 tributaries and has more than 150 thousand gutters. Today, reservoirs have been built on the river, which allow regulating the flow, due to which water level fluctuations are sharply reduced.
Fishing of the river is diverse. Melon breeding prevails in the Volga region: the fields are occupied by grain and industrial crops; table salt is extracted. In the Urals region, oil and gas deposits have been discovered. The Volga is the largest river flowing into the Caspian Sea, so it is of great importance for Russia. The main transport facility that allows you to cross this stream is the Presidential Bridge. It is the longest in Russia.
Ural - river in Eastern Europe
The Urals, like the Volga River, flow in the territory of two states - Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation. The historical name is Yaik. It originates in Bashkortostan on top of the Uraltau ridge. The Ural River flows into the Caspian Sea. Its pool is the sixth largest in the Russian Federation, and the area is more than 230 square meters. km An interesting fact: the Ural River, contrary to popular belief, belongs to the internal European river, and only its upper reaches in Russia belong to Asia.
The mouth of the watercourse is gradually becoming shallow. At this point, the river is divided into several branches. This feature is characteristic throughout the length of the channel. During floods, one can observe how the Urals comes out of its banks, in principle, like many other Russian rivers flowing into the Caspian Sea. This is especially observed in places with a gentle coastline. Flooding occurs at a distance of up to 7 meters from the channel.
Emba - the river of Kazakhstan
Emba is a river flowing on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The name comes from the Turkmen language, literally translated as "valley of subsistence." River basin with an area of 40 thousand square meters. km The river begins its journey in the mountains of Mugodzhary and, flowing along the Caspian lowland, is lost among the swamps. Asking the question, which rivers flow into the Caspian Sea, we can say that in the full-flowing years Emba reaches its basin.
Extraction of natural resources such as oil and gas is ongoing along the river's coastline. The issue of crossing the border between Europe and Asia along the Emba watercourse, as in the case of the river. Ural, an open topic today. The reason for this is the natural factor: the mountains of the Ural Range, which are the main reference point for bordering, disappear, forming a homogeneous area.
Terek - mountain water stream
Terek is a river of the North Caucasus. The name is literally translated from Turkic as "poplar." The Terek flows out of the Zilga-Khokh glacier located in the Trusovsky Gorge of the Caucasus Range. The river bed passes through the lands of many states: North Ossetia, Georgia, Stavropol Territory, Kabardino-Balkaria, Dagestan and the Chechen Republic. It flows into the Caspian Sea and the Gulf of Arkhangelsk. The length of the river is slightly more than 600 km, the pool area is about 43 thousand square meters. km An interesting fact is that every 60-70 years a stream forms a new transit arm, while the old one loses its strength and disappears.
Terek, like other rivers flowing into the Caspian Sea, is widely used to meet human economic needs: it is used to irrigate arid areas of the surrounding lowlands. Also, several hydropower plants are located on the water stream, the total average annual production of which is more than 200 million kWh. In the near future it is planned to launch new additional stations.
Sulak - water stream of Dagestan
Sulak is a river connecting the flows of Avar Koisu and Andean Koisu. It flows in the territory of Dagestan. It starts in the Main Sulak Canyon and ends its journey in the waters of the Caspian. The main purpose of the river is water supply to two cities of Dagestan - Makhachkala and Caspian. Also, several hydroelectric power stations are already located on the river; it is planned to launch new ones to increase the generated capacity.
Samur - the pearl of South Dagestan
Samur is the second largest river in Dagestan. Literally, the name from the Indo-Aryan translates as "an abundance of water." It starts at the foot of Mount Guton; it flows into the waters of the Caspian Sea with two arms - Samur and Small Samur. The total length of the river is just over 200 km.
All rivers flowing into the Caspian Sea are of great importance for the territories through which they flow. Samur is no exception. The main focus of the use of the river is irrigation of land and the provision of residents of nearby cities with drinking water. It is because of this that a waterworks and a number of water intake structures of the Samur-Divichinsky Canal were built.
At the beginning of the 20th century (2010), Russia and Azerbaijan signed an interstate agreement requiring both parties to rationally use the resources of the Samur River. The same agreement introduced territorial changes between these countries. The border of the two states has been moved to the middle of the hydraulic system.
Kura - the largest river in the Caucasus
When wondering which rivers flow into the Caspian Sea, I want to describe the Kuru stream. It flows on the land of three states at once: Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan. The length of the stream is more than 1000 km, the total area of the basin is about 200 thousand square meters. km Part of the basin is located in Armenia and Iran. The source of the river is in the Turkish province of Kars, flows into the waters of the Caspian Sea. The path of the river is thorny, laid among hollows and gorges, for which it got its name, which is translated from the Mingrelian language means "gnaw", that is, the Kura is a river, "gnawing" to itself among mountains.
It has many cities, such as Borjomi, Tbilisi, Mtskheta and others. It plays an important role in meeting the economic needs of residents of these cities: fishing is underway , hydroelectric power stations are located, and the Mingechevir reservoir created on the river is one of the main fresh water reserves for Azerbaijan. Unfortunately, the ecological state of the flow leaves much to be desired: the level of harmful substances is several times higher than the limits of permissible norms.
Features of the Atrek River
Atrek is a river located in Iran and Turkmenistan. It originates in the Turkmen-Kharasan mountains. Due to the active use in household needs for irrigation, the river has become shallow. For this reason, it reaches the Caspian Sea only during the flood period.
Sefidrud - the deep-water river of the Caspian
Sefidrud is a large river of the Iranian state. It was originally formed by the merger of two water streams - Kyzyluzen and Shahrud. Now it flows out of the Shabanau reservoir and flows into the depths of the Caspian. The total length of the river is more than 700 km. The creation of a reservoir has become a necessity. It allowed minimizing the risks of floods, thereby protecting the city located in the river delta. Water is used for irrigation of lands with a total area of more than 200 thousand hectares of land.
As can be seen from the presented material, the water resources of the Earth are in unsatisfactory condition. Rivers flowing into the Caspian Sea are actively used by man to satisfy their needs. And this adversely affects their condition: watercourses are depleted and polluted. That is why scientists all over the world are sounding the alarm and conducting active propaganda, urging them to save and save water on Earth.