The Vaga (russian: Вага) is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

in Totemsky, Syamzhensky, and

Verkhovazhsky District Verkhovazhsky District (russian: Верхова́жский райо́н) is an administrativeLaw #371-OZ and municipalLaw #1110-OZ district (raion), one of the twenty-six in Vologda Oblast, Russia. It is located in the north of the oblast and bor ...

s of

Vologda Oblast Vologda Oblast ( rus, Вологодская область, p=vəlɐˈɡotskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, r=Vologodskaya oblast, ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is Vologda. The Oblast has a population of 1,202,444 ...

and in Velsky, Shenkursky, and

Vinogradovsky District Vinogradovsky District (russian: Виногра́довский райо́н) is an administrative district (raion), one of the twenty-one in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia.Law #65-5-OZ As a municipal division, it is incorporated as Vinogradovsky Mun ...

s of

Arkhangelsk Oblast Arkhangelsk Oblast (russian: Арха́нгельская о́бласть, ''Arkhangelskaya oblast'') is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It includes the Arctic Ocean, Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. It is a left and the biggest

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 drainage ...

of the

Northern Dvina , image = dvina.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Northern Dvina starts as the confluence of Yug River (on left) and Sukhona River (on top) near Veliky Ustyug (photo 2001) , source1 = Confluence of ...

. The length of the river is . The area of its basin . The main tributaries of the Vaga are the Pezhma (left), the

Kuloy Kuloy (russian: Кулóй) is an urban locality (a work settlement) in Velsky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Kuloy River, from Arkhangelsk and from Velsk, the administrative center of the district. History The hist ...

(right), the

Vel Vel ( ta, வேல், lit=Vēl) is a divine javelin or spear associated with Murugan, the Hindu god of war. Significance According to Shaiva tradition, the goddess Parvati presented the Vel to her son Murugan, as an embodiment of her shakti, ...

(left), the Ustya (right), the

Puya Puya may refer to: * ''Puya'' (plant), in the family Bromeliaceae * Puya (river), in Russia * Puya, a variety of Guajillo chili * ''Puya'' (Meitei texts), traditional or mythological texts of the Meetei people * ''Culoepuya'' or ''Culo'e Puya'', V ...

(left), and the

Led A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...

(left). For Verkhovazhsky, Velsky, and Shenkursky Districts the Vaga is the main river, its valley being heavily populated, and the districts centers, the selo of Verkhovazhye (translated as ''on the Upper Vaga''), and the towns of

Velsk Velsk (russian: Вельск) is a town and the administrative center of Velsky District in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Vel River at its confluence with the Vaga River, south of Arkhangelsk, the administrative ce ...

and

Shenkursk Shenkursk (russian: Шенку́рск) is a town and the administrative center of Shenkursky District in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Vaga River. Population: Geography Climate History Shenkursk was first me ...

, are located on the banks of the Vaga. In these districts, one of the principal highways in Russia, M8 connecting Moscow and Arkhangelsk, has been built on the left bank of the Vaga. The source of the Vaga is located west of the village of Pakhtusovo, in the Totemsky District close to the border with the Syamzhensky District. The river flows north-west, enters Syamzhensky District, crosses it, enters Verkhovazhsky District, and turns north-east. Whereas the whole course of the river is in

taiga Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruce ...

, large areas in the valley of the Vaga are occupied by the meadows. The selo of Verkhovazhye is located on the left bank of the Vaga. The river than enters Arkhangelsk oblast, accepts the Pezhma from the left, the Kuloy from the right, and the Vel from the left in the town of Velsk. In Velsk, it also crosses the railway line connecting

Konosha Konosha (russian: Коноша) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Konoshsky District, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Konosha River, south of Arkhangelsk. It also serves as the administr ...

with

Kotlas Kotlas (russian: Ко́тлас) is a town in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Northern Dvina and Vychegda Rivers. Population: Kotlas is the third largest town of Arkhangelsk Oblast in terms of population (after A ...

and eventually with

Vorkuta Vorkuta (russian: Воркута́; kv, Вӧркута, ''Vörkuta''; Nenets for "the abundance of bears", "bear corner") is a coal-mining town in the Komi Republic, Russia, situated just north of the Arctic Circle in the Pechora coal basin at ...

. The biggest tributary of the Vaga is the Ustya, the mouth of the Ustya is in the village of Vlasovskaya. Downstream from the confluence with the Ustya, Vaga accepts the Puya from the left, and on the right bank there is the town of Shenkursk. There is no bridge in Shenkursk, and the town is connected with the highway only by the ferry crossing. Downstream from Shenkursk, the river accepts the Led from the left and enters Vinogradovsky District. The mouth of the Vaga is about of the district center, the urban-type settlement of Bereznik. The river freezes up in mid-November and stays under the ice until late April. Most of the river is navigable during the high-water season, although there is no regular passenger navigation. The Vaga was used for

timber rafting Timber rafting is a method of transporting felled tree trunks by tying them together to make rafts, which are then drifted or pulled downriver, or across a lake or other body of water. It is arguably, after log driving, the second cheapest mean ...

until the 1990s.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Rivers of Arkhangelsk Oblast Rivers of Vologda Oblast