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Kama (river)

geography Maturity 7-9 Next article →

The Kama is a huge river in Russia. Some people also call it the Chulman. It is a very important part of the Volga river system. The Kama is the longest left tributary of the Volga. This means it is a large river that flows into the Volga from the left side. It also has the most water flow of all those tributaries. At the spot where they meet, the Kama actually has more water than the Volga.

The river follows a long and winding path. It starts in the Udmurt Republic near a place called Kuliga. First, it flows northwest for a long distance. Then, it turns northeast near the town of Loyno. After that, it moves south and west through Perm Krai. The river travels through the Udmurt Republic again. Finally, it flows through the Republic of Tatarstan. It meets the Volga river just south of the city of Kazan.

In the past, people used the river for travel. Before railroads were built, there were important portages. A portage is a path used to move boats between different river basins. These paths linked the Kama to the Northern Dvina and the Pechora. In the early 1800s, people built the Northern Ekaterininsky Canal. This canal linked the upper Kama to the Vychegda River. However, people did not use it much. Most of the canal was abandoned after only a few years.

Many other rivers flow into the Kama. These smaller rivers are called tributaries. Some of the largest ones are the Belaya and the Vyatka. People have also changed the river by building dams. These dams create large lakes called reservoirs. One dam is at Perm. It creates the Kama Reservoir. Another dam is at Chaykovsky. This forms the Votkinsk Reservoir. A third dam is at Naberezhnye Chelny. This creates the Nizhnekamsk Reservoir.

Scientists study the Kama to learn about the Earth. There is a debate about whether the Volga or the Kama is the main river. Experts say the Volga flows into the Kama. This is because the bed of the Kama is lower. The source of the Kama is also higher at 331 meters. The source of the Volga is only 228 meters. Also, the Kama valley is much older than the Volga valley. Long ago, a river called the Paleo-Kama existed before the Volga was there.

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