Kama River

Kama River

Coordinates: 55°21′50″N 49°59′52″E / 55.36389°N 49.99778°E / 55.36389; 49.99778

Kama (Russian: река́ Ка́ма, ; Tatar Cyrillic: Чулман, Latin: Çulman; Udmurt: Кам) is a major river in Russia, the longest left tributary of the Volga and the largest one in discharge; in fact, it is larger than the Volga before junction.

It starts in Udmurtia, near Kuliga, flowing north-west on 125 miles, turn north-east near Loyno for another 125 miles, then turns south and west in Perm Krai, flowing again through Udmurtia and then through Tatarstan, where it meets the Volga.

Among the Turkic peoples, Kama was known as Chulman, and was considered the origin of the Volga.

The overall length is 1,805 km (1,122 mi). The largest tributaries to the Kama are Kosa, Vishera, Sylva, Chusovaya, Belaya, Ik, Izh, Zay, Vyatka and Myosha Rivers. The cities situated on the banks of the Kama are Solikamsk, Berezniki, Perm, Sarapul, and Naberezhnye Chelny. It is located to the west of the Ural Mountains and is a fairly well used trade route.

Before the advent of the railroads, the Kama was connected by important portages with the basins of the Northern Dvina and the Pechora. In the early 19th century, Northern Ekaterininsky Canal connected the upper Kama with the Vychegda River (a tributary of the Northern Dvina), but was mostly abandoned after just a few years due to low use.