The Kuma () is a river in the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...

region of southern

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. It flows northeast into the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

. It is long and has a drainage basin of . Its source is in the

Greater Caucasus The Greater Caucasus, ''Didi K’avk’asioni''; is the major mountain range of the Caucasus Mountains. It stretches for about from west-northwest to east-southeast, from the Taman Peninsula of the Black Sea to the Absheron Peninsula of t ...

, in the republic

Karachay-Cherkessia Karachay-Cherkessia (), officially the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus. It is administratively part of the North Caucasian Federal District. As of the 2021 census, Karachay-Cherkessia has a popul ...

, west of

Kislovodsk Kislovodsk (; ; ) is a spa city in Stavropol Krai, in the North Caucasus region of Russia which is located between the Black and Caspian Seas. It is part of the Caucasian Mineral Waters region. Demographics Population: Etymology The Rus ...

. It flows in a northeastern direction, through Stavropol Krai (towns

Mineralnye Vody Mineralnye Vody (Min-Vody) ( rus, Минеральные Воды (Мин-Воды), p=mʲɪnʲɪˈralʲnɨjə ˈvodɨ, mʲɪn ˈvodɨ; lit. ''mineral waters'') is a town in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located along the Kuma River and the main rail ...

, Zelenokumsk,

Budyonnovsk Budyonnovsk () is a town in Stavropol Krai, Russia. In 2010 the population of Budyonnovsk was 64,624. History The town was founded in 1799 by Armenian settlers from Derbent. During World War II, Budyonnovsk was occupied by German troops from Au ...

, Neftekumsk) and further east through the

Caspian Depression The Caspian Depression or the Caspian Lowland is a low-lying flatland region encompassing the northern part of the Caspian Sea, the largest enclosed body of water on Earth. It is the larger northern part of the wider Aral–Caspian Depressio ...

as the natural border between the

Kalmykia Kalmykia, officially the Republic of Kalmykia,; , ''Khalmg Tanghch'' is a republic of Russia, located in the Volga region of European Russia. The republic is part of the Southern Federal District, and borders Dagestan to the south and Stavr ...

and

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; ; ), officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Fede ...

republics A republic, based on the Latin phrase '' res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a state in which political power rests with the public (people), typically through their representatives—in contrast to a monarchy. Although ...

of Russia. That part of the Kuma's valley forms the eastern part of the

Kuma–Manych Depression The Kuma–Manych depression () is a depression (geology), geological depression in southwestern Russia that separates the East European Plain, Russian Plain to the north from North Caucasus, Ciscaucasia to the south. It is named after the Kuma ...

, separating the

East European Plain The East European Plain (also called the Russian Plain, "Extending from eastern Poland through the entire European Russia to the Ural Mountains, the ''East European Plain'' encompasses all of the Baltic states and Belarus, nearly all of Ukraine, ...

from the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

region. The Kuma flows into the

Kizlyar Gulf The Kizlyar Bay ( ''Kizlyarskiy Zaliv'') is a bay of the Caspian Sea located in the Republic of Dagestan, Russian Federation. If the plans for the proposed Eurasia Canal, linking the Caspian Sea with the Black Sea, are ever implemented, it will li ...

of the

near the border between Dagestan and Kalmykia. Most of the rivers that flow north from the Caucasus Mountains and into

Terek–Kuma Lowland The Terek-Kuma Lowland () is the lowland in the southwestern part of the Caspian Depression in southern Russia, in Republic of Dagestan, Stavropol Krai and Chechen Republic. It has altitudes between 28 m below sea level and 100 m above sea leve ...

are caught by the

Kuban Kuban ( Russian and Ukrainian: Кубань; ) is a historical and geographical region in the North Caucasus region of southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Don Steppe, the Volga Delta and separated fr ...

and Terek. It rises between the basins of those two rivers, so the Kuma is mainly a steppe river. It is much used for irrigation.

Construction projects

If the plans for the proposed

Eurasia Canal The Eurasia Canal (, ''Kanal "Evraziya"'') is a proposed 700-kilometre-long (430 mi) canal connecting the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea along the Kuma-Manych Depression. Currently, a chain of lakes and reservoirs and the shallow irrigation K ...

, linking the Caspian Sea with the Black Sea, are ever implemented, it will likely follow the Kuma River valley in its eastern section.

References

Rivers of Dagestan Rivers of Kalmykia Rivers of Karachay-Cherkessia Rivers of Stavropol Krai Tributaries of the Caspian Sea Caspian Depression {{NorthCaucasus-river-stub