The Syas () is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

in Lyubytinsky District of

Novgorod Oblast Novgorod Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Veliky Novgorod. Some of the oldest Russian cities, including Veliky Novgorod and Staraya Russa, are located in the oblast. The historic m ...

and Tikhvinsky and

Volkhovsky District Volkhovsky District () is an administrativeOblast Law #32-oz and municipalLaw #56-oz district (raion), one of the administrative divisions of Leningrad Oblast, seventeen in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It is located in the central eastern part of the ...

s of

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast (, ; ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). The oblast has an area of and a population of 2,000,997 (2021 Russian census, 2021 Census); up from 1,716,868 recorded in the 2010 Russian census ...

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 ...

. The Syas flows from the

Valdai Hills The Valdai Hills, sometimes shortened to Valdai, are an upland region in the north-west of central European Russia running north–south, about midway between Saint Petersburg and Moscow, spanning Leningrad, Novgorod, Tver, Pskov, and Smolensk ...

north into

Lake Ladoga Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, in the vicinity of Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake located entirely in Europe, the second largest lake in Russia after Lake ...

. The town of Syasstroy is located at its mouth. It is long, and the area of its basin . The largest tributary of the Syas is the Tikhvinka (right). The source of the Syas is in the Valday Hills north of the settlement of Nebolchi. The river flows north and enters Leningrad Oblast. It crosses the Tikhvin Ridge from the south to the north. Further north, it accepts the Tikhvinka from the right and turns west. There it accepts the Lunenka from the left, turns northwest and crosses into Volkhovsky District. The mouth of the Syas is downstream from the city of Syasstroy. The river basin of the Syas comprises parts of Volkhovsky, Tikhvinsky, and Boksitogorsky Districts of Leningrad Oblast and Lyubytinsky District of Novgorod Oblast. In the west and the south, it is separated from the river basin of the

Volkhov Volkhov () is an industrial types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Volkhovsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the river Volkhov (river), Volkhov east of Saint Petersburg, St. Petersbu ...

, in the north it is separated from the river basin of the

Svir The Svir (; ; Karelian language, Karelian and Finnish language, Finnish: ) is a river in Podporozhsky District, Podporozhsky, Lodeynopolsky District, Lodeynopolsky, and Volkhovsky District, Volkhovsky districts in the north-east of Leningrad O ...

, and in the east it is separated from the river basin of the

Volga The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

. The Syas is connected with the Volga through the Tikhvinka, the Tikhvin Water System, and the Chagodoshcha and the Mologa. The Syas freezes up in November (sometimes in December or even January) and stays under the ice until April. During the late

Vendel Age In Scandinavian prehistory, sometimes specifically Swedish prehistory, the Vendel Period, or Vendel Age (; ) appears between the Migration Period and the Viking Age. The name is taken from the rich boat inhumation cemetery at Vendel parish ...

and the early

Viking Age The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

, the Syas was popular as an alternative route to the

for penetrating from the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

through

portage Portage or portaging ( CA: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a '' ...

s to the Volga. A fortress of Alaborg was built by the

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

to guard the approaches to the Syas rapids. The route had declined by the 10th century.

References

External links

* {{Rivers of Russia Rivers of Leningrad Oblast Rivers of Novgorod Oblast