home » Hats » Interesting facts and beautiful places on the Kama for rafting and fishing, flora and fauna of the river. Where is the source of the Kama River? Geography and interesting facts of the Kama River on a physical map

Interesting facts and beautiful places on the Kama for rafting and fishing, flora and fauna of the river. Where is the source of the Kama River? Geography and interesting facts of the Kama River on a physical map

Kama River – main tributary Volga, and one of the largest rivers in the European part of Russia. There is even an opinion that it is not the Kama that flows into the Volga, but vice versa. Since the channel of the Kama appeared earlier, its basin is larger, and the number of tributaries is also greater. But in geography, tradition means a lot, and the Russians began to develop the Kama from the Volga basin, which is why it is believed that the Volga is more important.

Chaif group, song “Kama River”:

Characteristics of the Kama River.

Map:

River length: 1805 km. Before the construction of three dams it was more than 2 thousand km.

Drainage basin area: 507,000 sq. km.

Where does it occur: The Kama originates in the village of Kuliga, Udmurt Republic, from four streams. The height of the source is 331 meters above sea level. In the upper reaches, the river flows along a winding channel, forming numerous oxbow lakes in the floodplain. The river becomes full-flowing only after the Vishera flows into it. Here it is worth mentioning one more controversial point; in fact, it should be assumed that it is not the Vishera that flows into the Kama, but vice versa. Therefore, judging strictly by science, Vishera should have become main river Russia, not the Volga and not the Kama. But history cannot be changed, so it is better to leave everything as it is.

In the lower reaches the river spills over a wide valley, forming branches. Here the width of the channel is 450-1200 m. Below the mouth of the Vyatka River, the Kama flows into the Volga, or rather into the Kama Bay, Kuibyshev Reservoir. Here, in the floodplain of the river, there is such a beautiful place as the Tanaevsky floodplain meadows.

Tributaries: 73,718 rivers flow into the Kama, most (94.5%) of them are small rivers up to 10 km long. All right tributaries (Kosa, Urolka, Kondas, Inva, Lysva, Obva) and some of the left ones (Veslyana, Lunya, Leman, South Keltma) are lowland rivers. Mountain rivers flow from the Ural Mountains and flow into the Kama on the left side. These are Vishera, Yayva, Kosva, Chusovaya (especially good)…

River mode

The river is mostly fed by snow, but there is also rain and underground. During the spring flood (from March to June), 62.6% of the annual flow passes through the river. Water level fluctuations are 7-8 meters.

Freezing: The river becomes covered with ice in November (beginning of November in the upper reaches and end of November in the lower reaches), the ice lasts until April.

Economic use

Three reservoirs have been created on the river, these are: Kama, Nizhnekamsk and Votkinsk reservoirs.

Below Solikamsk on the banks of the river it was built a large number of factories. Therefore, the ecological situation in the middle reaches and below leaves much to be desired.

In general, industry on the Kama River has a rich and long history; even the name of the city Solikamsk indicates that salt was mined here.

Watch more in the video film: “Ridge of Russia: Perm Region”

Cities on the Kama: Solikamsk, Berezniki, Perm, Krasnokamsk, Tchaikovsky, Neftekamsk, Naberezhnye Chelny, Nizhnekamsk, Chistopol and others.

Biological resources, inhabitants: The main types of fish in the river are carp, asp, crucian carp, sturgeon, bream, sterlet, pike perch, perch, ruffe, burbot, catfish, pike and others.

Holidays on Kama can be varied. Lovers active rest and rafting will be preferred by the upper reaches of the river. For those who prefer more relaxing holiday A large number of recreation centers, fisheries, and dispensaries have been built. Kama is also of interest as a place for fishing, but due to ecological situation It’s better to limit it to the upper reaches.

Video: “Walk along the Kama River, in the water area of the city of Perm HD”

Video: “Winter. Kama. Slavic fishing."

