Ugra is a river flowing through the Kaluga and Smolensk regions of Russia. She is the left tributary of the Ob River. Ugra is a natural frontier on the approaches to the capital of our country - Moscow. Therefore, many glorious feats of arms in the name of the fatherland were accomplished on its shores. This beautiful suburban river will be discussed in this article.
Name of the Ugra River
Disputes are ongoing regarding the etymology of the name of the river. Some believe that this name is not of Slavic, but of Finno-Ugric origin. In this language, the root of “uga” (“south”) means “river”. Others believe that the word "Ugra" dates back to Old Russian Qgr ', which means "worm." It is from this token that the modern word "eel" came from. If we take this hypothesis into account, we can assume that in ancient times people nicknamed the river “winding, winding” for the inconstant nature of its course, which sharply changes its direction.
The origin of the Ugra River, its names, some connect with the Magyar settlement, which stood on its bank in time immemorial. The tribal name of the Magyars was the word "Ugrians".
Hydrological description
The river is 399 kilometers long. The basin area is approximately 15, 700 km 2. The source of Ugra is located in the southeastern part of the Smolensk region.
Ugra is a river, which is fed in several ways: 60% of the annual runoff falls on meltwater, 30% is groundwater, and only 5% of the flow comes with precipitation. The river level regime is characterized by a high, clearly defined flood, a fairly low low-water period in the summer-autumn period, sometimes interrupted by floods due to heavy rains, and a stable low low-water in winter. At the end of March, ice on the river melts, and spring flood begins, which ends in early May. During this period, the water level rises by 10-11 meters compared to the winter low water. The average water discharge in the river per year is 90 m 3 per second.
Ugra is covered in ice from late November to January. The river never freezes at the rifts, because of the strong current the ice thickness on the Ugra is different.
The river valley is characterized by a large number of floodplains, the width of which reaches 1-2 kilometers, and in the lower reaches - 3.5 kilometers. The width of the Ugra channel is 70-80 meters in the lower reaches. The average river flow velocity is 0.4-0.6 m / s.
Source of the river
Ugra is a river originating in the Smolensk region, Yelninsky district, 25 kilometers from the town of Yelny, 2 km from the village of Vysokoye. This place is declared a natural monument of local importance. The natural boundaries of this conservation area is the lowland in which it is located. The source of the river is a small swamp that feeds on the surface runoff of water. The Ugra Valley in this place is almost not expressed, it is almost completely overgrown with small forests and small bushes. Among the trees birch prevails here, aspen is less common. The age of green spaces reaches 35-40 years. Only near the village, the High River acquires its usual appearance with a well-defined channel and a normal course.
Tributaries of the river
In the Kaluga region, the river stretches its channel for 160 kilometers. Many streams and rivers flow into Ugra. Its main tributaries are: Liqueur, Izver, Shan, Techa, Ressa, Vorya, Rosvyanka, Veprika, Verezhka, Sokhna, Kunova, Belt, Harvest, Debra, Dymenka, Gordota, Oskovka, Poppy, Baskakovka, Sobzha, Tureya, Voronovka,, Volost, Leonidovka and many others. In total, the Kaluga Ugra River has 44 tributaries. Its bed consists of pebbles and fine sand. Ugra flows into the Oka at a distance of ten kilometers to the upper reaches of the city of Kaluga.
Historical facts
Ugra is a river that often served as a natural boundary between different political and ethnic tribal formations. Since 1147, the annals contain references to political clashes on it. The so-called “standing on the Ugra River” gained wide popularity. So in the Russian chronicles they call the confrontation that took place between the great Moscow prince Ivan the Third and the khan of the Great Horde Akhmat in 1480. This moment in the history of Russia is considered the end of the Tatar-Mongol yoke. The defensive significance of Ugra is emphasized by the nickname with which the people awarded it - “Belt of the Virgin”.
On the banks of the Ugra River, many Russians distinguished themselves with glorious combat feats. Here in 1812 the famous Denis Davydov held the defense. During the Second World War, during the Nazi invasion of Moscow, Ugra became a natural barrier between the defenders of the motherland and the invaders. A.G. made a feat on the river Rogov, squadron commander. He directed his burning plane to the fascist crossing of Ugra and destroyed it.
Fishing on the river
In Ugra, you can catch a variety of fish: pike, burbot, roach, bream, silver bream, sterlet, catfish or pike perch. On the fodder reach, which is located below the rapids, pike are well caught on live bait or spinner. The remaining representatives of the fish fauna of the river prefer the worm. In spring, it is better to catch an asp on a May bug. At the end of summer, the chub bites well on the grasshopper. Experienced fishers keep their catch on the kukan and in the cage, as the muskrat or otter can sneak up unnoticed and appropriate its precious prey.
