Almost all rivers of the Leningrad Region belong to the Baltic Sea basin. It follows that they carry their waters to the Atlantic Ocean. And only the water system located in the extreme eastern part belongs to the Volga basin.
The dense river network in this area is well developed. If you add up the length of all the water flows in this region, you get a rather large figure, a little more than 50 thousand km. The rivers of the Leningrad Region are mainly fed by snows and precipitation. Characterized by spring flood and winter steady low water. The entire water system of the region is quite ramified.
Luga River
The Luga River begins in the Novgorod region near the village of Tesovsky at an altitude of 53 meters and carries its waters to the Luga Bay in the Gulf of Finland. The length of the water stream is a little more than 350 km, and the catchment area is about 13 thousand square meters. km The Luga River of the Leningrad Region is a watercourse with a large number of tributaries, but it is customary to single out only the six largest: Dolgaya, Saba - the left, and Oredezh, Lizard, Lemovzha, Vruda - the right.
The riverbed is mostly sandy, but pebbly on the moraine hills, since rapids (Kingisepp and Sobsky) are found. The floodplain of the Luga is not very indented, in places there are elders and bays. Ice is covered in December, opened in April.
The rivers of the Leningrad region are of great importance for the region. For example, p. The meadow is used in shipping, but only in separate sections between the rapids. It is also involved in the urban water supply system and in the energy sector (at the moment the hydroelectric power station is mothballed). The environmental situation is satisfactory.
The long river (Leningrad region)
Dolgaya River - the left tributary of the river. Meadows, flows only in Russia (Leningrad region). Its source is the small lake Spass-Kotor. Further downstream there are many ponds, of which Dolgaya eats. It carries its waters to the Luga River. The length of the Dolgoy River is slightly more than 90 km, and the basin area is 830 square meters. km The water stream has tributaries: Dymakarka (left) and Samro (right).
Narva River
Narva (another name is Narov or Bek) is an Estonian-Russian border river. It starts flowing from Lake Peipsi-Pskov at an altitude of 30 meters above sea level and carries its waters to the Narva Bay in the Gulf of Finland. The length of the river is only 77 km, with a depth of up to five and a half meters, and the average width is approximately 250 m, the catchment area is 56,200 square meters. km There are two large rapids on this water stream, which are located 17 km from the mouth; the city of the same name was built on them. There is also a water mirror of the reservoir. The Narva River freezes in December, the ice holds until April.
There are a lot of tributaries at the watercourse, but Rossony and Plyussa are considered the main ones. At the first, an interesting phenomenon is observed, which is called "inversion" because it is a binder between p. Luga and p. Narva. The peculiarity lies in the fact that Rosson, depending on the water level, can change the direction of the flow, one way, then the other.
Narva plays an important role in providing two countries: small shipping, there are hydroelectric power stations, recreational value, as well as economic. The border river is rich in roach, pike, rudd, perch and bream.
Svir River
The list of “Rivers of the Leningrad Region” replenishes a large watercourse - Svir. It acts as the most important link in the Mariinsky water system, now the Volga-Baltic waterway. The river originates from Lake Onega and for 224 km carries water to Ladoga, forming a delta. The catchment basin is more than 84 thousand square meters. km The width of the river varies from 100 meters to 12 km in the flood.
Svir has a lot of left tributaries, but much less right ones. This phenomenon is explained by the asymmetry of the basin. The largest left tributaries are Pasha and Oyat. The river flows through the hilly area where glaciers passed, and therefore is not without thresholds. But the anthropogenic change in the channel raised the water level and completely flooded them. The Svir River is used for hydropower supply, shipping, timber rafting, recreation and fishing. Salmon, grayling, catfish, ide are found in the river.
Okhta River
The right large tributary of the Neva River is the Okhta River (Bear River). The source is located in the Lembolovo heights of the Vsevolozhsk region. The length of the river is 90 km, and the width varies from 10 to 60 m, the depth is no more than 6 m. The channel of the Okhta is deeply incised, slightly winding, the lake floodplain, the banks are steep (slope up to 5 m), the bottom is muddy and even. There are many influxes: Harvazi, Pippolovka, Okkervil and others. The environmental situation on the river is negative, and in 2011 it was assigned the 4th level - “dirty”.