“Discovering” a word means not only penetrating its meaning, but also at the same time comprehending the world of its ancient brother. “Kama” is a non-Russian word. But whose? What is the meaning behind it? Here's what the researchers write. The name of the word “Kama” in its origin comes from the tribes that lived in ancient times in the Kama region. The Komi-Zyryans call the Kama “Kama-Yas” - “bright river”, the Udmurts - “Budzhim-Kama” - “long, big river”, Chuvash - “Zhord-Adyl”, Cheremis - “Chelman-Vis”, Tatars - “Cholman-idel” and so on.

Geographical information about Kama

The Kama is a river in the European part of Russia, the left and largest tributary of the Volga River.

It ranks 6th in terms of length in Europe. Its length is 1805 km, the basin area is 507 thousand km². Originates in the central part of the Verkhnekamsk Upland from four springs at former village Karpushata, now part of the village of Kuliga, Kezsky district of the Udmurt Republic. Through the territory of the Perm region it flows in an easterly direction, and then turns south. More than half of its path the Kama flows through our region. It flows mainly between the heights of the High Trans-Volga region along a wide, sometimes narrowing valley. In the upper reaches (from the source to the mouth of the Pilva River) the channel is unstable and winding, on the floodplain of an oxbow lake. After the confluence of the river, the Vishera becomes a high-water river; the banks change: the right one remains low and is predominantly meadow in nature, the left one almost everywhere becomes elevated and in places steep. There are many islands in this area, and there are shoals and rifts. Below the confluence of the Belaya River at the Kama, the right bank becomes high and the left bank low.

In the lower reaches of the Kama flows in a wide (up to 15 km) valley, the width of the channel is 450–1200 m; breaks into sleeves. Below the mouth of the Vyatka River, the river flows into the Kama Bay of the Kuibyshev Reservoir (the backwater from which sometimes reaches the mouth of the Belaya River).

There are 73,718 rivers in the Kama River basin, of which 94.5% are small rivers less than 10 km long. The main tributaries on the left are South Keltma, Vishera with Kolva, Chusovaya with Sylva, Belaya with Ufa, Ik, Zai; on the right - Kosa, Obva, Vyatka. All the right tributaries of the Kama (Kosa, Urolka, Kondas, Inva, Obva) and some of the left ones (Veslyana, Lunya, Leman, South Keltma) are lowland rivers flowing from the north. Mountainous, cold and swift rivers originate in Ural mountains and flow into the Kama River from the left (Vishera, Yayva, Kosva, Chusovaya and a number of their tributaries).

3 reservoirs and hydroelectric power stations have been created on the river: from the mouth of the Urolka River (996 km from the mouth of the Kama) the Kama Reservoir (Kama Hydroelectric Power Station) begins, immediately below it is the Votkinsk Reservoir (Votkinsk Hydroelectric Power Station), followed by the Nizhnekamsk Reservoir (Nizhnekamsk Hydroelectric Power Station).

Food is predominantly snow, as well as underground and rain; behind spring flood(March - June) more than 62.6% of the annual flow passes, in summer and autumn - 28.3%, in winter - 9.1%. The range of level fluctuations is up to 8 m in the upper reaches and 7 m in the lower reaches. Average consumption the Kamskaya hydroelectric station has 1630 cubic meters. m/sec, at the Votkinsk hydroelectric station about 1750 cubic meters. m/sec, at the mouth about 3500 cubic meters. m/sec, the largest is about 27,500 cubic meters. m/sec. Freezing is accompanied by abundant formation of inland ice and ice drift for 10 to 20 days. Freeze-up occurs from early November in the upper reaches and late November in the lower reaches until April. Spring ice drift from 2–3 to 10–15 days. The creation of reservoirs improved navigation conditions. The Kama is navigable to the village of Kerchevsky (966 km) - the largest raft roadstead, and in high water - another 600 km. Navigable depths on the lower Kama are maintained by dredging.

Main ports and marinas: Solikamsk, Berezniki, Levshino, Perm, Krasnokamsk, Tchaikovsky, Sarapul, Kambarka, Naberezhnye Chelny, Chistopol. From Perm there are regular passenger flights to Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Astrakhan and Ufa. The picturesque banks of the Kama attract a large number of tourists.

