Sukhona River
Encyclopedia
Ust-Kubinsky District
Ust-Kubinsky District is an administrative district , one of the twenty-six in Vologda Oblast, Russia. Municipally, it is incorporated as Ust-Kubinsky Municipal District...
, Sokolsky
Sokolsky District, Vologda Oblast
Sokolsky District is an administrative district , one of the twenty-six in Vologda Oblast, Russia. Municipally, it is incorporated as Sokolsky Municipal District...
, Mezhdurechensky
Mezhdurechensky District, Vologda Oblast
Mezhdurechensky District is an administrative district , one of the twenty-six in Vologda Oblast, Russia. Municipally, it is incorporated as Mezhdurechensky Municipal District...
, Totemsky
Totemsky District
Totemsky District is an administrative district , one of the twenty-six in Vologda Oblast, Russia. Municipally, it is incorporated as Totemsky Municipal District...
, Tarnogsky
Tarnogsky District
Tarnogsky District is an administrative district , one of the twenty-six in Vologda Oblast, Russia. Municipally, it is incorporated as Tarnogsky Municipal District...
, Nyuksensky
Nyuksensky District
Nyuksensky District is an administrative district , one of the twenty-six in Vologda Oblast, Russia. Municipally, it is incorporated as Nyuksensky Municipal District...
, and Velikoustyugsky District
Velikoustyugsky District
Velikoustyugsky District is an administrative district , one of the twenty-six in Vologda Oblast, Russia. Municipally, it is incorporated as Velikoustyugsky Municipal District...
s of Vologda Oblast
Vologda Oblast
Vologda Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is Vologda. The largest city is Cherepovets.Vologda Oblast is rich in historic monuments, such as the magnificent Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, Ferapontov Convent , medieval towns of Velikiy Ustyug and Belozersk, baroque...
in 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 558 kilometres (346.7 mi) long, and the area of its basin 50300 square kilometres (19,420.9 sq mi). The Sukhona joins the Yug
Yug River
The Yug is a river in Kichmengsko-Gorodetsky, Nikolsky, and Velikoustyugsky Districts of Vologda Oblast and in Podosinovsky District of Kirov Oblast in Russia. It is long, and the area of its basin...
near the town of Veliky Ustyug
Veliky Ustyug
Veliky Ustyug is a town in the northeast of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Sukhona and Yug Rivers. Administratively, it is incorporated as a town of oblast significance . It also serves as the administrative center of Velikoustyugsky District, by which it is completely...
, forming the Northern Dvina, one of the biggest rivers of European Russia.
The biggest tributaries of the Sukhona are the Vologda
Vologda River
The Vologda is a river in Sheksninsky and Vologodsky Districts of Vologda Oblast as well as in the city of Vologda in Russia. It is a right tributary of the Sukhona River. It is long, and the area of its basin . The principal tributaries is the Toshnya...
(right), the Lezha
Lezha River
The Lezha is a river in Gryazovetsky, Vologodsky, and Mezhdurechensky Districts of Vologda Oblast in Russia. It is a right tributary of the Sukhona River. It is long, and the area of its basin...
(right), the Pelshma (left), the Dvinitsa
Dvinitsa River
The Dvinitsa is a river in Kharovsky, Sokolsky, and Mezhdurechensky Districts of Vologda Oblast in Russia. It is a left tributary of the Sukhona River. It is long, and the area of its basin...
(left), the Tolshma
Tolshma River
The Tolshma is a river in Soligalichsky District of Kostroma Oblast and Totemsky District of Vologda Oblast in Russia. It is a right tributary of the Sukhona River. The river is long. The area of its basin is...
(right), the Tsaryova (left), the Uftyuga
Uftyuga River (Sukhona)
The Uftyuga is a river in Ustyansky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast and Tarnogsky and Nyuksensky Districts of Vologda Oblast in Russia. It is a left tributary of the Sukhona River. The river is long. The area of its basin is...
(left), and the Gorodishna (right).
Etymology
According to the Max VasmerMax Vasmer
Max Vasmer was a Russian-born German linguist who studied problems of etymology of Indo-European, Finno-Ugric and Turkic languages and worked on history of Slavic, Baltic, Iranian, and Finno-Ugric peoples....
