Rybinsk Reservoir ( rus, Ры́бинское водохрани́лище, r=Rybinskoye vodokhranilishche, p=ˈrɨbʲɪnskəɪ vədəxrɐˈnʲilʲɪɕə), informally called the Rybinsk Sea, is a water

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

on the

Volga River The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...

and its

tributaries 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 drainage b ...

Sheksna The Sheksna (russian: Шексна́) is a river in Belozersky, Kirillovsky, Sheksninsky, and Cherepovetsky Districts of Vologda Oblast in Russia. It is a left tributary of the Volga. It is long, and the area of its basin .

and

Mologa Mologa (russian: Моло́га) was a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, formerly situated at the confluence of the rivers Mologa and Volga, but now submerged under the waters of the Rybinsk Reservoir. Mologa existed at least since the 12th cen ...

, formed by Rybinsk Hydroelectric Station dam, located in the

Tver Tver ( rus, Тверь, p=tvʲerʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is northwest of Moscow. Population: Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russian ...

Vologda Vologda ( rus, Вологда, p=ˈvoləɡdə) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the river Vologda (river), Vologda within the watershed of the Northern Dvina. ...

, and

Yaroslavl Oblast Yaroslavl Oblast (russian: Яросла́вская о́бласть, ''Yaroslavskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), which is located in the Central Federal District, surrounded by Tver, Moscow, Ivanovo, Vladimir, Kostroma ...

s. At the time of its construction, it was the largest man-made body of water on Earth.Paul R. Josephson. ''Industrialized Nature: Brute Force Technology and the Transformation of the Natural World''. Island Press, 2002. . Page 31. It is the northernmost point of the Volga. The Volga-Baltic Waterway starts from there. The principal ports are

Cherepovets Cherepovets ( rus, Череповец, p=tɕɪrʲɪpɐˈvʲɛts) is a city in Vologda Oblast, Russia, located in the west of the oblast on the banks of the Sheksna River (a tributary of the Volga River) and on the shores of the Rybinsk Reservoir. ...

in Vologda Oblast and

Vesyegonsk Vesyegonsk (russian: Весьего́нск) is a town and the administrative center of Vesyegonsky District in Tver Oblast, Russia. Population: The historical part of Vesyegonsk lies under the waters of the Rybinsk Reservoir. It was previousl ...

in Tver Oblast. The construction of the dam in

Rybinsk Rybinsk ( rus, Рыбинск, p=ˈrɨbʲɪnsk), the second largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Yaroslavl Oblast in Russia, lies at the confluence of the Volga River, Volga and Sheksna Rivers, 267 kilometers north-north-eas ...

started in 1935. The filling of the reservoir started on April 14, 1941, and continued until 1947. Some 150,000 people had to be resettled elsewhere, and the historic town of

along with 663 villages have completely disappeared under water. Today the dam is less important for

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

supply (output is 346 MW) than it used to be. Image:Rybinsk Reservoir 001.jpg Image:Rybinsk Reservoir 003.jpg Image:Rybinsk Reservoir NASA Visible Earth April 2002.jpg

References

External links

Detailed map of the reservoir
(in Russian)
Webpage of the Leushino Monastery, now submerged under the waters of the Rybinsk Sea
(in Russian) {{Authority control Reservoirs built in the Soviet Union Reservoirs in Russia Reservoirs in Tver Oblast Reservoirs in Vologda Oblast Reservoirs in Yaroslavl Oblast Volga basin