The river is inhabited by sterlet, sturgeon, bream, carp, crucian carp, asp, silver bream, ide, chub, bleak, pike perch, perch, ruff, pike, burbot, catfish, etc. In the upper reaches (and in places in tributaries) taimen and grayling are found. Aquatic vegetation is well developed, especially in numerous bays and backwaters.

Origin of the word "Kama"

Many languages of the world have the word “Kama”. For each nation it has its own meaning. It is known for certain that “Kama” is a non-Russian word. Let's try to analyze different points views on the origin of this word and its connection with the name of a large European river.

The origin of the name Kama is lost in the same unimaginable depths of human history, when peoples and their languages were united. Kama – in a number of Finno-Ugric languages means “river”. With the same meaning, but in a slightly different vocalization - kem, a whole series of hydronyms and toponyms are known on the territory of Eurasia. For example, there is a river called Kem in Karelia and Eastern Siberia. The Kema River flows into the protected Beloozero in the Vologda region. But with exactly the same “river” meaning, this root base is used by the Chinese and Mongols. Tuvans and Khakassians also call the Yenisei - Kem. In Altai Ak-Kem (“ White water") is a tributary of the Katun, and in the vicinity of the sacred Belukha Mountain there is a whole complex with the same name: two lakes, a melting glacier, a pass...

Similar hydronyms are found in Central Asia and Europe. At the same time, linguists claim that the root “kem” is of Indo-European origin. In this case, the name of the Ural Kama not only accidentally coincides with the name of the ancient Indian god of love Kama (after whom the treatise “Kama Sutra” is named), but also certainly has a common source of origin. One cannot help but remember Kamchatka...

Moving mentally in the footsteps of the ancient Indo-Europeans to Europe, we find similar place names here too: Cambridge (“City on the River”, and this river is called Cam) - in England; Quimper (from the Old Breton name meaning "Confluence of Rivers") - in France; Kemeri is an ancient settlement (and now a famous resort) on the site of a healing spring in Latvia. It is no coincidence, apparently, that one of the self-names of the ancient Egyptians - Kemi - is associated with the flood of the Nile. But that's not all. It is known that in ancient times a shaman in Rus' was called kam. The word was borrowed from the Polovtsians, who professed shamanism. Hence the word kamlanie, which has survived to this day - a ritual action of a shaman. Perhaps the ancient Aryan god of love Kama was once a shaman?

Humanity has compiled myths, fairy tales, and legends about the origin of the names of many geographical objects. The legend of the Komi-Permyak people is interesting.

About the origin of the main water artery Perm region- the legend of the Kama River says that once it rained all summer, and there was not a single sunny day. The rivers all overflowed, their banks collapsed, and the earth became liquid. People, animals and beasts were saved on high mountains. Only Kama the hero (mythological hero of the Komi-Permyak) people could move through the area flooded with water. He walked around all the surroundings and discovered that the flow of the rivers was blocked by a mountain that had collapsed from erosion. The hero lassoed a huge stone and dragged it through the dam, plowing the ground like a plow. A new channel was formed, water poured into it and a new river appeared - the mighty Kama, named after the hero.

The word “Kama” is also found in the ancient Indian language and means “love”. In ancient times there were huge connections Prikamye with Iran and India. Perhaps the word “Kama” was brought from there.

Kama, the most significant river in the Urals, a left tributary of the Volga. It was first mentioned in Russian chronicles in 1220. There are many explanations, and among them, for example, Kama is from the Old Russian “kama” - “stone”.

From the Zyryan-Permyak language it is translated as “fell strongly,” that is, “water that has a strong fall” (originally Kamva). But the Kama River is flat. Therefore, this assumption can be considered absurd.

It is no better to assume that Kama from the Udmurt “kam” means “long”, “long”, if only because in Udmurt “long”, “long” is not “kam”, but “kema”.

In the middle of the 19th century, the opinion was expressed that Kama was of the same origin as “Kommu” - “Komi Country”. This version was later repeated by many, but Professor V.I. Lytkin proved that the word “Komi” is related to the Mansi “hum”, “kum”, that is, “man” and has nothing in common with the hydronym Kama.

