The Izhevsk Pond is an artificial body of water, or reservoir

Reservoir

A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...

, created in 1760 at the bidding of Peter Ivanovich Shuvalov

Peter Ivanovich Shuvalov

Count Pyotr Ivanovich Shuvalov was a Russian statesman and Field Marshal who, together with his brother Aleksandr Shuvalov, paved the way for the elevation of the Shuvalov family to the highest offices of the Russian Empire...

 for the needs of an iron works in Izhevsk

Izhevsk

Izhevsk is the capital city of the Udmurt Republic, Russia, situated on the Izh River in the Western Urals. Population: From 1984 to 1987 Izhevsk carried the name Ustinov |Minister of Defense of the USSR]], Marshal of the Soviet Union, Dmitry Ustinov). The city is an important industrial center,...

, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. It is placed at the confluence of the Izh River

Izh River

The Izh is a river in Udmurtia and Tatarstan, Russian Federation, a right-bank tributary of the Kama River. Its length is 226 km and its drainage basin is 8,478 km²...

 and its tributary, the Yagul

Yagul

Yagul is an archaeological site and former city-state associated with the Zapotec civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, located in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. The site was declared one of the country's four Natural Monuments on 13 October 1998. The site is also known locally as Pueblo Viejo ...

.

The reservoir was filled with water necessary for the factory's operation by June 1763. The dam

Dam

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

 was reconstructed by Alexander Deryabin in the early 19th century and underwent further modernization in 1984.

The lake covers some 24 sq km and has an average depth of 350 cm. A number of industrial enterprises skirt the reservoir, and its embankment

Embankment (transportation)

To keep a road or railway line straight or flat, and where the comparative cost or practicality of alternate solutions is prohibitive, the land over which the road or rail line will travel is built up to form an embankment. An embankment is therefore in some sense the opposite of a cutting, and...

 is the most important esplanade

Esplanade

An esplanade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The original meaning of esplanade was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide clear fields of fire for the fortress' guns...

 in the capital of Udmurtia

Udmurtia

The Udmurt Republic , or Udmurtia is a federal subject of Russia . Its capital is the city of Izhevsk. Population: -History:...

.