The Kama (russian: Ка́ма, ; tt-Cyrl, Чулман, ''Çulman''; udm, Кам) is a long«Река КАМА»
Russian State Water Registry river in

Russia 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 ...

. It has a drainage basin of . It is the longest

left 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 drainag ...

of the

Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchm ...

and the largest one in discharge. At their confluence, in fact, the Kama is even larger than the Volga. It starts in the

Udmurt Republic Udmurtia (russian: Удму́ртия, r=Udmúrtiya, p=ʊˈdmurtʲɪjə; udm, Удмуртия, ''Udmurtija''), or the Udmurt Republic (russian: Удмуртская Республика, udm, Удмурт Республика, Удмурт � ...

, near

Kuliga Kuliga (russian: Кулига) is a rural locality (a village) in Osinovskoye Rural Settlement of Vinogradovsky District, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. The population was 10 as of 2010. Geography Kuliga is located 32 km southeast of Bereznik Berez ...

, flowing northwest for , turning northeast near Loyno for another , then turning south and west in

Perm Krai Perm Krai (russian: Пе́рмский край, r=Permsky kray, p=ˈpʲɛrmskʲɪj ˈkraj, ''Permsky krai'', , ''Perem lador'') is a federal subject of Russia (a krai) that came into existence on December 1, 2005 as a result of the 2004 re ...

, flowing again through the Udmurt Republic and then through the

Republic of Tatarstan The Republic of Tatarstan (russian: Республика Татарстан, Respublika Tatarstan, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə tətɐrˈstan; tt-Cyrl, Татарстан Республикасы), or simply Tatarstan (russian: Татарстан, tt ...

, where it meets the Volga. Before the advent of railroads, important portages connected the Kama with the basins of the

Northern Dvina The Northern Dvina (russian: Се́верная Двина́, ; kv, Вы́нва / Výnva) is a river in northern Russia flowing through the Vologda Oblast and Arkhangelsk Oblast into the Dvina Bay of the White Sea. Along with the Pechora River ...

and the

Pechora Pechora (russian: Печо́ра; kv, Печӧра, ''Pećöra'') is a town in the Komi Republic, Russia, located on the Pechora River, west of and near the northern Ural Mountains. The area of the town is . Population: History Pechora was ...

. In the early 19th-century the Northern Ekaterininsky Canal connected the upper Kama with the

Vychegda , image = VytchegdaRiver.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = The lower course of the Vychegda , source1_location = , mouth = Northern Dvina , mouth_coordinates = , progression = , sub ...

River (a tributary of the Northern Dvina), but was mostly abandoned after just a few years due to low use. The Kama featured in the 2013 Russian film ''

The Geographer Drank His Globe Away ''The Geographer Drank His Globe Away'' (russian: Географ глобус пропил, Geograf Globus Propil) is a Russian drama film made in 2013, directed by Alexander Veledinsky, based on the novel of the same name by Alexei Ivanov. The ...

'', in the climactic rapids scene.

Dams and reservoirs

The Kama is dammed at several locations: *At

Perm Perm or PERM may refer to: Places *Perm, Russia, a city in Russia ** Permsky District, the district **Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005 **Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005 **Perm Governorate, an administra ...

, by the dam of the

Kama Hydroelectric Station ''Kama'' (Sanskrit ) means "desire, wish, longing" in Hindu texts, Hindu, Buddhist texts, Buddhist, Jain literature, Jain, and Sikh literature, Sikh literature.Monier Williamsकाम, kāmaMonier-Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary, pp 27 ...

, forming the

Kama Reservoir The Kama Reservoir, also known as the Perm Reservoir (russian: Камское водохранилище, Пермское водохранилище), is a reservoir formed by the dam of the Kama Hydroelectric Station near Perm (constructed in ...

; *At Chaykovsky, by the dam of the

Votkinsk Hydroelectric Station The Votkinsk Hydroelectric Station (''Russian: Воткинская ГЭС'') is a dam and hydroelectric power station on the Kama River along the border of Perm Krai and Udmurtia, Russia. It is south of Votkinsk and its main purpose is power gen ...

, forming the Votkinsk Reservoir; *At

Naberezhnye Chelny Naberezhnye Chelny ( rus, На́бережные Челны́, p=ˈnabʲɪrʲɪʐnɨjə tɕɪlˈnɨ; tt-Cyrl, Яр Чаллы, ''Yar Çallı'', IPA: �jar ɕɑlːɤ̆ is the second largest city in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. A major indus ...