There are several other possible ways to explain this word. The Kama, like the Volga, is called by the Turkic peoples Idel - “river”, and since the names of large rivers often simply mean “River”, it may be that precisely this meaning is hidden in the toponym Kama. Then the name Kama is very ancient and is associated with some unknown language. The name of the Kama River also has the following interpretations: “Kama” is derived from the Udmurt word “kam”, which means “water”. According to another version, the name Kama is based on the Ob-Ugric (Khanty) “kam” - “transparent”, “pure”, that is, Kama - “Pure”.

The reasoning of Academician N. Marr is close in meaning. He suggested that the river was called ancient tribe who inhabited its shores. And translated into Russian, Kama means “white, bright, long and big river.”

Translated from Bulgarian “Kama” means “love”. But such an interpretation is unlikely to be connected with the name of the river.

Such reasoning cannot be ignored. Kama (German, singular Kamm, literally – ridge) are hills and ridges in areas of anthropogenic continental glaciation. They are found singly and in groups, mainly in the north-west of the European part of Russia (Karelia, Baltic states, Leningrad region). Height from 2–5 to 20–30 m. Composed of sands with lenses and interlayers of clays with inclusions of individual boulders and their clusters. It is characterized by enveloping layering, approximately following the contour of the transverse profile of the Kama River; the top is often covered with loams, often with boulders. The question of the origin of Kama is not entirely clear. According to one of the most common hypotheses, the Kama arose as a result of the accumulating activity of streams that circulated on the surface, inside and in the bottom part of large blocks of dead ice during the period of glacier degradation. Glaciers played important role in soil formation and relief formation of the Perm region. Therefore, the origin of the word “Kama” from the German “Kama” is quite plausible.

Kama - large river, flowing through the territory of several regions of Russia: Udmurt Republic, Perm Territory, Kirov Region, the Republics of Bashkortostan and Tatarstan. It is navigable along most of its course, is an important transport route, and is also used for energy production, as a source of water supply (three large hydroelectric complexes were built on the river), and for fishing purposes. It is considered the largest tributary. IN geographically It is notable for the fact that along its path it gradually changes direction clockwise and in the upper reaches forms a giant “loop” going around the Verkhnekamsk Upland.

Toponymy

Other names: Chulman (Tatar).
Origin of name: The hydronym “Kama” has ancient Finno-Ugric roots. Its modern form is derived from the Udmurt “kam”, which means “river” or “big river”.

Morphometry

Catchment area: 507,000 km².
Length: 1,805 km.
Slope: 0.17 m/km.

Hydrology

Water system: → .
Water flow at the mouth: 4,300 m³/s.
Character of the current: flat.
Reservoirs: Kamskoe, .
Bottom: in areas with a noticeable current - pebble-rocky or sandy. In quiet places (especially in areas where there is backwater from reservoirs) it is clayey or silty.

Tributaries

Legend: - stream; — small river; — middle river; - big river. The numbers indicate the distance from the mouth in kilometers.

Rights

1767 Neelkam
1683 Leman
1646 Cedar
1590 Kolych
1572 Zyuzba
1561 Chus
1528 Nyarpa
1519 Syuzva
1508 Black
1487 Chula
1388 Kym
1379 Chus
1364 Buzima
1342 Ima
1310 Kuzhva
1287 Pisegovka
1267 Tuprunka
1241 Pogva
1236 Berezovka
1222 Punchshim
1206 Volva
1198 Pyy
1195 Weight
1174 Todya
1109 Scythe
1102 Svetlitsa
1025 Sumych
996 Lesson
965 Kerchevka
962 Gremyachevka
932 Vilva
913 Lysva
872 Kondas
844 Tuzim
835 Pozhva
810 Inva
792 Chermoz
776 Garevaya
690 Gaiva
638 Lasva
636 Malaya Lasva
631 Coat
624 Syuzva
605 Sirka
586 Nytva
576 Peremka
572 Taborka
545 Essay
472 Zhulanovka
462 Kononovka
458 Frequent
445 Golovnikha
423 Medvedka
406 Hacksaw
404 Booze
329 Siwa
293 Nechkinka
277 Sarapulka
271 Malaya Sarapulka
256 Mulevka
227 Vetlyanka
124 Izh
53 Toyma
1 Vyatka

