Kuybyshev Reservoir

Kuybyshev Reservoir or Kuybyshevskoye Reservoir (Russian: Ку́йбышевское водохрани́лище, Kuybyshevskoye Vodokhranilishche), sometimes called Samara Reservoir and informally called Kuybyshev Sea, is a reservoir of the middle Volga and lower Kama in the Chuvash Republic, Mari El Republic, Republic of Tatarstan, Samara Oblast and Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia. The Kuybyshev Reservoir has a surface area of 6,450 km² and a volume of 58 billion cubic meters. It is the largest reservoir in Europe and third in the world by surface area.[1] The major cities of Kazan, Ulyanovsk, and Tolyatti are adjacent to the reservoir.

Kuybyshev Reservoir
Kuybyshev Reservoir
Coordinates53°46′38″N 48°55′46″E
Lake typeHydroelectric reservoir
Primary inflowsVolga, Kama, Sviyaga, Kazanka, Bolshoy Cheremshan
Primary outflowsVolga
Basin countriesRussia
Max. lengthover 500 km (310 mi)
Max. width35 km (22 mi)
Surface area6,450 km2 (2,490 sq mi)
Average depth8 m (26 ft)
Max. depth41 m (135 ft)
Water volume57.3 km3 (13.7 cu mi)
Shore length12,604 km (1,618 mi)
Surface elevation53 m (174 ft)
IslandsSviyazhsk
Settlements
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

The reservoir was created by the dam of Zhiguli Hydroelectric Station (formerly, V.I. Lenin Volga Hydroelectric Station), located between the cities of Zhigulevsk and Tolyatti in Samara Oblast. It was filled in 19551957.

With the filling of the reservoir in the 1950s, some villages and towns were submerged by the rising water and were rebuilt on higher ground. These included the old fortress town of Stavropol-on-Volga, which was replaced by Tolyatti. One district of Ulyanovsk is below water level and is protected from the reservoir by an embankment. It is now one of the most successful reserviour projects in Russia.

References

  1. the largest and second largest are Lake Volta and Smallwood Reservoir
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