Zhiguli Mountains

Zhiguli
View to Zhiguli from the Volga River
Highest point
PeakNablyudatel
Elevation381.2 m (1,251 ft)
Dimensions
Length60 km (37 mi)
Width32 km (20 mi)
Geography
Zhiguli is located in Samara Oblast
Zhiguli
Zhiguli
Zhiguli is located in European Russia
Zhiguli
Zhiguli
CountryRussia
RegionSamara Oblast
Range coordinates53°25′N 49°30′E / 53.417°N 49.500°E / 53.417; 49.500
Parent rangeVolga Upland

The Zhiguli Mountains (Russian: Жигулëвские горы) or simply Zhiguli (Russian: Жигули́, IPA: [ʐɨɡʊˈlʲi]), are a range of wooded mountains located in Russia on the right bank of the Volga River, inside the Samara bend. The mountains are an important source of limestone and oil (extracted since World War II) and are also popular as a scenic area for local and regional tourism. Their altitude reaches a maximum of 381.2 m (1,251 ft). The range is named for a nearby town Zhigulyovka (no longer extant), itself probably named for an early inhabitant, Zhegul (Russian: Жегуль).[1] Formerly, the range was known as the Lada, after the river pirate boats (ладья) who used to hide out in its wooded valleys, a name which is still in popular local usage today.

  1. ^ Pospelov, Evgeniy Mikhaylovich (1998). Geograficheskiye nazvaniya mira: toponimicheskiy slovar': svyshe 5000 edinits Географические названия мира: топонимический словарь: свыше 5000 единиц [Geographical names of the world: toponymic dictionary: over 5,000 entries] (in Russian). Moscow: Russkie slovari. p. 155. ISBN 5-89216-029-7.