's Etymological Dictionary, the name of the river originates from the Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
and most likely means "a river with a dry (hard) bottom".
Physical geography
The river basin of the Sukhona comprises vast areas in the central and eastern parts of Vologda Oblast, in the south of Arkhangelsk OblastArkhangelsk Oblast
Arkhangelsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It includes the Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya, as well as the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea....
, and in the north of Kostroma Oblast
Kostroma Oblast
Kostroma Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Kostroma.Major historic towns include Kostroma, Sharya, Nerekhta, Galich, Soligalich, and Makaryev. Textile industries have been developed there since the early 18th century...
. In particular, the city of Vologda
Vologda
Vologda is a city and the administrative, cultural, and scientific center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the Vologda River. The city is a major transport knot of the Northwest of Russia. Vologda is among the Russian cities possessing an especially valuable historical heritage...
is located in the river basin of the Sukhona. The basin also includes Lake Kubenskoye
Lake Kubenskoye
Kubenskoe Lake is a large and shallow lake in Vologda Oblast of Russia, situated at the height of 109 metres above mean sea level, stretching for 60 km from north-west to south-east....
, one of the biggest lakes of Vologda Oblast. The river basin is bounded from the south by the western part of the Northern Ridge
Northern Ridge
The Northern Ridge, Northern Uvaly, Severnyye Uvaly , is the chain of hills in the northern part of the East European Plain in Russia. The Northern Ridge divides the river basins of the Northern Dvina River and the Volga River...
, which separates the basins of the Sukhona and the Kostroma
Kostroma River
The Kostroma is a river in the European part of Russia. It flows through the Kostroma and Yaroslavl Oblasts, and is a left tributary of the Volga, which it enters at the Gorky Reservoir, at the city of Kostroma, at ....
. From the north, the Sukhona river basin is bounded in the western part by the Kharovsk Ridge hill chain which separates it from the river basin of the Vaga
Vaga River
The Vaga is a river in Totemsky, Syamzhensky, and Verkhovazhsky Districts of Vologda Oblast and in Velsky, Shenkursky, and Vinogradovsky Districts of Arkhangelsk Oblast in Russia. It is a left and the biggest tributary of the Northern Dvina River. The length of the river is . The area of its basin...
.
The towns of Sokol
Sokol, Vologda Oblast
Sokol is a town in the center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located at both banks of the Sukhona. Administratively, it is incorporated as a town of oblast significance . It also serves as the administrative center of Sokolsky District, by which it is completely surrounded but is not administratively...
, Totma
Totma
Totma is a town and the administrative center of Totemsky District of Vologda Oblast, Russia,, located on the left bank of the Sukhona River at the confluence with the Pesya Denga River. Municipally, it is incorporated as Totemskoe Urban Settlement in Totemsky Municipal District. Population:...
, and Veliky Ustyug, as well as the selos and the district centers Shuyskoye
Shuyskoye, Vologda Oblast
Shuyskoye is a rural locality and the administrative center of Mezhdurechensky District, Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Sukhona River. It also serves as the administrative center of Sukhonsky Selsoviet, one of the eight selsoviets into which the district is...
and Nyuksenitsa
Nyuksenitsa
Nyuksenitsa is a rural locality and the administrative center of Nyuksensky District, Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Sukhona River. It also serves as the administrative center of Beryozovsky and Nyuksensky Selsoviets, two of the eleven selsoviets into which the district...
, are located on the banks of the Sukhona.
The source of the Sukhona is in the south-eastern part of Lake Kubenskoye
Lake Kubenskoye
Kubenskoe Lake is a large and shallow lake in Vologda Oblast of Russia, situated at the height of 109 metres above mean sea level, stretching for 60 km from north-west to south-east....
. The Sukhona flows out in the south-eastern direction, accepts the Vologda River and the Lezha River from the right and turns northeast. Most of the river course runs over hilly landscape with tall banks. The Sukhona freezes up in late October - November and stays under the ice until late April - early May.
