Russia is one of the largest countries in the world, where there are about 2.5 million rivers. Some of them are rather small, only about 100 kilometers long. However, in Russian there are rivers which are really large. In our today’s article, we’re going to tell you about largest rivers in Russia both in terms of the area of their river basin and length.

The Ob

The Ob River is the largest river in Russia. It flows in Western Siberia. Its length is 5,410 kilometers, and its catchment area is 2,990 thousand square kilometers. The Ob starts in Altai at the confluence of the Bi and the Katuyn rivers. In the northern part of Russia, the river flows into the Kara sea, forming the so-called Ob Bay, a bay which is 800 kilometers long.

The Yenisei

The Yenisei is the river which is located in Siberia and is the 7th largest river in the world. It is 4,287 kilometers long, and its catchment area is 2,580 thousand square kilometers. Therefore, the Yenisei is the 2nd largest river in Russia. Like the Ob, the Yenisei flows into the Kara sea.  Moreover, Sayano-Shushenskya, Krasnoyarsk Dam, and Maininsk Water Power Plants are located on the Yenisei river.

The Lena

The Lena River is the 11th longest river in the world, and one of the largest rivers in Russia. It is located in Eastern Siberis and it flows in the Laptev sea. Its length is 4,400 kilometers, and its catchment area is 2,490 thousand square kilometers.

The Amur

The Amur is the 4th river in Russia in terms of its catchment area which comprises 1,855 thousand square kilometers. The river is 2,824 kilometers long. The Amur also flows through the territory of Mongolia and China. It’s interesting that in China, the Amur is called “The Black Dragon River”. The legend has it, that once upon a time, a black dragon, which impersonated the good spirit and protected people, used to live in the river.

The Volga

The Volga is the most magnificent river in Russia and the largest river in Europe. Its length is 3,530 kilometers, and its catchment area is 1,360 thousand square kilometers. The Volga river begins at Valday Hills in Tver Oblast. The Volga is a big traffic artery: every day a lot of cargo shipping is carried out along the river. There are also 9 water reservoirs with water power plants on the river.

That’s the end of our article. We’ve told you about 5 largest rivers in Russia, and we hope you’ll definitely visit them one day.