A huge number of rivers and streams flow through the territory of Russia - about two and a half million! Most of them are small. But there are those who deserve to occupy an appropriate place in the ranking called “The Largest Rivers of Russia”. So...
Northern Dvina
In tenth place is the Northern Dvina, which is part of the White Sea basin. It got its name, meaning “double river”, because it was formed by the merger of two rivers - the South and Sukhan.
The Northern Dvina flows through the Arkhangelsk and Volgograd regions of Russia. Its length is 744 kilometers. And the pool area is 357 thousand square meters. km It was on the Northern Dvina that Russian shipbuilding was born.
Indigirka and Khatanga
The ninth and eighth places in the ranking are occupied by such largest rivers in Russia as the Indigirka and Khatanga, respectively.
Indigirka flows through the lands of Yakutia (Republic of Sakha). The water flow originates on the Khalkan ridge, where two rivers merge - Kuidusan and Omekon, and then fall into the East Siberian Sea.
Khatanga flows in the Krasnoyarsk Territory of Russia, flows into the Hatan Bay of the Laptev Sea. It also formed in the place where the rivers Kotui and Kheta merge.
The area of the Indigirka river basin reaches 360 thousand square meters. km, and Khatanga - 364 thousand. Today, these rivers are one of the most important waterways of North-Eastern Russia. Fishing and rafting are popular here.
Don
In seventh place is Don. It bypasses all the major rivers of Russia on the southern highlands. It begins in the Tula region, flows through the territories of the Voronezh, Lipetsk, Rostov and Volgograd regions. It flows into the Sea of Azov (Taganrog Bay).
The name of the river was given by the Iranian peoples who once settled in the territories of the Northern Black Sea Coast. From Iranian Don is translated as "river".
The flow of the water artery is usually divided into three sections: the Upper Don (from the source to the place where the Tikhaya Sosna River flows into it), the Middle (to the city of Kalach-on-Don) and the Lower (from the Tsimlyansk reservoir and to the mouth of the river).
The length of the river inspires respect - about 1870 km. And its area is 422 thousand square kilometers.
Kolyma
The next river on our list (6th place) is Kolyma. It surpasses all the major rivers of Russia located in the Magadan region. Its length reaches 2513 km, and the area is 645 thousand square meters. km Kolyma is formed in the Okhotsk-Kolyma Highlands, by the confluence of the Kula and Ayan-Yuryakh rivers. The mouth of the considered water body is the East Siberian Sea, and more precisely, the Kolyma Bay.
The Kolyma was discovered by the Cossacks after the discovery of such large rivers of Russia as the Indigirka (in 1638) and Alazey (1639). In 1644, on its banks, the Cossack Mikhail Stadukhin founded the Nizhne-Kolymsky winter hut and compiled the first information about the militant Chukchi from the North.
Volga
The fifth largest river is the Volga Mother. It flows in the European part of Russia, and its lower sleeve captures the territory of Kazakhstan. The water artery originates from the key on the Valdai plateau (Tver region) and flows into the Caspian Sea.
The Volga basin bypasses all the largest rivers in the European part of Russia. It takes the fourth place in length. The Volga is recognized as the largest in Europe and the largest river in the world (of those that flow into inland waters).
The length of the water stream reaches 3530 km, and the area - 1 361 000 square meters. km
Cupid and Lena
The fourth and third places, respectively, are occupied by such large rivers of Russia as the Amur and Lena.
Cupid-father flows through the territory of three countries at once (Mongolia, China and Russia). The name of the river comes from the Tungus-Manchu word amar, which translates as “big river”. The pool area is over 1.8 million square meters. km and a length of 2824 km.
The source of Lena is in the Siberian mountains, a river flows through the territory of Yakutia, Krasnoyarsk, Trans-Baikal and Khabarovsk Territories, as well as the Republic of Buryatia, and flows into the Laptev Sea. The length is 4480 km, and the area is 1.5 million square meters. km, which gives it the right to be called the third river of Russia. Lena was discovered in the 17th century by all the same Cossacks.
Yenisei
Yenisei on 90 thousand square meters. km exceeds Lena in area (its basin is 2 580 000 sq. km), and therefore takes the second place in the rating "The largest rivers of Russia".
This object got its name from the Evenki word “Ionessi”, which translates as “big water”, or from the ancient Kyrgyz “Ene-Sai” - “river-mother”. His mouth is in the Small Yenisei. It flows through the vast territories of Russia and Mongolia, and ends its journey in the Arctic Ocean. The total water flow path is 4287 kilometers. Yenisei is considered the seventh largest river in the world.
Ob
And finally, the largest river in Russia is the Ob. It was formed in the place where the two rivers merged together - Katun and Biya. The length of the water artery reaches 5410 km, and the area is almost 3 million square meters. Km! The Ob lies on the lands of Western Siberia. The mouth of the river is the Gulf of Ob (Bay in the Kara Sea). Ob is considered the second among the largest rivers in Asia. The first is the Chinese Yangtze.
All the tribes that ever lived on the banks of the Ob gave it its name. Thus, the Mansi and the Khanty nicknamed it “As,” which meant “big river,” and the Nenets, “Salya Yam,” translated as “cape river.” In the Selkup language, Ob sounded like "Eme", "Kuay" or "Kwai", which meant "steep river."
This water body is of great industrial and economic importance for the whole of Russia. This is where gas and oil are produced. In the Ob regions, most of the peat reserves of the CIS countries are stored. In addition, there are the largest volumes of fish caught.