This river has been protected by law since 1980, as it has been declared a State Natural Monument. According to legend, the name of the river comes from the Tatar word for beauty. The legend, which has many different interpretations, speaks of a beauty drowned in it - a Tatar girl.
The article presents a short story about the picturesque Usmanka River in the Voronezh Region.
Geography
Usmanka (or Usman) carries its waters through the territories of the Voronezh and Lipetsk regions of Russia, being a tributary of the Voronezh River. The river has two names. The name Usman belongs to the upstream, Usmanka to the downstream. The source is located on the Oka-Don Plain, and the mouth is located on the left bank of the Voronezh River - at the point of their confluence.
The shores and the Usman valley are mostly swampy and represent a large number of small lakes connected by channels. In summer, especially during dry times, the reservoir becomes very shallow, so dams and dams were built to maintain the water level in it.
The Usmanka River takesits beginning near the village of Moskovka, Lipetsk region of Russia (Usamnsky district). Then it flows through the territories of the Verkhnekhavsky and Novousmansky districts of the Voronezh region. 4 kilometers southeast of the village of Ramon (Ramonsky district) flows into the Voronezh River.
River characteristics
Usmanka is a left tributary of the river. Voronezh. The length is 151 km, the total area of the basin is 2840 km2. The average annual volume of water consumption is almost 2 m³ per second. (117 kilometers from the mouth). On average, the width of the river is from 10 to 20 meters, reaching up to 50 meters on spills. The course of the river is moderate.
The river in Voronezh at its very beginning flows from north to south, then turns to the west, and further to the northwest. Use - water supply of settlements. It should be noted that the Voronezh Nature Reserve is located in the river basin.
Localities
There are settlements along the Usmanka River from its source to its mouth:
- Usmansky district of the Lipetsk region: the villages of Moskovka, Krasny Kudoyar, Pushkari, Bochinovka, Krasnoe, Ternovka, Storozhevoe, Peskovatka-Kazachya, Novogulyanka, Peskovatka-Boyarskaya and the city of Usman.
- Voronezh region: villages of Verkhnekhavskiy district - Tolshi, Vodokachka, Zheldaevka, Enino, Lukichevka, Zabugorye, Uglyanets, Parizhskaya Kommuna, Nikonovo; villages of the Novousmansky district - Orlovo, Gorki, Small Gorki, Khrenovoye, Rykan, Bezbozhnik, Novaya Usman, Nechaevka, Otradnoye, Babyakovo, Borovaya (railway station); the village of Ramon, Ramonsky district (5 kilometersfrom the lower reaches).
Main tributaries
In total, about 20 tributaries flow into the Voronezh Usmanka River with an average length of 600 meters to 50 kilometers. The largest: Matryonka, Belovka, Khava, Privalovka, Khomutovka, Maiden.
At the State Reserve, the river receives several small tributaries, streams, flowing into the river mainly from the left side. The main tributaries-streams: Devichenko, Yamny, Privalovsky (or Zmeyka), Ledovsky, Shelomensky.
Vegetation
On the border of the Lipetsk and Voronezh regions near the Usmanka River on its right side, as noted above, is the Voronezh State Reserve.
The vegetation is mainly represented by aspen and oaks, among which old pines stand alone. Pine-deciduous forests also grow here. The first tier is represented by pine, the second - by aspen, oak and occasionally birch, and the third - by Tatar maple, warty euonymus, mountain ash, brittle buckthorn, etc.
The grass cover is represented by broad-leaved crops. A significant area (about 40%) is occupied by cultivated pine plantations of various ages. Birches are much smaller. In the floodplain of the Usmanka River, there are small areas with black alder along the banks. Young oak forest, and aspen, and in some places hazel grows here. The most common of the tree vegetation: pine, oak, alder, birch, aspen, elm, ash, linden, maples (holly, Tatar, field), brittle willow, apple and pear.
Meadows extend to a greater extent in the floodplain of the river (797 ha). During the flood period, floodplain places of the river with abundant vegetation are flooded.
Hydrology
The river in Voronezh Usman is mostly fed by snow. It is also replenished by atmospheric precipitation, but unevenly. The water supply from melted snows is 70-75%, ground supply - up to 20%, rain supply - 3-10%. The river is covered with a layer of ice at the end of autumn (November-December), from the ice it opens in March-April.
Due to the slight slope, the river is a chain of numerous lakes with backwaters and wetlands. And the floodplain is mostly swamped, and its width does not exceed 1 kilometer. In places it narrows to 300 meters or less.