, by the dam of the

Nizhnekamsk Hydroelectric Station The Nizhnekamsk Hydroelectric Station (''Russian: Нижнекамская ГЭС''), also known as Lower Kama, is a dam and hydroelectric power station on the lower Kama River near Naberezhnye Chelny in Russia. The purpose of the dam is power pro ...

, forming the

Nizhnekamsk Reservoir Lower Kama Reservoir or Nizhnekamsk Reservoir (russian: Нижнекамское водоранилище; tt-Cyrl, Түбән Кама сусаклагычы) is the lowest reservoir from the Kama River hydroelectric cascade. It is situated in T ...

Tributaries

The largest tributaries of the Kama are, from source to mouth: *

Veslyana The Veslyana (russian: Весляна) – is a river in Perm Krai and Komi Republic, Russia, a left tributary of the Kama, which in turn is a tributary of the Volga. It starts in the southeastern portion of Ust-Kulomsky District of the Komi Re ...

(left) * Kosa (right) *

South Keltma The South Keltma (russian: Южная Кельтма - ''Yuzhnaya Keltma'') is a river in Perm Krai, Russia, a left tributary of the Kama. It is long, and its area of drainage basin is .Vishera Vishera may refer to: * Vishera FX-series CPU, codename for a line of CPU by AMD * Vishera Nature Reserve, in Perm Krai, Russia * Malaya Vishera Malaya Vishera (russian: Ма́лая Ви́шера) is a town and the administrative center of Ma ...

(left) *

Yayva Yayva (russian: Я́йва) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Perm Krai, Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest c ...

(left) *

Inva The Inva ( Russian: Иньва) is a river in Perm Krai, Russia, a right tributary of the river Kama. It begins in the Upper Kama Upland near the border of Kirov oblast then flows through Komi-Permyak Okrug and into Kama Reservoir, forming Inve ...

(right) *

Kosva The Kosva (russian: Ко́сьва) is a river in Perm Krai and Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, a left tributary of the Kama. It is long, with a drainage basin of .

(left) * Obva (right) *

Chusovaya The Chusovaya (russian: Чусова́я) is a river flowing in Perm Krai, Sverdlovsk Oblast and Chelyabinsk Oblast of Russia. A tributary of the Kama, which in turn is a tributary of the Volga, it discharges into the Chusovskoy Cove of the Ka ...

(left) * Tulva (left) * Siva (right) * Buy (left) * Belaya (left) *

Izh Izh may refer to; * IZh (Russian: ), a Russian automobile marque of the Izhevsk Machinebuilding Plant * Izh (river) (Russian: ), Udmurt Republic, Russia * Ingrian language Ingrian can refer to: *Of or pertaining to the region of Ingria *The Ingr ...

(right) * Ik (left) *

Toyma The Toyma (russian: Тойма; tt-Cyrl, Туйма, ''Tuyma'') is a river in Udmurtia and Tatarstan, Russian Federation, a right-bank tributary of the Kama. It is long, of which are in Tatarstan, and its drainage basin covers .

(right) * Zay (left) * Vyatka (right) *

Sheshma The Sheshma (russian: Шешма; tt-Cyrl, Чишмә, ''Çişmä'') is a river in Tatarstan and Samara Oblast, Russian Federation, a left tributary of the Kama, falling into the Kama near Starosheshminsk. It is long, of which are in Tatarsta ...

(left) * Myosha (right)

Gallery

Image:W W Chusovaya Kama crossing.png, Crossing of the rivers Chusovaya (tributary) and Kama Image:Kama yelabuga.jpg, View in

Yelabuga Yelabuga (alternative spelling that reflects the Cyrillic spelling: Elabuga; russian: Елабуга; tt-Cyrl, Алабуга, ''Alabuğa'') is a town in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, located on the right bank of the Kama River and east ...

Image:Prokudin-Gorskii-25.jpg, A

truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

by Lavr Proskuryakov. Early colour photograph, taken ca. 1912.

References

External links

*
Naberezhnye Chelny and the Kama River
{{Authority control Rivers of Perm Krai Rivers of Tatarstan Rivers of Udmurtia