The Volga Upland, also known as the Volga Uplands, Volga Hills, or Volga Plateau (), is a vast region of the
East European Plain in the
European part of Russia that lies west of the
Volga River
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 ...
and east of the
Central Russian Upland.
The uplands lie in the cool
continental climate
Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm to hot summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in central and eastern parts of the three northern-tier continents (North America, Europe, and Asia), typi ...
zone, characterised by large fluctuations in seasonal temperatures and generally little rainfall. Outside of the cities in the region, population density is generally between 28 and 129 inhabitants per square mile.
Geography
The uplands run for approximately in a southwest-northeasterly direction from
Volgograd
Volgograd,. formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population ...
to
Kazan
Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...
. The
Tsimlyansk Reservoir lies at the southwestern end of the Volga Upland, with the
Kuybyshev Reservoir at the northeastern end.
The landscape on the Volga Uplands is hilly, and several rivers have cut into it, such as the
Khopyor,
Medveditsa and the
Sura
A ''surah'' (; ; ) is an Arabic word meaning 'chapter' in the Quran. There are 114 ''suwar'' in the Quran, each divided into verses (). The ''suwar'' are of unequal length; the shortest ''surah'' ( al-Kawthar) has only three verses, while the ...
. The
Volga–Don Canal cuts through the lowlands between the Volga Uplands to the north and the adjacent
Yergeni Hills to the south.
The Volga Uplands themselves are rather sparsely populated, but along their edges and in particular along the banks of the Volga there are several large cities, such as (from north to south)
Kazan
Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...
,
Ulyanovsk
Ulyanovsk,, , known as Simbirsk until 1924, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Ulyanovsk has been the only Russian UNESCO Ci ...
,
Saransk
Saransk (, ); ; is the capital city of Mordovia, Russia, as well as its financial and economic centre. It is located in the Volga River, Volga drainage basin, basin at the confluence of the Saranka and Insar Rivers, about east of Moscow. Sar ...
,
Penza
Penza (, ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Penza Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Sura (river), Sura River, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Russian census, 2010 Census, Penza had ...
,
Syzran,
Saratov
Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...
and
Volgograd
Volgograd,. formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population ...
.
[DK Publishing (1999). ''Millennium World Atlas''. DK. p. xxix, 229. ]
Subranges
The hill ranges along the Volga banks are traditionally called ''mountains'' (), despite being of low height. The main ones are:
*
Uslon Mountains
*
Yuryevy Mountains
*
Bogorodskye Mountains
*
Syukeyevo Mountains
*
Tetyushi Mountains
*
Undory Mountains
*
Zhiguli Mountains
*
Khvalynsk Mountains
*
Don-Medveditsa Ridge
See also
*
Highest points of Russian Federal subjects
*
List of mountains and hills of Russia
*
Taw yağı
The Taw yağı (pronounced in Tatar) or Viryal (; ; , literally ''Hill Bank Land'') was a historical region of Tatarstan, Khanate of Kazan, Volga Bulgaria, the name is known since the 1550s. This land was situated at the Volga Upland, Hill, i.e. ...
References
External links
*
Plains of Russia
East European Plain
Volga basin
Regions of Russia
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