The Zay (russian: Зай; tt-Cyrl, Зәй, ''Zäy'') is a river in

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, a left-bank

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

of the

Kama ''Kama'' (Sanskrit ) means "desire, wish, longing" in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh literature.Monier Williamsकाम, kāmaMonier-Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary, pp 271, see 3rd column Kama often connotes sensual pleasure, sexual ...

. It is long, and its

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

covers .«Река Ульвич»
Russian State Water Registry It begins near Mikhaylovka,

Leninogorsky District Leninogorsky District (russian: Лениного́рский райо́н; tt-Cyrl, Лениногорск районы, ''Leninogorsk rayonı'') is a territorial administrative unit and municipality of the Republic of Tatarstan within the Russia ...

, Tatarstan and falls to the Kama south-west of

Nizhnekamsk Nizhnekamsk ( rus, Нижнекамск, p=nʲɪʐnʲɪˈkamsk; tt-Cyrl, Түбән Кама, ''Tübän Qama'') is a city in Tatarstan, Russia, located to the south of the Kama River between the cities of Naberezhnye Chelny and Chistopol. Popul ...

. At its headwaters the river is named the Steppe Zay (russian: Степной Зай, ''Stepnoy Zay'', tt-Cyrl, Дала Зәе, ''Dala Zäye''). The lower reach of the river after the confluence with

Forest Zay River A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

, , is named simply Zay. Also, one of headstream Steppe Zay's tributaries is also named Zay. Other major tributaries are the Moshkara, Zay-Karatay, Ursala, Aktashka, and Shumyshka rivers. The mineralization varies from 2000–3000 to 5000–8000 mg/L. Average sediment deposition at the river mouth per year is . Drainage is regulated. There are two reservoirs,

Zainsk Zainsk (russian: Заи́нск; tt-Cyrl, Зәй, ''Zäy'') is a town in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, located on the Stepnoy Zay River (Kama's tributary), east of Kazan. Population: Geography Zainsk Reservoir, along the Zay River, is l ...

and

Karabash Reservoir Karabash Reservoir (russian: Карабашское водохранилище, tt-Cyrl, Карабаш сусаклагычы, translit=Qarabaş susaqlağıçı) is a reservoir of the upper Zay River near Karabash, Tatarstan, Russian Federation ...

s constructed in Zay valley. Since 1978 it is protected as a ''natural monument of Tatarstan''.

Almetyevsk Almetyevsk ( rus, Альме́тьевск, , ɐlʲˈmʲetʲjɪfsk; tt-Cyrl, Әлмәт, ''Älmät'') is a city in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, located on the left bank of the Zay River (Kama's tributary) southeast of Kazan. Population: ...

and Karabash are along the river.

References

Rivers of Tatarstan {{Russia-river-stub