River · Russia
Kama
The Kama is the largest tributary of the Volga. It rises near the village of Kuliga in Udmurtia, Russia, flows through Perm Krai and Tatarstan, and meets the Volga south of Kazan.
Picture credit: Alexxx1979 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Alexxx1979 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Kama?
The river starts here: Upper Kama Upland near the village of Kuliga, Udmurtia, Russia.
It ends in the Volga (Kuybyshev Reservoir) south of Kazan.
Countries on the river: Russia.
The story behind it
Where the Kama meets the Volga, it actually carries more water than the Volga itself. Some Russian experts even say that the Kama is the older river and should really count as the main river. Its journey starts at a height of 335 metres in the Upper Kama Upland. Along the way, big dams at Perm, Chaykovsky and Nizhnekamsk turn parts of the river into long reservoirs. Perm, with around one million people, is the largest city on the Kama. At Solikamsk, near the river, people have mined salt and potassium for centuries, and at Naberezhnye Chelny KAMAZ trucks have been built since 1976. From about November until April the Kama is covered with ice, and in spring melting snow brings nearly 60 percent of its yearly water. Sturgeon, sterlet, pike and catfish live in the river, and taimen and grayling in its upper reaches.
Questions children ask
How long is the Kama?
The Kama is about 1 805 km long. Some Russian sources give a longer length of about 2 030 km, because the length depends on how it is measured.
Is the Kama bigger than the Volga?
Where the two rivers meet, the Kama carries more water than the Volga. Still, it is counted as a tributary, and below the meeting point the river keeps the name Volga.
Which cities lie on the Kama?
The biggest city on the Kama is Perm, with around one million inhabitants. Naberezhnye Chelny, where KAMAZ trucks are made, and Chistopol also lie on the river.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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