The Bolshoy Irgiz (russian: Большой Ирги́з, literally Great Irgiz) or Irgiz () is a river in

Samara Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara rivers, with a population ...

and

Saratov Oblast Saratov Oblast (russian: Сара́товская о́бласть, ''Saratovskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Volga Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Saratov. As of the 2010 Cen ...

Russia 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-ei ...

, a left tributary 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 catch ...

, south of the Samara River. It is long and the area of its drainage basin is .«Река Большой Иргиз»
Russian State Water Registry Its headwaters are at the

Obshchy Syrt Obshchy Syrt (russian: Общий Сырт) is a highland ridge, or plateau (''syrt''), in the European part of Russia. It starts north of Orenburg as a branch of the Ural Mountains and runs in a southwesterly direction to the east bank of the Volga ...

adjoining the

Ural River The Ural (russian: Урал, ), known before 1775 as Yaik (russian: Яик, ba, Яйыҡ, translit=Yayıq, ; kk, Жайық, translit=Jaiyq, ), is a river flowing through Russia and Kazakhstan in the continental border between Europe and Asia ...

basin. It flows west and joins the Volga south of Samara. Irgiz's meandering riverbed passes the

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate gras ...

s. The river has snow feeding. The town of

Pugachyov Pugachyov ( rus, Пугачёв, p=pʊgɐˈtɕɵf) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Saratov Oblast, Russia, located on the Bolshoy Irgiz River (Volga River, Volga's tributary), northeast of Saratov, the administrative center o ...

is located along the Irgiz. The river flows to the

Volgograd Reservoir The Volgograd Reservoir (russian: Волгоградское водохранилище) is a reservoir in Russia formed at the Volga River by the dam of the Volga Hydroelectric Station. It lies within the Volgograd Oblast and Saratov Oblast and na ...

of the Volga downstream

Balakovo Balakovo ( rus, Балако́во, p=bəlɐˈkovə) is a city in Saratov Oblast, Russia, located on the East bank of the Volga River about northeast of Saratov, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: History It was founded in ...

, near

Volsk Volsk (russian: Вольск) is a town in Saratov Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Volga River, opposite the mouth of the Bolshoy Irgiz (a tributary of the Volga), northeast from Saratov, the administrative center of the ob ...

References

Rivers of Samara Oblast Rivers of Saratov Oblast {{Russia-river-stub