Navigation and canals
The Sukhona is navigable, but there is no passenger navigation except for ferry crossings. The lower course of the KubenaKubena River
The Kubena is a river in Konoshsky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast and Vozhegodsky, Syamzhensky, Kharovsky, Sokolsky, and Ust-Kubinsky Districts of Vologda Oblast in Russia. It is long, and the area of its basin . The Kubena is the principal tributary of Lake Kubenskoye and belongs to the basins...
and Lake Kubenskoyeare navigable as well. The northern part of Lake Kubenskoye, which belongs to the basin of the Sukhona, is connected by Northern Dvina Canal
Northern Dvina Canal
The Northern Dvina Canal is a 64 km long canal in Vologda Oblast in Russia. It connects the Volga-Baltic Waterway to the Northern Dvina River through its tributary, the Sukhona River...
with the town of Kirillov and the Sheksna River
Sheksna River
The Sheksna is a river in Belozersky, Kirillovsky, Sheksninsky, and Cherepovetsky Districts of Vologda Oblast in Russia. It is a left tributary of the Volga River. It is long, and the area of its basin...
, thus connecting the basins of the White Sea
White Sea
The White Sea is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the northeast. The whole of the White Sea is under Russian sovereignty and considered to be part of...
and the Volga
Volga River
The Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, discharge, and watershed. It flows through central Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. Out of the twenty largest cities of Russia, eleven, including the capital Moscow, are situated in the Volga's drainage...
. In 19th century, the canal and Lake Kubenskoye were the main waterway connecting the Volga with the White Sea. However, in 1930s the White Sea – Baltic Canal was built, and the Northern Dvina Canal lost its significance. The canal is still in operation, serving cargo traffic and occasional cruise ships, which then proceed to Lake Kubenskoye.
History
The area was originally populated by Finno-Ugric peoplesFinno-Ugric peoples
The Finno-Ugric peoples are any of several peoples of Europe who speak languages of the proposed Finno-Ugric language family, such as the Finns, Estonians, Mordvins, and Hungarians...
and then colonized by the Novgorod Republic
Novgorod Republic
The Novgorod Republic was a large medieval Russian state which stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains between the 12th and 15th centuries, centred on the city of Novgorod...
, with the exception was Veliky Ustyug
Veliky Ustyug
Veliky Ustyug is a town in the northeast of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Sukhona and Yug Rivers. Administratively, it is incorporated as a town of oblast significance . It also serves as the administrative center of Velikoustyugsky District, by which it is completely...
, which was part of Vladimir-Suzdal Principality. Totma has been first mentioned in the chronicles in 1137, and Veliky Ustyug — in 1207. In 13th century the Novgorod merchants already reached the White Sea
White Sea
The White Sea is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the northeast. The whole of the White Sea is under Russian sovereignty and considered to be part of...
. The area was attractive in the first instance because of the fur trading. The main waterway from Novgorod into the Northern Dvina was along the Volga
Volga River
The Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, discharge, and watershed. It flows through central Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. Out of the twenty largest cities of Russia, eleven, including the capital Moscow, are situated in the Volga's drainage...
and its tributary, the Sheksna
Sheksna River
The Sheksna is a river in Belozersky, Kirillovsky, Sheksninsky, and Cherepovetsky Districts of Vologda Oblast in Russia. It is a left tributary of the Volga River. It is long, and the area of its basin...
, along the Slavyanka River into Lake Nikolskoye, then the boats were taken by land to Lake Blagoveshchenskoye, from there downstream along the Porozovitsa River into Lake Kubenskoye
Lake Kubenskoye
Kubenskoe Lake is a large and shallow lake in Vologda Oblast of Russia, situated at the height of 109 metres above mean sea level, stretching for 60 km from north-west to south-east....
and further to the Sukhona and the Northern Dvina.
Until 1700s, Arkhangelsk was the main trading harbour for the sea trade of Russia and Western Europe, and the Sukhona was on the main trading route connecting the central Russia with Arkhangelsk. Peter the Great drastically changed the situation, by founding Saint-Petersburg in 1703, thus opening the way for the Baltic Sea trade, and by constructing the highway between Saint-Petersburg and Arkhangelsk via Kargopol. The river quickly lost its role as the leading trading route, which was accelerated by the construction of the railway between Vologda and Arkhangelsk between 1894 and 1897.