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Volchya River (Vuoksi tributary)
Encyclopedia
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of Vuoksi River
Vuoksi River
The Vuoksi River runs in the northernmost part of the Karelian Isthmus from Lake Saimaa in southeastern Finland to Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia. The river enters Lake Ladoga in three branches, an older main northern branch at Priozersk , a smaller branch few km...
situated on Karelian Isthmus
Karelian Isthmus
The Karelian Isthmus is the approximately 45–110 km wide stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia, to the north of the River Neva . Its northwestern boundary is the relatively narrow area between the Bay of Vyborg and Lake Ladoga...
(Leningrad Oblast
Leningrad Oblast
Leningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It was established on August 1, 1927, although it was not until 1946 that the oblast's borders had been mostly settled in their present position...
, 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...
) 0.25-12 km to the west of the Saint Petersburg-Hiitola railroad (along the section between the stations Vaskelovo
Vaskelovo
Vaskelovo is a rural locality on Karelian Isthmus, in Vsevolozhsky District of Leningrad Oblast, and an important station of the Saint Petersburg-Hiitola railroad, being the final destination of many suburban electric passenger trains from Finlyandsky Rail Terminal and Devyatkino....
and Losevo
Losevo, Leningrad Oblast
Losevo is a station settlement in Priozersky District, Leningrad Oblast, located at the junction of Vuoksi River and Lake Sukhodolskoye on Karelian Isthmus. It is a railway station of the Saint Petersburg–Khiytola railroad...
) and flowing northwards from the Lembolovo Heights. Its major tributaries are in turn the Smorodinka (right, ; ), the Belaya (left, ; ), the Goryunets (left) and the Petrovka (right, ; ). The Volchya River's width is about 10 m in the lower reaches, where it flows in a narrow valley, with meander
Meander
A meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse. A meander is formed when the moving water in a stream erodes the outer banks and widens its valley. A stream of any volume may assume a meandering course, alternately eroding sediments from the outside of a bend and depositing them on the...
s and oxbow lake
Oxbow lake
An oxbow lake is a U-shaped body of water formed when a wide meander from the main stem of a river is cut off to create a lake. This landform is called an oxbow lake for the distinctive curved shape, named after part of a yoke for oxen. In Australia, an oxbow lake is called a billabong, derived...
s. The Volchya is shallow and unavailable for navigation (except for canoeing
Canoeing
Canoeing is an outdoor activity that involves a special kind of canoe.Open canoes may be 'poled' , sailed, 'lined and tracked' or even 'gunnel-bobbed'....
in some places)
The river is crossed by the Sosnovo
Sosnovo, Leningrad Oblast
Sosnovo is a settlement in Priozersky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, on the Karelian Isthmus, and an important railway station of the Saint Petersburg-Kuznechnoye railroad...
– Pervomayskoye
Pervomayskoye, Leningrad Oblast
Pervomayskoye is a rural locality in Vyborgsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, on the Karelian Isthmus, located northwest of Saint Petersburg...
road on Lembolovo Heights, Sosnovo – Borisovo – Michurinskoye
Michurinskoye, Leningrad Oblast
Michurinskoye is a settlement on Karelian Isthmus, in Priozersky District of Leningrad Oblast. Before the Winter War and Continuation War it was the administrative center of the Valkjärvi municipality of Finland....
road at Razdolye and by the Losevo – Yagodnoye road at the lower portion of the river.
Since 1928 there is a little hydroelectric plant on the river not far from Petäjärvi (now Petrovskoye), which was the largest private hydroelectric facility in pre-Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
(owned by Leonard Sääksjärvi).http://kannas.nm.ru/priozersk_district2.htm
The entire river was a boundary between the Kingdom of Sweden and 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...
as defined in 1323 in the Treaty of Nöteborg
Treaty of Nöteborg
Treaty of Nöteborg, also known as Treaty of Oreshek , is a conventional name for the peace treaty that was signed at Orekhovets on August 12, 1323. It was the first settlement between Sweden and Novgorod Republic regulating their border...
. The higher reaches of the Saijanjoki (Volchya) to the south of the Tungelmanjoki (Smorodinka) and the Tungelmanjoki itself constituted part of the 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...
-Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
border in 1811-1940. Now that stretch of the Volchya River divides Priozersky
Priozersky District
Priozersky District is a district of Leningrad Oblast, Russia. The area of the district is . Its administrative center is the town of Priozersk. District's population: -History:...
and Vyborgsky District
Vyborgsky District, Leningrad Oblast
Vyborgsky District is a district of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, on the Karelian Isthmus, established in 1940 when the territory had been ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union by Moscow Peace Treaty as a result of the Winter War. The area of the district is . Its administrative center is the town of...
from Vsevolozhsky District
Vsevolozhsky District
Vsevolozhsky District is a district of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located in the southeastern part of the Karelian Isthmus. The area of the district is . Its administrative center is the town of Vsevolozhsk. District's population:...
, while the Smorodinka marks another part of the boundary between Priozersky District
Priozersky District
Priozersky District is a district of Leningrad Oblast, Russia. The area of the district is . Its administrative center is the town of Priozersk. District's population: -History:...
and Vsevolozhsky District
Vsevolozhsky District
Vsevolozhsky District is a district of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located in the southeastern part of the Karelian Isthmus. The area of the district is . Its administrative center is the town of Vsevolozhsk. District's population:...
.
The river was renamed from the Saijanjoki to the Volchya (lit. Wolf River) in 1948, just like the vast majority of other Finnish hydronym
Hydronym
A hydronym is a proper name of a body of water. Hydronymy is the study of hydronyms and of how bodies of water receive their names and how they are transmitted through history...
s and toponyms on the territories ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union as a result of the Continuation War
Continuation War
The Continuation War was the second of two wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II.At the time of the war, the Finnish side used the name to make clear its perceived relationship to the preceding Winter War...
.