The Tavda (
Mansi: Тагт, ''Tagt''
[Трубачев О. Н. Русская ономастика и ономастика России: словарь стр. 215.]) is a Siberian river that drains part of the central Ural mountains into the
Tobol. It is north of the
Tura and south of the
Konda. It is located in
Sverdlovsk Oblast and
Tyumen Oblast
Tyumen Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia. It is located in Western Siberia, and is administratively part of the Ural Federal District. The oblast has administrative jurisdiction over two autonomous ...
.
It is formed by the confluence of the rivers
Lozva and
Sosva. The Tavda is long, and 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, ...
covers .
The river freezes up in early November and stays icebound until late April. Its main tributary is the
Pelym. The Tavda is navigable and is 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 mea ...
. The town of
Tavda is located on the shores of the Tavda, as is
Pelym, the earliest Russian settlement east of the Urals.
The Tavda and its main tributaries, the Sosva, Lozva and Pelym all flow southeast and drain the central Urals. They are shaped like the letter 'Щ', but with a longer tail. The Sosva (the westernmost one) flows southeast, turns somewhat northeast near the town of Sosva, picks up to Lozva and gains the name of Tavda. This continues east, picks up the Pelym and flows southeast into the Tobol between
Tyumen
Tyumen ( ; rus, Тюмень, p=tʲʉˈmʲenʲ, a=Ru-Tyumen.ogg) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Tyumen Oblast, Russia. It is situated just east of the Ural Mountains, along the Tura ( ...
and
Tobolsk.
References
Rivers of Tyumen Oblast
Rivers of Sverdlovsk Oblast
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