Left

1800 Kamka
1729 Lopja
1724 Kampyzep
1722 Maly Pyzep
1709 Sardai
1704 North Sardai
1667 Showa
1656 Lytka
1652 Chenog
1640 Chenog
1637 Groin
1630 Tomyz
1617 Nirim
1608 Kaya
1601 Neopolis
1594 Wok
1580 Pura
1562 Cheneg
1551 Button
1545 Zuykarka
1530 Shalim
1473 Lupya
1440 Ryta
1421 Volosnitsa
1406 Nyrmych
1349 Lupya
1293 Pyelka
1261 Porysh
1244 Seiwa
1222 Liz
1199 Sordva
1193 Veslyana
1181 Lupya
1175 Leman
1172 Yazevka
1060 South Keltma
1056 Pilva
1014 Chelva
1005 Big Trump
937 Moshevitsa
930 Borovaya
919 Usolka
891 Tolych
889 Zyryanka
881 Lönva
879 Yayva
864 Poz
846 Seungwa
824 Emelyanikha
799 Nizhny Lukh
787 Big Visim
776 Lönva
748 Tyus
745 Dobryanka
729 Polazna
620 Pitching
549 South
520 Pisia
511 Big Finger
493 Tulva
487 Osinka
354 Saiga
259 Sholya
241 Kambarka
240 Buoy
232 Berezovka
118 Ik
78 Shilna
75 Chelna
65 Betki
3 Zay

Geography

Coastal landscape: in the upper reaches the river goes around the Verkhnekamsk Upland, flows in the countryside - among mixed forests and fields. In these places there are many long swamps along its banks. In the middle and lower reaches the landscape is drier, large settlements. The forest here often gives way to forest-steppe (with a predominance of deciduous trees) and steppe areas.
Settlements on the banks: the largest are Gayny, Solikamsk, Usolye, Berezniki, Pozhva, Chermoz, Dobryanka, Perm, Krasnokamsk, Nytva, Okhansk, Osa, Chastye, Votkinsk, Tchaikovsky, Sarapul, Kambarka, Neftekamsk (there are also about three hundred small settlements along the banks of the Kama River points, many of which are abandoned).

Source

Coordinates: 58°11′22″ n. latitude, 53°45′01″ e. d.
Height above sea level: 335 m.
Topographical landmark: key near the village of Kuliga, Kez district of the Udmurt Republic (central part of the Verkhnekamsk Upland).

Estuary

Coordinates: 55°10′50″ n. latitude, 49°23′11″ e. d.
Height above sea level: 36 m.
Location: river - left bank 1804 km from its mouth.

Territorial location

Interactive map

Ecology

The ecological situation along the entire length of the Kama is ambiguous. In the upper reaches the river flows through relatively sparsely populated rural areas - there are no large cities and industrial enterprises, so the water in it is clean. However, large settlements appear in the middle and lower reaches (from the mouth of the Vishera). Here, the waters of the Kama River are heavily polluted by industrial and domestic wastewater, and it also receives fairly polluted tributaries (Kosva, Chusovaya, etc.). It is difficult to establish how much wastewater is discharged, but in the Perm region alone, this figure, measured by ecologists, was about 100 cubic meters per day. At the same time, the volume of discharges is constantly growing, but their treatment remains at the same level. Experts consider the Kama River to be one of the most environmentally unfavorable Russian rivers and have repeatedly stated that its pollution wastewater threatens the health of people living on its banks.

Alloy

Route: usually rafted along the Upper Kama. The starting point depends on the water level in the river; usually they try to start the route as high upstream as possible.
Difficulty category: 1.

Volga - tributary of the Kama

Photo 2. The confluence of the Kama and Volga rivers.

For a long time, the Kama River has been considered the largest tributary of the Volga, however, recent hydrological studies have shown that in fact everything is different: after merging with the Kama, the current Volga is its continuation - all the way to the Caspian Sea. The primary proof of this is the significantly greater (almost 40%) water flow of the Kama River at its confluence with the Volga.

