In what direction does the Volga River flow and why does it have no equal in Europe? Where does it flow and where does the channel become most full-flowing? All this will be discussed in the article.
The beginning of the way
The source of the river flows from a swamp near the village of Volgoverkhovye in the Tver region. From here, the Volga falls into small lakes (Verkhity, Sterzh, Vselug, Peno, Volgo). The first city that can be found if you move along the river from its source is Rzhev. On the territory of the Tver region, about one hundred and fifty tributaries flow into the Volga.
The river is usually divided into three sections:
Upper Volga - from the source to the confluence of the Oka.
Middle Volga - from the mouth of the Oka River to the confluence of the Kama River.
Lower Volga - from the mouth of the Kama to the Caspian Sea.
In each subsequent section, the river becomes more and more full.
First among equals
Description of the Volga River often begins with an indication of its greatness. Indeed, it has no equal in all of Europe. Its length exceeds 3.5 thousand kilometers, and the basin occupies more than a million square kilometers. The largest river delta in Europe. It includes about 500 sleeves and covers an area of 19 thousand m 2 .
The Volga basin is a third of the territory of our country. It extends from the Valdai Upland to the Urals. The Volga flows through a picturesque area: first through the forest zone, then through the forest-steppe and, finally, along the steppe.
The wealth of the river is not only in the huge resource of fresh water and electricity. Volga is a source of a large number of species of commercial fish. Among them are common carp, sturgeon, catfish, sterlet, pike. In the river delta, not far from Astrakhan, a reserve is located. Here you can meet flamingos and pelicans, see white cranes, Siberian Cranes and Egyptian herons, admire the lotus.
In what direction does the Volga flow?
As it moves toward the delta, the river changes direction several times. After the spring, it moves southeast. The first turn takes place in the area of the city of Zubtsov (approximately 371 km from the source). Now the Volga flows to the northeast. The river returns to its original direction in the region of Tver.
Again, it turns north-east near the city of Dubna and flows through the Tver and Yaroslavl regions. Only in the area from Rybinsk to the village of Tunoshna does the water flow move to the southeast. Then she returns to the previous direction. A little later, the river begins to move east. Volga makes a rather sharp turn in the area of the city of Yuryevets, Ivanovo Region - here it changes its direction to the south. After Gorodets the river again moves to the southeast.
In the middle reaches, the Volga changes direction several times, but mainly flows to the southeast. The next rather sharp turn of the channel is already taking place in the Samara region, not far from the Zhiguli mountains. Here the river begins to move westward, gradually changing direction in the region of the village of Pechersky to the southwest. A new turn is taking place not far from Volgograd. Then the course of the Volga River returns to the southeast direction. This remains her movement up to the mouth. Actually, the short answer to the question about in which direction the Volga River flows sounds simple: in the southeast.
Volga today
The river throughout the history of the formation and development of our country played a big role. And today she has not lost her meaning. Since the beginning of our century, industrial enterprises have been built and launched in the Volga region, and agriculture is growing.
One of the significant indicators of the economic importance of the river is the development of tourism. Volga cruises are gaining popularity every year. An increasing number of vacationers are wondering in which direction the Volga River flows and where you can get there. Since the mid-2000s, the increase in the flow of tourists amounted to 20%. This indicator clearly indicates that the Volga will continue to be great.