The Kuma–Manych Canal () is an

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

in Russia's Stavropol Krai. The canal, completed in 1965,Kuma Region Irrigation
runs across 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 ...

, connecting the Kuma River, which flows 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, ...

, with the East Manych River, which also flows toward the Caspian, but dries out long before reaching it. The East Manych River should not be confused with the West Manych, a tributary of the Don which flows into the

Sea of Azov The Sea of Azov is an inland Continental shelf#Shelf seas, shelf sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, and sometimes regarded as a northern extension of the Black Sea. The sea is bounded by Ru ...

and connects to the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

. The Kuma–Manych Canal begins near the village of Novokumsky on the Kuma River, between the cities of Budyonnovsk and Neftekumsk. Its starting point is at a small reservoir on the Kuma River () into which the Terek–Kuma Canal (Терско–Кумский канал; completed 1958) brings the Terek water from the south. From there, the Kuma–Manych Canal carries water first toward the north-east, and then toward the north-west, ending at the southern shore of the Chogray Reservoir on the East Manych River; Google Maps show a small peninsula, formed by the alluvial deposits at the canal's end point there ().

Other proposed canals in the area

In June 2007, the leaders of

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

suggested that Russia build a much deeper canal (dubbed

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 ...

) along the bottom of the Kuma–Manych Depression, suitable for large-ship navigation between the

and the

. The

Kazakhstan Academy of Sciences The Kazakhstan Academy of Sciences (official name National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan) is the highest scientific organization of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Academy of Sciences was founded on 1 June 1946 on the basis of ...

started conducting a review of possible routes.Caspian Canal Could Boost Kazakh Trade

Business Week ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...

References

Encyclopædia Britannica
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuma-Manych Canal Irrigation in Russia Canals in Russia Buildings and structures in Stavropol Krai Canals opened in 1965 Transport in Stavropol Krai

Other proposed canals in the area

See also

References