The Luga () is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the ...

in Novgorodsky and Batetsky Districts of

Novgorod Oblast Novgorod Oblast (russian: Новгоро́дская о́бласть, ''Novgorodskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Veliky Novgorod. Some of the oldest Russian cities, includi ...

and Luzhsky, Volosovsky, Slantsevsky, and

Kingiseppsky District Kingiseppsky District (russian: Кингисе́ппский райо́н, fi, Kingiseppin piiri) is an administrativeOblast Law #32-oz and municipalLaw #81-oz district (raion), one of the seventeen in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It is located in t ...

s of

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast ( rus, Ленинградская область, Leningradskaya oblast’, lʲɪnʲɪnˈgratskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, , ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It was established on 1 August 1927, although it was not until 1 ...

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-eigh ...

. The river flows into the

Luga Bay The Luga Bay (Russian: Лужская губа) is a shallow bay near the southern Russian coast of the Gulf of Finland. It is free of ice 326 days a year. Kurgalsky Peninsula separates the bay from the Bay of Narva to the west, while the Soikin ...

of the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...

. It freezes up in the early December and stays under the ice until early April. The length of the Luga is , and the area of its drainage basin is . Its main

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 drainag ...

is the Oredezh (right). The towns of Luga and

Kingisepp Kingisepp (russian: Ки́нгисепп or ), formerly Yamburg (), Yam (), and Yama (; Votic: ), is an ancient town and the administrative center of Kingiseppsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located along the Luga River southwest of ...

, as well as the urban-type settlement of

Tolmachyovo Tolmachyovo (russian: Толмачёво) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Luzhsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Luga River, northeast of the town of Luga. Population: History The ...

are located on the banks of the Luga. The mouth of the Luga is the site of the

Ust-Luga Ust-Luga (russian: Усть-Луга, lit. ''mouth of the Luga'', Votian: ''Laugasuu'', lit. ''mouth of the Luga'', fi, Laukaansuu) is a settlement and railway station in Kingiseppsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, near the Estonian borde ...

container terminal. The source of the Luga is located in a

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

production area in the northwest of Novgorod Oblast, several dozen kilometers northwest of the city of

Veliky Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ...

. The river flows south, crosses into Batetsky District, and gradually turns west. A stretch of the Luga serves the border between Novgorod and Leningrad Oblasts. There, the Luga flows northwest, in the town of Luga turns north, accepts the Oredezh from the right, and flows through the urban-type settlement of Tolmachyovo. There, it turns northwest and reaches the border of Luzhsky District. A stretch of the Luga forms the borders between Gatchinsky and Volosovsky, Slantsevsky and Volosovsky, and Kingiseppsky and Volosovsky Districts. In the town of Kingisepp the Luga turns north and subsequently northeast. The mouth of the Luga River is located in the settlement of Ust-Luga. The drainage basin of the Luga includes large areas in the north of Novgorod Oblast (Novgorodsky and Batetsky Districts), as well as in the southwest of Leningrad Oblast ( Gatchinsky, Luzhsky, Volosovsky, Slantsevsky, and Kingiseppsky Districts). In particular, it contains

Shum-gora 200px, Shum-gora, August 2013, as viewed from the North-East Shum Gora (russian: Шум-гора: "Noise Hill") is a massive kurgan (tumulus) situated in Peredolskaya Volost, near the bank of the Luga River, Batetsky District, Novgorod Obla ...

, an archaeological site near the banks of the river in Novgorodsky Oblast, and the

Mshinskoye Boloto Zakaznik Mshinskoye Boloto Zakaznik (russian: заказник Мшинское болото) is a federal zakaznik, a nature protected area, in the northwest of Russia, located in Gatchinsky and Luzhsky Districts of Leningrad Oblast, in the basin of the ...

in Leningrad Oblast, shared between the basins of the Oredezh and the

Yashchera The Yashchera (russian: Ящера) is a river in Luzhsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, a right tributary of the Luga. The length of the Yashchera is , and the area of its drainage basin is . The tributaries are the Lyubanka and the Lut ...

. The Luga below the town of Kingisepp is navigable; however, there is no passenger navigation. File:Ямбург 0027.jpg, Bridge over the Luga in

File:Zelezo 4.jpg, The Luga in Zhelezo, Luzhsky District

References

{{reflist Rivers of Leningrad Oblast Rivers of Novgorod Oblast Drainage basins of the Baltic Sea