Ugra (Russian: Угра́) is a river in Smolensk and Kaluga Oblasts in Russia, left tributary of the Oka River. The east-flowing Ugra joins the north-flowing Oka at Kaluga and the united river, called the Oka, continues east to the Volga. In the 16th century, the Ugra-Oka juncture was the western end of a line of forts protecting Muscovy from Tatar raids. The river is known for the Great stand on the Ugra River. Its length is 399 km and its basin 15,700 square km. It is frozen from late November (sometimes as late as January) until the end of March. 60% of its annual flow is snowmelt, mostly in April.
Coordinates: 54°30′26″N 36°06′23″E / 54.5072°N 36.1064°E / 54.5072; 36.1064
Famous quotes containing the word river:
“There are knives that glitter like altars
In a dark church
Where they bring the cripple and the imbecile
To be healed.
There’s a woden block where bones are broken,
Scraped clean—a river dried to its bed”
—Charles Simic (b. 1938)