The Vaga () is a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

in Totemsky, Syamzhensky, and Verkhovazhsky Districts of

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 ...

and in Velsky, Shenkursky, and

Vinogradovsky District Vinogradovsky 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 Vinogradovsky Municipal District.Law #258-vneoch.-OZ It is located in ...

s 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 ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. It is a left and the biggest

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

Northern Dvina The Northern Dvina (, ; ) is a river in northern Russia flowing through Vologda Oblast and Arkhangelsk Oblast into the Dvina Bay of the White Sea. Along with the Pechora River to the east, it drains most of Northwest Russia into the Arctic O ...

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

Vel Vel () is a divine spear associated with Murugan, the Tamil Hindu god of war. Significance According to Shaiva tradition, the goddess Parvati presented the Vel to her son Kartikeya(also known as Murugan), as an embodiment of her shakti, in ...

(left), the Ustya (right), the Puya (left), and the

Led A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (corresp ...

(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 () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Velsky District in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Vel River (Arkhangelsk Oblast), Vel River at its confluence with the Vaga ...

and

Shenkursk Shenkursk () 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 mentioned in documents of N ...

, 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 or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. In North A ...

, 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 () 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 administrative center of Danilo ...

with

Kotlas Kotlas () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, 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 p ...

and eventually with

Vorkuta Vorkuta (; ; Nenets languages, Nenets for "the abundance of bears", "bear corner") is a coal-mining types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the Komi Republic, Russia, situated just north of the Arctic Circle in the Pechora coal basin a ...

. 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 mea ...

until the 1990s.

References

External links

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