Ivankovo Reservoir or Ivankovskoye Reservoir (), informally known as the Moscow Sea, is the uppermost

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

on 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 ...

, in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and

Tver Oblast Tver Oblast (, ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Tver. From 1935 to 1990, it was known as Kalinin Oblast (). Population: Tver Oblast is a region of lakes, such as Seliger and Brosno. Much o ...

s of Russia, located some north of Moscow. The dam of the reservoir is situated in the town of

Dubna Dubna ( rus, Дубна́, p=dʊbˈna) is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It has a status of '' naukograd'' (i.e. town of science), being home to the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, an international nuclear physics research center and o ...

. The town of Konakovo is located on its southern coast. The reservoir is connected to the Moskva by the

Moscow Canal The Moscow Canal (), named the Moskva–Volga Canal until 1947, is a canal in Russia that connects the Moskva (river) with the Volga. It is located in Moscow itself and in the Moscow Oblast. The canal connects to the Moskva River in Tushino (an ...

, and is the principal fresh water source for the city of Moscow. Its area is , and the area of its

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

is . Ivankovo Reservoir is covered by ice between mid-November and mid-April. The water level fluctuates during the year: It dramatically increases after the ice melting, and then stabilizes until January. The reservoir includes the lower course of the Shosha, its right tributary, the

Lama Lama () is a title bestowed to a realized practitioner of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. Not all monks are lamas, while nuns and female practitioners can be recognized and entitled as lamas. The Tibetan word ''la-ma'' means "high mother", ...

, and the Soz. It is subdivided into three bays (''plyoses''): The Ivankovo Bay, in the northeast, downstream of the mouth of the Shosha; the Volga Bay, in the northwest, along the Volga upstream of the mouth of the Shosha, and the Shosha Bay, in the west, along the lower course of the Shosha. The drainage basin of the Ivankovo Reservoir (which includes the basin of the upper course of the Volga) is the whole central part of Tver Oblast, the northwestern part of Moscow Oblast, and some areas in the northeastern part of

Smolensk Oblast Smolensk Oblast (), informally also called Smolenshchina (), is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative centre is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Smolensk. As of the 2021 Russ ...

and in the southwest 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 ...

. In particular, it includes the cities and towns of

, Konakovo, Kuvshinovo, Likhoslavl, Ostashkov,

Rzhev Rzhev ( rus, Ржев, p=ˈrʐɛf) is a town in Tver Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Staritsa and from Tver, on the highway and railway connecting Moscow and Riga. It is the uppermost town situated on the Volga River. Population: Hist ...

, Staritsa,

Tver Tver (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is situated at the confluence of the Volga and Tvertsa rivers. Tver is located northwest of Moscow. Population: The city is ...

Torzhok Torzhok () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Tver Oblast, Russia, located on the Tvertsa River along the federal highway M10 highway (Russia), M10 and a branch of the Oktyabrskaya Railway division of the Russian Railways. The ...

Volokolamsk Volokolamsk () is a town and the administrative center of Volokolamsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Gorodenka River, not far from its confluence with the Lama River, northwest of Moscow. Population: 25,729 (2024 Estimate ...

, and

Zubtsov Zubtsov () is a town and the administrative center of Zubtsovsky District in Tver Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Volga and Vazuza Rivers, south of Tver, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 8,100 (1998 est.) ...

. The reservoir was built in conjunction with the Moscow Canal, and the northern gate of the canal is located at the east of the reservoir. The construction of the dam started in January 1934, completed in 1936, and the reservoir was filled starting from March 23, 1937. On April 17, 1937 the canal was open for traffic. The historic town of Korcheva and a number of villages were submerged as the reservoir was filled. The population was resettled, and some of the buildings were moved from Korcheva to Konakovo. In total, an area of went under water.

References

{{Authority control Reservoirs built in the Soviet Union Reservoirs in Russia Reservoirs in Moscow Oblast Reservoirs in Tver Oblast Dams on the Volga River RIvankovo