Vologda Oblast
Vologda Oblast (, ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is Vologda. The oblast has a population of 1,202,444 (Russian Census (2010), 2010 Census). The largest city is Cherepovets, t ...
in Russia. It is a left
tributary
A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''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 into which they ...
of 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 ...
. It is long, and the area of its basin .«Река Шексна» Russian State Water Registry The principal tributaries of the Sheksna are the Sizma (left) and the Kovzha (right).
According to
Max Vasmer
Max Julius Friedrich Vasmer (; ; 28 February 1886 – 30 November 1962) was a Russian and German linguist. He studied problems of etymology in Indo-European, Finno-Ugric and Turkic languages and worked on the history of Slavic, Baltic, ...
's Etymological Dictionary, the origin of the river's name is unclear, but it may originate from a
Finnic language
The Finnic or Baltic Finnic languages constitute a branch of the Uralic language family spoken around the Baltic Sea by the Baltic Finnic peoples. There are around 7 million speakers, who live mainly in Finland and Estonia.
Traditionally, ...
meaning "a woodpecker" or more specifically "a spotted woodpecker".
The
urban-type settlement
Urban-type settlement, abbreviated: ; , abbreviated: ; ; ; ; . is an official designation for lesser urbanized settlements, used in several Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern European countries. The term was primarily used in the So ...
of Sheksna and Sheksninsky District are named after the river.
The source of the Sheksna is in the southeastern end of
Lake Beloye
Lake Beloye or White Lake (, ; ) is a lake in the northwestern part of Vologda Oblast in Russia. Administratively, the lake is divided between Belozersky District (south) and Vashkinsky District (north) in the oblast. The town of Belozersk is ...
. The river flows south and subsequently turns east. It joins the northern part of the
Rybinsk Reservoir
Rybinsk Reservoir (, ), informally called the Rybinsk Sea, is a water reservoir (water), reservoir on the Volga River and its tributary, tributaries the Sheksna River, Sheksna and Mologa River, Mologa, formed by Rybinsk Hydroelectric Station dam, ...
of the Volga near the city of
Cherepovets
Cherepovets ( rus, Череповец, p=tɕɪrʲɪpɐˈvʲets) 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. ...
. Cherepovets, as well as the urban-type settlement of
Sheksna
The Sheksna () is a river in the 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 .Sheksna Reservoir, with the dam constructed in Sheksna. Previously, the length of the Sheksna was some , and the mouth of the river was located in the city of
Rybinsk
Rybinsk (, ) is the second-largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Yaroslavl Oblast in Russia. It lies at the confluence of the Volga and Sheksna rivers, north-north-east of Moscow. Population:
It was previously known as '' ...
,
Yaroslavl Oblast
Yaroslavl Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), which is located in the Central Federal District, surrounded by the Tver Oblast, Tver, Moscow Oblast, Moscow, Ivanovo Oblast, Ivanovo, Vladimir Oblast, Vlad ...
. The part of the river between Cherepovets and Rybinsk disappeared when the
Rybinsk Reservoir
Rybinsk Reservoir (, ), informally called the Rybinsk Sea, is a water reservoir (water), reservoir on the Volga River and its tributary, tributaries the Sheksna River, Sheksna and Mologa River, Mologa, formed by Rybinsk Hydroelectric Station dam, ...
was constructed between 1935 and 1947. Currently, the only natural stretch of the course of the Sheksna is located between the urban-type settlement of Sheksna and the city of Cherepovets.
The river basin of the Sheksna comprises vast areas in the west and in the northwest of Vologda Oblast, including parts of Vytegorsky, Vashkinsky, Kirillovsky, Belozersky, Sheksninsky, and Cherepovetsky Districts, as well as minor areas in
Kargopolsky District
Kargopolsky District () 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 Kargopolsky Municipal District.Law #258-vneoch.-OZ It is located in th ...
of
Arkhangelsk Oblast
Arkhangelsk Oblast ( rus, Архангельская область, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲskəjə ˈobɫəsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It includes the Arctic Ocean, Arctic archipelagos of Franz ...
Belozersk
Belozersk (), known as Beloozero () until 1777, is a town and the administrative center of Belozersky District in Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the southern bank of Lake Beloye, from which it takes the name, northwest of Vologda, the admi ...
, as well as the urban-type settlement of
Chyobsara
Chyobsara () is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Sheksninsky District of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located from Vologda. Municipally, it is incorporated as Chyobsarskoye Urban Settlement, one of the two urban settlements in the dis ...
Lipin Bor
Lipin Bor () is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Vashkinsky District, Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the northern shore of Lake Beloye. It also serves as the administrative center of Lipinoborsky Selsoviet, one ...
, the administrative center of Vashkinsky District.
The Sheksna is a part of the
Volga–Baltic Waterway
The Volga–Baltic Waterway (), formerly known as the Mariinsk Canal System (), is a series of canals and rivers in Russia which link the Volga with the Baltic Sea via the Neva. Like the Volga–Don Canal, it is part of the Unified Deep Water ...
and is used for both cruise and cargo traffic. Both the
Northern Dvina Canal
The Northern Dvina Canal () is a 64 km long canal in Vologda Oblast in Russia. It connects the Volga–Baltic Waterway to the Northern Dvina River through its tributary, the Sukhona River. The Northern Dvina Canal is one of the two canals ...
, which connects the basins of the Volga and the Northern Dvina via
Lake Kubenskoye
Lake Kubenskoye () is a large and shallow lake in Vologda Oblast of Russia, situated at the height of 110.1 metres above mean sea level, stretching for 54 km from north-west to south-east.
The lake area is , without islands — . Its average ...
, and the
Belozersky Canal
The Belozersky Bypass Canal () is a canal around the south-western part of Lake Beloye in Belozersky District of Vologda Oblast in north-western Russia. It connects Kovzha River to Sheksna River, and is part of the Volga–Baltic Waterway. Th ...