Sviyaga

Sviyaga
Sviyaga River at Ulyanovsk
Map
Location
CountryRussia
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationUlyanovsk Oblast
 • elevation100 m (330 ft)
MouthVolga
 • location
Kuybyshev Reservoir
 • coordinates
55°43′52″N 48°36′57″E / 55.73111°N 48.61583°E / 55.73111; 48.61583
 • elevation
53 m (174 ft)
Length375 km (233 mi)
Basin size16,700 km2 (6,400 sq mi)
Discharge 
 • average1,590 m3/s (56,000 cu ft/s) (near mouth)
Basin features
ProgressionVolgaCaspian Sea

The Sviyaga (Russian: Свияга; Tatar: Зөя; Chuvash: Сĕве, Sĕve) is a river in the Ulyanovsk Oblast and Tatarstan, a right tributary of the Volga.[1] It is 375 kilometres (233 mi) long, and its drainage basin covers 16,700 square kilometres (6,400 sq mi).[2] The Sviyaga flows into the Sviyaga Cove of the Kuybyshev Reservoir, west of Kazan. It freezes up in November or December and stays icebound until April or May. Major tributaries are the Arya, Birlya, Bula, Karla, Kubnya, Sulitsa and Tosha rivers.

The city of Ulyanovsk is along the Sviyaga. In Ulyanovsk, the Sviyaga flows only a few kilometres away from the Volga, but their eventual confluence happens much further downstream, about 200 kilometres (120 mi) north of Ulyanovsk.

The castle of Sviyazhsk, which dates to 1551, is on the island in Sviyaga Cove of the Kuybyshev Reservoir.