The Volga is not in vain considered one of the greatest rivers in the world, its length is 3530 km, and the basin area of 1.3 million km² can be envied by many European countries. In ancient times it was known as Ra, in the Middle Ages it was called Itil.
Beginning takes among the swampy lakes of the Valdai Upland. Along a winding valley, moving from west to east, it flows through the Central Russian Upland. Each new tributary of the Volga, merging with it, makes it more and more full-flowing. Having reached the foothills of the Urals, near the city of Kazan, the channel turns sharply to the south and, making its way through a chain of ridges, enters the Caspian lowland. A huge delta is formed at the confluence with the Caspian Sea.
The river system includes about 151 thousand different watercourses, the total length of which exceeds 574 thousand kilometers. 300 other river streams of smaller length flow into the river. Most of them flow into it on the segment from the source to the city of Kazan. It should be noted that the left tributaries are much larger than the right ones, and besides, they are also much more abundant in water. 85 km from Kazan, the Kama flows into the river - the mosta large tributary of the Volga.
Who is more important: ancient Ra or Kama
The most important water artery of the European part of Russia becomes truly large and full-flowing after the confluence with the Kama. Near the city of Tolyatti, the dam of the Volga hydroelectric power station, having blocked the channel, forms a huge Kuibyshev reservoir. The largest left tributary of the Volga flows into this reservoir.
According to the main hydrological indicators, the Kama should be considered the main one, and the Volga - its right tributary. The first observations of scientists, carried out back in 1875, showed that at the confluence it carries in its channel 3100 m3 of water per second, and the Kama - 4300. It turns out that the tributary of the Volga is more full-flowing. This is explained by the fact that the main part of its basin is located in the taiga zone, where precipitation is higher than in other parts of the Volga basin.
There are a few more signs, according to which the Kama should be considered the main river. One of them is that its source is located above the beginning of the Volga, and in geography this is a sign of dominance. And in terms of the total number of tributaries, the great Russian river is inferior to the Kama.
And most importantly, the Kama already existed at a time when the most famous Russian river did not yet exist. In the first half of the Quaternary, until the greatest glaciation, the Kama, merging with the Vishera, carried its waters along the ancient channel to the Caspian Sea.
But in the history of Russia and in its culture, the significance of the largest river in Europe is undeniably more significant. Therefore, the Kama is a tributary of the Volga, and that's the point.
Pre-glacial river
Oka can also be considered the progenitor of the Volga, since its valley was formed before the onset of the ice age. It begins on the Central Russian Upland, the height of its source is 226 m. It flows into the main river near the city of Nizhny Novgorod. Its basin area is 245,000 km2. The length of the Oka is 1480 kilometers, and according to the nature of the flow, it is a typical flat river with an average slope of about 0.11o/oo. The largest right tributary of the Volga, according to the characteristics of the river valley and channel, is divided into upper and lower parts. Such well-known rivers as Moscow, Moksha and Klyazma flow into the Oka.
