The Bolshaya Kokshaga ( chm, Кугу Какшан, ''Kugu Kakšan''; russian: Больша́я Кокша́га, literally Great Kokshaga) is a river in Kirov Oblast and

Mari El The Mari El Republic (russian: Респу́блика Мари́й Эл, ''Respublika Mariy El''; Meadow Mari: ; Hill Mari: ) is a republic of Russia. It is in the European Russia region of the country, along the northern bank of the Volga Rive ...

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. It is a left-bank

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

of the

Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchm ...

. Its length is 297 km and its drainage basin is 6,330 km².Большая Кокшага

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ) is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya e ...

The river is fed by snow and rain, and from November till April it is usually frozen. The river originates in the coniferous forests of Kirov Oblast where the area is thinly populated by the

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

and

Mari people The Mari ( chm, мари; russian: марийцы, mariytsy) are a Finnic people, who have traditionally lived along the Volga and Kama rivers in Russia. Almost half of Maris today live in the Mari El republic, with significant populations in ...

. The main settlements on Kokshaga are

Kiknur Kiknur (russian: Кикнур) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Kiknursky District of Kirov Oblast, Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern ...

and Sanchursk in Kirov Oblast. The

river passes through the

Mari Depression The Mari Depression (russian: Марийская низменность) is a depression in Gornomariysky District, Mari El, Russian Federation. Geography The depression is located on the left side of the Volga, from the western borders of the Ma ...

, where mixed forests and swamps are situated. This area is also thinly populated and the Bolshaya Kokshaga nature reserve is located there. The Bolshaya Kokshaga flows to the

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 ...

, and then to the

near

Kokshaysk Kokshaysk (russian: Кокша́йск; chm, Какшанла, ''Kakšanla;'' ) is a village ('' selo'') in Zvenigovsky District, Mari El Republic, Russia. It is administratively subordinated to the city of Yoshkar-Ola, as the river port of Yoshka ...

. The main tributary of the Bolshaya Kokshaga is the Bolshoy Kundysh.

Rafting

Rafting is popular on the Bolshaya Kokshaga in the spring time, from April-May. In summer the river become shallow and the riverbed becomes blocked with logs floating downstreams.

References

{{Volga River Rivers of Mari El

Rafting

See also

References