Kuybyshev Reservoir

Kuybyshev Reservoir or Kuybyshevskoye Reservoir (Russian: Куйбышевское водохранилище, romanized: Kuybyshevskoye vodokhranilishche) is a reservoir of the middle Volga and lower Kama in Chuvashia, Mari El Republic, Republic of Tatarstan, Samara Oblast and Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia.^[1] It is sometimes called as Samara Reservoir and informally called Kuybyshev Sea. The Kuybyshev Reservoir has a surface area of 6,450 km² and a volume of 58 billion cubic meters. It is the largest reservoir in Europe and third in the world by surface area. The major cities of Kazan, Ulyanovsk, and Tolyatti are adjacent to the reservoir.

Kuybyshev Reservoir
near Ulyanovsk
Kuybyshev Reservoir
Coordinates	53°46′38″N 48°55′46″E
Lake type	Hydroelectric reservoir
Primary inflows	Volga, Kama, Sviyaga, Kazanka, Bolshoy Cheremshan
Primary outflows	Volga
Basin countries	Russia
Max. length	over 500 km (310 mi)
Max. width	35 km (22 mi)
Surface area	6,450 km2 (2,490 sq mi)
Average depth	8 m (26 ft)
Max. depth	41 m (135 ft)
Water volume	57.3 km3 (13.7 cu mi)
Shore length1	2,604 km (1,618 mi)
Surface elevation	53 m (174 ft)
Islands	Sviyazhsk
Settlements	Kazan Ulyanovsk Tolyatti Zelenodolsk Volzhsk Bolghar Tetushi Novoulyanovsk Chistopol Laishevo
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

The reservoir was created by the dam of Zhiguli Hydroelectric Station (formerly, V.I. Lenin Volga Hydroelectric Station), located between the cities of Zhigulevsk and Tolyatti in Samara Oblast.^[2] It was filled in 1955–1957. ^{[citation needed]}

With the filling of the reservoir in the 1950s, some villages and towns were submerged by the rising water and were rebuilt on higher ground. These included the old fortress town of Stavropol-on-Volga, which was replaced by Tolyatti. One district of Ulyanovsk is below water level and is protected from the reservoir by an embankment. ^{[citation needed]}

Paleontology

In 1926, a fossilized tooth of Ptychodus latissimus paucisulcata was found in redeposited sediments of Tunguz sand spit, which was later flooded by the waters of the reservoir.^[3]

Gallery

• 
  Mountainous right bank of the reservoir
• 
  Kuybyshev Sea near Kazan
• 
  Rocks and gypsum mine near the Kama's mouth

See also

• Markiz Island