Zusha River: general characteristics, hydrology, use

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:41

Zusha belongs to the water basin of the Oka and flows through the European part of Russia through the territories of the Tula and Oryol regions. The length of the river is 234 km, and the catchment area is 6950 km². The Zusha ends its journey at the border with the Bolkhovsky District, where it flows into the Oka as a right-hand tributary.

Basic information

Zusha is a relatively wide but shallow river with a fast current. It originates at the Alaun Heights, located in the Teplo-Ogarensky district of the Tula region near the village of Bolshoe Minino. The source has coordinates 53°26'31″ s. sh. and 37°28'48 E. e. The altitude of this place is 213 meters above sea level.

The mouth is located near the village of Gorodishche within the coordinates 53°26'56″ n. sh. and 36°23'08 E. e. The place where it flows into the Oka is 134 meters above sea level. The average slope of the Zushi River is 0.3 m/km. In the course of the flow, the value of this parameter gradually decreases. In the upper reaches, the slope is 1.33%, in the middle part - 0.4%, and in the lower reaches - 0.2%.

Zushi Poolheavily forested. Vegetation densely approaches the banks. The density of the river network within the basin (together with tributaries) is 0.32 km/km². The lake content of this territory is quite low (1%), there are practically no wetlands (1%).

The Zusha River has 19 tributaries, among which the largest are the Grunets, Filinka, Gryaznaya, Rakovka and Vereshchaga. The rest of the rivers on this list are less than 150 km long.

Within the Orel region, the Zusha River is the largest tributary of the Oka.

Characterization of the channel and river basin

Zusha is characterized by a very shallow channel (up to 2 meters), which varies greatly in width. The narrowest parts are the upper reaches (from 5 to 40 m). In the direction from the source to the mouth, the width gradually increases, but narrows again at the end. In the middle reaches, the distance between the banks reaches 60 m. In the lower reaches of the river, the width varies from 35 to 100 m.

Section of river	upstream	middle course	downstream
Features of the channel	slightly winding, with ravine erosion on the banks	is an alternation of almost straight two-kilometer sections with bends	embedded in places, with occasional ramifications
Depth, m	0, 4-0, 5 on rolls; up to 4, 5 on stretches	0, 8 on rolls; 2-2, 5 on stretches	1.3 to 1.8 (normal depth); 3, 1 on stretches; up to 0.7 on rolls
Bottom	rocky	rocky	sandy
Width of the river floodplain, m	30	80	250

There are no wide flood-type places on the Zusha River. The coast is mostly steep and rocky. The meadow type floodplain is used for agricultural purposes. The basin is characterized by developed karst.

Geography

First, the Zusha River flows southwest, passing through the Korsakovsky and Novosilsky districts, and then abruptly changes direction to the northwest, keeping it to the mouth. This turn has the appearance of a picturesque rounded bend.

The main part of the Zushi River is located on the territory of the Oryol region. There is a small initial section of the channel in the Tula region.

There are many ancient settlements along the banks of Zushi. The largest of them are the cities of Mnetsk and Novosil. At the same time, Zusha flows at a considerable distance from the regional capitals (Orel and Tula).

Hydrology

The Zusha River has a predominantly snowy nature of nutrition. The volume of annual flow is 0.918 km³/year, and 29.1 cubic meters of water passes through a single point of the channel per second (the average value of long-term measurements that were made 37 km from the mouth).

Most of the year, the Zusha River is in low water. The flood period is very short (about 30 days), but it accounts for most of the annual runoff (52%). Mostthe minimum value of water discharge was recorded for winter low water (17%). The summer-autumn period accounts for 31% of the annual runoff.

High water usually starts in the third decade of March and ends around the same dates in April. At this time, the maximum water flow rate is 511 m³/s, and the peak is 1790 m³/s. During the summer-autumn low water period, rains can lead to floods that last no more than two weeks. At this time, the water flow increases to 254 m³/s. In the absence of floods, it can drop to 138 m³/s. In winter, water consumption is the lowest (12.4 m³/s).

Freezing on Zush is quite long (about 122 days). The river freezes already in mid-November, and the ice drift begins only in the first ten days of April. In early March, the upper reaches of the Zushi are covered with the most powerful ice crust. In the lower reaches, the layer of frozen water reaches its maximum thickness by the end of February. Spring ice melt takes about 11 days.

The river is characterized by a fast current (0.2-0.3 m/sec), in some areas having rapids. However, Zushu still should not be compared with mountain rivers, which develop speeds from 1 to 4.5 m/s.

Use and infrastructure

Currently, Zushu is used in three ways:

• rest;
• fishing;
• energy supply.

The section of the river from the mouth to a point 35 km upstream used to be traversed by ships. Cargo was transported from the city of Mtsensk to the place where it flows into the Oka. Currently shipping on Zushamissing.

The Lykovskaya hydroelectric power station was built on the river, giving a capacity of 1300 kW / h. There are no other operating HPPs in the Oryol region. Three dams have also been built on the bed of Zushi, which are currently abandoned.

Zusha is far from the last place in the rating of fish rivers. More than 20 representatives of the ichthyofauna live here. The most effective catch can be expected from May to June. The most fishy area is considered to be the beginning of the river (the first 10 km of the channel).