Kama - continuation of Vishera

Photo 3. Vishera is a tributary of the Kama, surpassing it in terms of spillway size. Author of the photo: LarisaX.

The mountain taiga river Vishera, running down from the western slopes of the Urals, is considered a tributary of the Kama. However, at the confluence of both rivers, the first is noticeably fuller, and should be considered the main river.

Fishing on the Kama River

Types of fish:
- Russian sturgeon
Artificial settlement: not all of the fish listed are native. In the second half of the 20th century, new inhabitants appeared in the Kama River - rotan, silver carp, grass carp and rainbow trout. The first one settled during the expansion of its range, the rest - thanks to human fish farming activities. Also, the following species are occasionally found here: eel, vendace, needle fish (they come from the Volga, which they penetrate through canals connecting it with the Black and Baltic seas). Separately, it is worth noting the beluga, stellate sturgeon and sturgeon, which previously - before the construction of reservoirs - were quite numerous native species, but at the present time they are represented only by individuals that escaped from fish farms; their natural populations have long since disappeared.

Fishing spots

The most interesting and “fishy” places on the river are considered to be the middle and lower reaches, as well as the reservoirs located in these areas.

Conventionally, the river can be divided into 3 sections:

Upper Kama- from the source to the mouth of the Veslyana. Here the river has not yet shown itself in full force. Fishing in this area is in many ways similar to fishing on other small lowland and semi-mountain rivers of the Volga basin. The most common fish in the catches are: perch, bleak, roach, bream, silver bream, chub, ide, asp, podust, pike. In the cold season, burbot is caught. There is information about the presence of grayling in the upper reaches; taimen can also come here.
Middle Kama- from the mouth of Veslyana to the Kama reservoir. The river from here is noticeably wider and deeper, as other (especially large) tributaries flow into it, it also becomes fuller. The ichthyofauna is replenished with such species as pike perch, white-eye, saberfish, carp (quite rare, concentrated in some places of the Kama Reservoir), catfish. Sturgeons appear, of which the most common is sterlet (its population is maintained artificially, this moment catching this fish is prohibited). There are known cases of taimen and, according to some sources, nelma being caught in these places. Closer to the reservoir, the river slows down, overflows heavily, and becomes deeper.
Lower Kama- from the dam of the Kama Reservoir to the confluence with the Kuibyshev Reservoir. Fishing here is in many ways similar to the previous section. Special attention It is worth paying attention to the constructed reservoirs - fish are found in them in abundance and reach decent sizes. The ichthyofauna is replenished with such species as blackfin, rudd, bluefish, as well as sprat, goby and herring.

Fishing Features

There are three most popular fishing methods on the Kama: with bottom tackle - from the shore, with a “ring” - from a boat, and with spinning - from a boat.

When fishing from the shore, simplified hooks or a feeder are usually used; some fishermen also use a traditional donka. The main catch here is bream; representatives of other white fish, such as roach, silver bream, and blue bream, are somewhat less common. It happens that catfish also bite, but here it all depends on the bait.

The “ring” is used mainly by bream specialists. Millet and pearl barley are loaded into the feeder; worms or maggots are usually used as bait; it works quite well as a plant alternative canned corn. This tackle, used exclusively from a watercraft, works much more efficiently than a donkey and a feeder, as it allows you to catch more deep places, inaccessible from the shore.

For the same reason, it is better to fish with a spinning rod from a boat. You can catch any fish with spinners and wobblers - from sabrefish to catfish, but experienced spinners definitely prefer to hunt for trophy pike perch (in pits) and pike (in bays), or asp (however, it is caught less often). Less demanding fishermen may well count on perch (which, by the way, forms cauldrons and is represented by very good specimens), or bersh - but it is not so often in the catches.

IN winter time Using jig tackle and trolling, the same types of fish are caught as in the summer, with the exception of hibernating ones. A separate topic is catching burbot in the dark - this is done by a certain “cohort” of fishermen. The usual weight of fish caught is from about one to three kilograms.