Kama is the most significant tributary of the Volga.Its source is located on the Verkhnekamsk Upland near a small Udmurt village Kuliga, above sea level at 330 meters. The length of the river is 1805 km. According to one of the interpretations, the name of the river in the translation from Udmurt - "kema" - means "long". The river basin is also significant and is equal to 507 thousand square kilometers.
The most interesting influx
Starting in Udmurtia, it flows through the territory of several regions and republics, and as it unites the Kirov region, the Perm region, Bashkiria and Tatarstan.
The Kama River is changing its direction all alongits channel several times. In the upper reaches it moves in the north-west direction, and then it turns to the northeast. Near the village Loyno makes a sharp turn to the south. Much water becomes after the confluence with the Pilva, and the left tributary of Kama-Vishera - turns it into a wide, full-flowing river.
At the confluence with the Volga, where it is nowKuibyshev reservoir, Kama flowed parallel to the longest river in Europe and separated from it by a rocky ridge. At present, there is no such mouth. The width of the Kuibyshev reservoir at the confluence of two large rivers reaches 40 km.
The river feeds mainly on snow, rain andunderground waters. Ledostav starts from the headwaters of the river in early November and lasts until April. When freezing, a large volume of intra-ice ice is formed. In spring the ice drift can take from several days to 15 days.
Kama Reservoir
The Kama River is blocked several timesdams, and in these places three large reservoirs are formed. Kama reservoir originated at the confluence of the right tributary of Urolka. Its length is almost 350 kilometers, and the width reaches 14 kilometers, with the greatest depth - 30 meters. The dam of Kama HPP is located in Perm.
The dam of the Votkinskaya HPP forms the Votkinsk Reservoir. At a length of 365 km its width is 9 km, and the greatest depth is 29 meters.
Near the city of Naberezhnye Chelny, the Kama River is closedanother dam, which forms the Nizhnekamsk reservoir. Its width reaches 20 km, and its length is almost 185 km. The maximum depth is 22 meters.
Created on the mighty Ural river, the cascade of hydroelectric power plants reduced the rate of its flow by almost 1.5 times. Even the shade of water has changed: it has become darker and significantly different from the Volga.
Using the river
The Kama River from the Kuibyshev Reservoir - placesmerging with the Volga - to the city of Solikamsk is navigable. At 60 km upstream from this town is located the village of Kerchevo, which was once the world's largest forestry raid. But in 1995 he stopped his work.
From Perm you can get to the waterway not only in Astrakhan or Nizhny Novgorod, but also in Moscow.
Kama, a river famous for the beauty of its picturesquebanks, attracts many tourists who want to not only admire its splendor, but also to join nature. Great popularity is enjoyed by water, pedestrian, ski and horseback tourist routes. In the upper reaches, the Kama is used for sport fishing. In this connection, the issue of reducing pollution of river waters with industrial wastewater becomes very urgent.
